Chief Nutrition Officer At GNC On Whether Creatine Supplements Are Right For You - Exclusive Interview

You may have heard about the benefits of taking creatine to enhance your ability to really go big during your workout. But you definitely aren't alone if this supplement is new to you and you want to know more. Enter Rachel Jones, VP and Chief Nutrition Officer at GNC, who is also a registered dietician. She recently talked with Health Digest for an exclusive interview about — you guessed it — creatine.

It turns out this popular supplement offers so much more than you thought when it comes to supporting your exercise goals. In fact, taking creatine is also healthy for the mind, making it an overall body-boosting product.

Before you try adding creatine to your routine, take a look at our exclusive with Jones, where she offered any workout buff insights on buying the best product for you, how to use it at the right time to enhance performance, and understanding exactly how creatine will affect the body.

What is creatine, and what does it do for the body?

Creatine is one of the most popular and well-studied ingredients for sports performance — and for good reason! Creatine helps muscles make and circulate ATP, a compound that releases energy used for muscle contractions, especially during quick and intense anaerobic activity. But we can only rely on ATP for extremely short bursts of energy. Having adequate creatine stores — which is typically a combination of naturally-occurring creatine and supplementation to hit peak levels — can support energy demands by helping to produce and circulate ATP for activities like weightlifting, sprinting, or HIIT training.

Beyond supplying an immediate energy source, creatine supports cellular hydration, enhances glycogen stores, and may improve exercise performance by optimizing training adaptations. Creatine has a similar chemical structure to amino acids and plays a major role in building muscle.

But creatine isn't just for athletes. Our brain also stores creatine, and research supports the idea that supplementation may improve cognition and brain health — especially in older adults — as well as potentially offset other age-related declines in skeletal muscle and bone health.

What is the right way to take creatine to see the most benefits?

It's important to remember the amount, frequency, and benefits of creatine are unique to each person. The makeup of our bodies is distinct, and no supplement or workout will be a "one-size-fits-all" solution. Before starting to take creatine or adapting your dosage, it's important to speak with a health, wellness, or fitness professional to address any questions [or] concerns and get coached.

Then it's important to determine what your sport and performance goals are based on the activity you're undertaking. Since about 95% of our creatine stores are found in our muscles, athletes whose sports or fitness routine demands quick powerful bursts of energy like powerlifting, sprinting, or football can benefit from maintaining fully-saturated creatine stores.

To saturate stores, power athletes may opt to do creatine load for five to seven days prior to competition as they gear up for their training season or performance. Following a load, stores can be maintained by consuming about three to five grams of creatine daily. For an athlete looking to increase their lean mass or up the intensity of their training, adding creatine to their routine can help increase both! And, when taking creatine, make sure to drink plenty of water.