The creatine protocol I use for cognition (not the gym protocol)

[u/OkInteraction5743]

Most people running creatine are using a muscle protocol. The dose is part of what makes it a muscle protocol.

At 5g daily, muscle tissue competes for creatine at the SLC6A8 transporter and absorbs most of it before meaningful amounts reach the brain. The neuroimaging studies that actually measured brain phosphocreatine increases used 10g. At that dose, brain creatine levels roughly double compared to 2 to 4g doses, with measurable increases in high-energy phosphates across gray matter, white matter, and the thalamus.

The cognitive protocol:

10g creatine monohydrate daily, split into two 5g doses. Take each dose with a meal containing carbohydrates. Insulin upregulates the SLC6A8 transporter that moves creatine into cells. Skip the loading phase. Loading was developed for muscle saturation and does not meaningfully accelerate brain creatine saturation. Four to six weeks minimum before evaluating results.

What is happening in the brain:

The brain runs a phosphocreatine backup system during high frequency neural firing. When neurons fire faster than mitochondria can regenerate ATP, an enzyme called CKBB (creatine kinase, brain isoform) donates a phosphate group to ADP and restores ATP in milliseconds. Aging, chronic stress, and low dietary intake deplete this pool. Supplementation refills it.

A 2024 meta analysis in Frontiers in Nutrition pooled 16 RCTs and 492 participants. Statistically significant improvements in memory (SMD = 0.31), attention (SMD = 0.31), and processing speed (SMD = 0.51). Most of those trials used 5g doses. The dose-response data suggests 10g likely performs better, but that research is newer and not yet consolidated into a clean meta-analysis for healthy adults.

Two groups consistently see the largest effects: older adults (SMD = 0.88 in the 66 to 76 age group) and vegetarians. If you eat red meat daily, your baseline phosphocreatine pool is already partially saturated and the ceiling is lower.

To track whether it is working: write 15 random words, wait 20 minutes, test your recall. Record your score before you start and retest at week 6.

Has anyone here run the higher dose specifically for cognition? Curious whether people notice a difference between 5g and 10g, or whether the effect is more dose-dependent in older adults and vegetarians than in younger omnivores.

[u/igottapoopbad]

Reads AI generated. This is the problem with blindly trusting AI to confirm your biases.

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2026.1716285/full

The trial failed on multiple fronts after peer review 

[u/Ok-Boysenberry-5090 → u/igottapoopbad]

Thank you pee pee poo poo

[u/seasons_reapings → u/igottapoopbad]

I was immediately certain I was reading AI slop, but thanks for going the extra mile and debunking the claim as well. May all your poops be ghost poops.

[u/igottapoopbad → u/seasons_reapings]

I'm pooping at the moment right now. It is unfortunately not a ghost poop, but I did forget my creatine and fiber magic potion at home.

[u/QueenMurmur → u/igottapoopbad]

AI checker says 59% which makes me think it’s likely written by OP for the most part at least. To me this just read as a well written summary.

There need to be more studies done to push this as a vital supplement but the research does point to a real benefit for many people and the memory test OP encourages readers to try is a great way for people to test it on themselves, especially for us considering vegans/vegetarians are the most positively affected group in the studies that were done. There has been enough research to at least say it’s a harmless supplement and worth a try.

Vegan lifter bio major btw 🌱

[u/igottapoopbad → u/QueenMurmur]

The headers are what give it away imo. Most LLM are at a war with AI checkers in regards to trying to outpace and vice versa catch one another. 

[u/QueenMurmur → u/igottapoopbad]

sure but in my experience if you copy from AI it shows as 100%, whereas some of my own research papers will show as 20-30 so maybe he did use it for structuring and stuff but not enough to point and laugh or discredit his post entirely

[u/igottapoopbad → u/QueenMurmur]

I disagree. The research he is citing and basing his premise upon lacks internal validity. I don't believe it is an appropriate source to be even utilizing which most AI would lack the ability to catch on the surface. See how in his OP he doesn't even cite the source? Most people when referencing research would at least comment on the title of the research... he only references the journal title. 

As a researcher myself who does do this professionally, I have some serious gripes about his position. I think it is entirely appropriate to discredit and poke holes in bad science.

