Creatine Monohydrate

Creatine is a naturally occurring compound made from the amino acids arginine, glycine and methionine. Most of the body’s creatine is stored in skeletal muscle, where it helps regenerate ATP: the immediate energy source used by our cells.

Creatine monohydrate is the most extensively studied form and is widely used to support strength, power, high-intensity exercise and healthy muscle function.

How Does Creatine Work?

During intense activity, muscles use ATP rapidly. Stored phosphocreatine can donate a phosphate group to help regenerate ATP, allowing muscles to continue producing force during short periods of high energy demand.

Increasing muscle creatine stores therefore provides a larger energy buffer for activities such as:

• Resistance training
• Sprinting
• Repeated high-intensity exercise
• Power and explosive movements
• Physically demanding sports

This is why creatine is particularly useful for strength and power rather than long, steady endurance exercise.

Strength, Muscle and Exercise

Creatine monohydrate has some of the strongest evidence of any sports supplement for supporting strength, power and resistance-training adaptations.

Supplementation increases muscle creatine and phosphocreatine stores, helping people perform repeated high-intensity efforts and potentially complete more productive training over time.

When combined with resistance training and adequate protein, creatine can also support lean tissue and muscle development.

Creatine for Healthy Ageing

Creatine becomes particularly interesting as we age because maintaining muscle strength and function is important for mobility and independence.

Research in older adults shows that creatine works especially well when combined with resistance exercise, helping support strength, lean tissue and physical function.

This makes creatine useful well beyond bodybuilding. For older adults, it can form part of a broader healthy-ageing approach alongside strength training, sufficient protein and regular movement.

Brain Energy and Cognitive Function

The brain also uses creatine and phosphocreatine to help manage its energy requirements.

Research into creatine for brain health is developing, with promising findings around memory, attention and cognitive resilience, particularly in older adults or during periods of metabolic stress such as sleep deprivation.

Why Creatine Monohydrate?

Many forms of creatine are available, but creatine monohydrate remains the best-researched and most practical option.

Alternative forms may be marketed for improved absorption or smaller serving sizes, but they do not currently have the same depth of evidence for muscle uptake, strength, exercise performance and long-term use.

Micronised creatine is simply creatine monohydrate processed into smaller particles, which can make it easier to dissolve in liquid.

How Much Creatine Do You Need?

For most adults, 3–5 grams of creatine monohydrate per day is a simple and effective approach.

A loading phase is not necessary. Larger doses can saturate muscle creatine stores more quickly but taking 3–5 grams consistently will achieve similar saturation over several weeks.

Creatine does not need to be cycled, and exact timing is less important than taking it regularly.

Creatine Safety

Creatine monohydrate has a strong safety record when used at standard doses in healthy adults.

Some people experience mild digestive discomfort when taking large doses at once, and an initial increase in body weight can occur as muscle creatine storage increases water within muscle tissue.

Creatine can also raise blood creatinine levels because creatinine is a normal breakdown product of creatine. This does not automatically indicate impaired kidney function, although anyone with existing kidney disease or complex medical conditions should seek professional advice before supplementation.

Creatine as Part of Everyday Nutrition

Creatine is one of the most useful nutritional supplements for supporting cellular energy, strength, muscle function and high-intensity performance.

Its benefits are particularly strong when supplementation is combined with resistance training, good nutrition and consistent use. For older adults, the same qualities make creatine increasingly relevant to maintaining strength, mobility and healthy muscle ageing.

Creatine in O2B Products

At O2B Healthy, creatine is available in O2B Pure Creatine as pure creatine monohydrate and in O2B Kre-Alkalyn® as a buffered creatine formula. It is also included in O2B Cognivit for cognitive and healthy-ageing support. For pets, creatine monohydrate is used in O2B K9+ Cognivit and O2B Feline+ Cognivit to support brain and cellular energy, and in O2B K9+ Octane as part of a performance formula for active and working dogs. Across these products, creatine supports ATP production, muscle function, strength, physical performance, recovery and healthy ageing.