26 Jun To Your Health: Protein #2!
Welcome back to the series which offers a deep dive into the world of health, wellness, and disease prevention with Telluride local Dr. Alan Safdi.
Dr. Alan is a board-certified physician in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology, a Fellow of the American College of Gastroenterology, and a respected leader in healthcare. His blogs have featured and will continue to showcase the most current information in his fields: health, wellness and longevity. During Covid, Dr. Alan went radio silent – until recently. Now Dr. Alan is back in action with “To Your Health.”
In this installment of “To Your Heath, Dr. Alan talks about one of the most well-researched, widely used, and frequently misunderstood supplements out there: creatine. Yes, it’s a staple in gyms — but its impact goes well beyond muscle. Creatine may support metabolism, brain health, aging muscles, and more.
Scroll down to read the salient details and listen to the podcast to find out more – such as who creatine benefits; what the risks are; and where the science is headed next.
Go here for more health and wellness insights from Dr. Alan.
Key points about creatine:
• How creatine helps regenerate ATP, your body’s main energy molecule
• Proven benefits for muscle strength, lean mass, and exercise recovery
• Its growing role in preventing sarcopenia and reducing fall risk in older adults
• Evidence suggesting benefits for bone density, glucose control, and post-injury rehab
• Why vegetarians and vegans may see a bigger benefit due to naturally lower stores
• Safety concerns including kidney health, adulteration risk, and how to choose a third-party verified supplement
• And briefly, the early research on creatine’s impact on cognitive function and Alzheimer’s disease
A recent pilot study out of the University of Kansas Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center explored exactly that. Over 8 weeks, 20 people with mild Alzheimer’s took 20 grams of creatine monohydrate per day.
The results were encouraging:
• Serum creatine levels rose significantly
• Brain creatine increased by 11%, as measured by MR spectroscopy
• Cognitive improvements were seen in attention, fluid reasoning, and memory tasks
Sounds promising, right? But—and this is critical—those findings are early and very preliminary. The aforementioned trial was small, single-arm with no placebo group. We’ve seen that story before: small studies often signal promise, but when larger, well-controlled trials are conducted, benefits often shrink or vanish. And, in some cases, unexpected side effects emerge that weren’t visible in the pilot work. That doesn’t mean we dismiss early data—but it does signal caution is warranted. We shouldn’t overhype or overgeneralize from what’s still a very preliminary result.
Creatine is not a magic bullet, but like other pleiotropic agents such as metformin, GLP-1s, or curcumin, it may eventually play a supportive role in multi-modal strategies for aging and neuro-protection. Dementia is a slow, multifaceted disease, and solving it likely won’t come from a single pill or supplement. It will take synergy—of lifestyle, nutrition, and targeted interventions. Creatine may be one piece of that large puzzle, but we need bigger, better studies to be sure.
So whether you’re lifting weights, managing chronic disease, or optimizing for longevity—the following episode gives you the science and context to understand whether creatine belongs in your personal health toolkit.
Let’s dive in.
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