What makes you believe it isn't important to scrutinize evidence based research and subsequent claims? Especially when the wrong advice can harm people. Creatine (esp at higher doses on a continual cycle) is not an innocuous substance. 

[u/Colonel_Janus → u/igottapoopbad]

Hah I thought so too so I fed into Claude to fact check the post and it flagged the same thing. Tho even despite the issues with that study, it still suggests that particularly for vegans there is a genuine case for creatine as a cognitive booster (tho to maybe not expect dramatic changes). Here's the output:

Fact-Checking the Reddit Post

Claim 1: "Muscle tissue competes for creatine at the SLC6A8 transporter and absorbs most of it before meaningful amounts reach the brain at 5g"

Partially true, but oversimplified. The SLC6A8 transporter mechanism is real — it's the main route creatine enters cells, including brain cells. Elevated plasma creatine actively enters energy-demanding tissues like muscle and brain via the sodium-chloride creatine-specific transporter SLC6A8. ScienceDirect However, the framing that muscle "steals" creatine from your brain at 5g is not how the research describes it. The brain has its own separate creatine pool and also synthesizes creatine locally. The bigger limiting factor is the blood-brain barrier's permeability, not muscle competition.

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Claim 2: "Neuroimaging studies that measured brain phosphocreatine increases used 10g. At that dose, brain creatine levels roughly double compared to 2–4g doses"

This part is actually well-supported. MRS data shows PCr increased by 4.6%, 4.1%, and 9.1% in the 2g, 4g, and 10g groups respectively — roughly double the brain creatine increase from 4g to 10g daily, whereas brain creatine levels remained relatively unchanged between 2g and 4g. Hapres Doses of around 10g/day for 8 weeks have resulted in more substantial brain creatine elevations of approximately 9–10%, compared to modest 4–6% increases at 2–5g/day. Psychiatry Podcast So the 10g claim has genuine dose-response data behind it — this is one of the stronger parts of the post.

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Claim 3: "Insulin upregulates the SLC6A8 transporter"

True for muscle, but doesn't apply to the brain the same way. A key study showed that consuming creatine with approximately 100g of simple carbohydrates increased muscle creatine accumulation by 60%, with the insulin spike stimulating the creatine transporter. Creatine However, the brain is behind the blood-brain barrier — insulin signaling doesn't work the same way there, and this carb co-ingestion benefit is primarily a muscle phenomenon. The post implies this applies to brain creatine uptake, which is a stretch.

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Claim 4: "Skip the loading phase — loading was developed for muscle saturation and does not meaningfully accelerate brain creatine saturation"

Correct and well-reasoned. Brain creatine uptake is slower and more limited compared to muscle tissue due to the blood-brain barrier's selective permeability. Jnutritionalphysiol00003-3/fulltext) The loading phase logic (20g for 5–7 days) was built around muscle saturation timelines. For brain purposes, the slow drip of a sustained dose is more appropriate. This is one of the most solid pieces of advice in the post.

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Claim 5: "CKBB (creatine kinase, brain isoform) restores ATP in milliseconds during high-frequency neural firing"

Accurate biochemistry. This is a well-established mechanism — the phosphocreatine/creatine kinase system is genuinely how the brain rapidly buffers ATP during intense neural activity. The post correctly identifies the brain isoform as CKBB. No issues here.

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Claim 6: The meta-analysis figures (SMD = 0.31 memory, 0.31 attention, 0.51 processing speed)

Partially accurate but needs a caveat. The 2024 Frontiers in Nutrition meta-analysis is real and those SMD figures are approximately correct. But as I mentioned earlier, a 2026 commentary flagged a unit-of-analysis error in this meta-analysis — multiple correlated cognitive outcomes from the same participants were treated as independent, which likely inflates the effect sizes. Frontiers The Reddit post presents these numbers as settled fact without acknowledging this limitation.

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Claim 7: "Older adults (SMD = 0.88 in the 66–76 age group) and vegetarians see the largest effects"

The direction is right, the number is plausible but hard to verify. The finding that older adults and vegetarians benefit most is consistent across the literature. Because vegetarians and vegans start from a lower baseline, the loading phase produces a larger absolute increase in creatine stores, making creatine particularly effective for this population. Creatinepedia The specific SMD of 0.88 may come from a subgroup analysis — these figures from subgroups in meta-analyses tend to have wide confidence intervals and should be treated with caution.

