Creatine and Longevity: The End of History
Key Takeaways
Creatine is best known for supporting exercise performance, but its potential benefits extend beyond muscle.
Creatine helps replenish ATP, the energy source that powers processes throughout the body, including brain function.
Research has linked creatine supplementation with potential benefits for brain function, bone density, and metabolic health.
Creatine may become increasingly relevant as we age, as the body’s ability to generate and store creatine declines.
Research into creatine and longevity is promising but still developing, particularly when it comes to translating findings from animal studies to humans.
At 3–5 grams per day, creatine is an inexpensive and well-studied supplement, making it an interesting consideration within a broader longevity strategy.
Why Creatine Became a Fitness Staple
In case you did not have the good fortune to live through them, the 1990s were a time of blissful, boundless, and wholly unironic optimism.
It was the End of History. The world was now a global village, destined for perpetual peace. The business cycle? Ptcha! Solved. The Human Genome Project was on track to cure all diseases, and the Internet would take care of everything else.
Seemingly, the only remaining source of genuine angst centered upon the ambiguous relationship status of a fictional couple in an improbably spacious and well-upholstered Manhattan apartment.
Subsequent events have added some nuance to this optimism. But there was one thing, at least, that the 1990s failed to overestimate.
Around 1993, the focus of the fitness world was moving towards weightlifting. Nutritionists had meanwhile discovered that the molecule creatine significantly improved the effectiveness of a daily workout. Its popularity exploded among athletes and bodybuilders, and it went on to become one of the most studied supplements in existence.
But despite its popularity, the full scope of its benefits has only recently come to light.
How Does Creatine Work?
In case your molecular biology is a little rusty, let me recap how creatine works.
Your body runs on a molecule called Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP), and it needs a lot of it. A typical person cycles through their own weight in ATP daily. Creatine Phosphate (CrP) is the molecule that “recharges” used-up ATP so it can be used again.
Here’s the important part: ATP powers everything, not just muscles. Your brain, for one thing, has a voracious appetite for ATP, accounting for roughly 20% of daily production.
Supplementing with creatine has been shown to enhance bone density, brain function (memory, processing speed, alertness), and metabolic health (blood sugar regulation).
What Does Creatine Have to Do With Longevity?
There is even evidence to suggest that the cumulative effect of these benefits could be improved longevity. Experiments on mice showed that it increases healthy lifespan by 9% – that’s roughly an additional decade if transferred to humans.
Our bodies get less effective at generating and storing creatine as we get older, so the proportional benefits of supplementing creatine increase with age. Especially when we consider threats to the brain (e.g. neurodegenerative disorders).
Despite extensive academic research, you won’t see claims about improved brain function or anti-aging on creatine supplements. The FDA – understandably – requires companies to undertake massive, multi-million dollar clinical trials before making such claims. Since creatine is a cheap, low-margin, and non-patentable product, no company can justify the investment. The economic barrier is too high.
That said, precisely because it is so cheap, the recommended 3-5g per day is highly affordable. And the research has shown that it is one of the absolute safest supplements around.
Creatine as Part of Longevity Optimization
Creatine is hardly a magic bullet, but that’s not really the point. Longevity optimization is about stacking small, evidence-based advantages across multiple domains. If something is well-studied, inexpensive, and potentially useful for maintaining muscle, brain function, and metabolic health as we age, it seems worth paying attention to.
So while the global outlook may be a little more complex than the halcyon days of the Fukuyama Decade, we can tentatively re-embrace some of its optimism while – firmly – rejecting its fashion sense.
In the next blog, we’re getting back to the main highway. See you there.
Russ Hill is the Executive Chairman of Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors, LLC (“Halbert Hargrove”). This blog and his book have been authored by Mr. Hill in his individual capacity. This blog is provided for general and educational purposes only. Nothing in this blog or his book should be construed as investment advice. All opinions or views reflect the opinions and judgment of the author as of the publication date and are subject to change without notice. Nothing contained herein or his book should be construed as an offer to provide investment advice through Halbert Hargrove.