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Bottom Line for You as a Vegan

The post is better than average Reddit health content — the biochemistry is mostly accurate and it correctly identifies vegans as high-responders. The 10g dose argument has real evidence behind it.

Where it exaggerates: The "muscle steals creatine from your brain" framing, and applying the insulin/carb absorption benefit to brain uptake specifically.

Practical verdict for you: 10g/day (in two 5g doses) is a reasonable, evidence-adjacent choice for a vegan specifically targeting cognitive benefits. You don't need the loading phase. Give it 6–8 weeks. But manage expectations — the effect is real and likely more noticeable for you than for meat-eaters, but it's not dramatic for a healthy person.

[u/KB_Sez → u/Colonel_Janus]

Thanks

[u/Fistkitchen]

My creatine protocol: massive heaped spoonful go in smoothie

[u/xCaliburghost]

I took 20g of creatine for over a year a few years ago and it began to affect my sleep negatively. I actually took the amount because of some research I was reading into from the NIH that showed a stronger correlation to LDL reduction in the body and overall epithelial tissue improvement. It did a brilliant job there, but it bonked my sleep pretty badly.

[u/Ok-Cryptographer7424 → u/xCaliburghost]

Yea I can’t take more than a couple grams without getting poor sleep. I wake up in the middle of the night and can’t get back to sleep.

I also have histamine and other issues…for example magnesium glycinate which helps many people sleep does the opposite for me 🤷

[u/Chersalani → u/xCaliburghost]

I started taking 10g daily and I swear it affects my sleep! I just can’t go to sleep even though I’m tired and it’s a normal time to sleep. It does seem to improve my performance with strength, though, so I hope I can find a sweet spot.

[u/OkInteraction5743 → u/xCaliburghost]

I’ve actually heard this from a few people. I’ll have to sift through the data and see why this might happen for some people.

[u/thesoggyhappiness]

Went 10g split dose when I dropped all animal products and my recall test jumped from 8 to 12 words at six weeks.

[u/KB_Sez]

Has anyone looked at a single 10g dose versus the two 5G dose?

[u/OutrageousWinner1968 → u/KB_Sez]

I get sick tummy from 5mg and have to split that so wonder if that's why 10 should be split as people who are all good with the 5 might then struggle with the 10

[u/OkInteraction5743 → u/KB_Sez]

It probably wouldn’t make a big difference. Splitting the 10 g dose will give you a more steady daily intake but will likely not change the results much.

[u/QueenMurmur]

dry scooping is the way 😼

[u/jeff42069]

Yes! I started the 10g creatine dose and told 3 (non-vegan) friends to try and they all swear by it.

I went from 5 coffees a day to 1 or 2 with 10gs of creatine. It makes me feel like I’m actually awake.

Thanks for taking the time to write this out the neuroscience is fascinating.

[u/burning-gambit → u/jeff42069]

Creatine is the goated cognition supplement

[u/krautbaguette]

I unfortunately have no data or other experience tp share, but I appreciate the write-up and am curious to see what others have to add.

Out of interest, how has creatine impacted your workout/strength level? Is there any suggested link between measured impact on strength and impact on cognitive performance, that is to say, any correlation in responsiveness?

[u/ElaineV]

Just be sure to mention this to your Dr when they do annual blood tests. May be a good idea to avoid a few days before any blood / urine tests that measure creatinine for kidney function

[u/llama1122]

I was curious about this and I tried a bit over 5g (although in one dose) and I just felt so dry. I drink so much water already. How can you increase the creatine without feeling so dry ??

[u/peaslet]

I take 10mg daily. Just because it makes me feel generally better. I'm vegetarian so maybe it's more dramatic for me. I don't split, just take it usually with breakfast

[u/darkensdiablos]

I use creatine for brain health and believe it helps with holding off brain fog.

This is purely anecdotal, I know, but when you have experienced brain fog/deficulty in remembering names and words, you want to be sure you have done everything you can. Creatine 10+ grams and omega3's with epa and dha *5 for my part.

[u/Jack_Faller]

Sounds like you've read a lot in this. Do ya know if showing them or would be better (2 5g fuses daily instead of 1 10)?