Who’s Selling You Creatine, and What They’re Not Saying
Hundreds of TikTok creators are selling creatine as a brain supplement. The people most drawn to those claims are the ones most likely to be harmed.
The shift happened on TikTok.
Creatine went from a gym supplement to a brain supplement in about a year. The shift didn’t happen in a lab. It happened on social media.
In the last month, I found more than 350 videos on TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts promoting creatine for brain health, memory, and anti-aging — 37.5 million views in 30 days. Many of those creators are selling creatine through TikTok Shop or collecting affiliate commissions. I found another 141 paid ads ran on Meta for creatine brands, some placed through publisher pages like Us Weekly and the New York Post. I’m sure there were many more.
The research is real. The videos skip the risks.
There is real science underneath the hype. Creatine helps muscles produce energy during intense exercise. Long-term data shows it helps older adults preserve muscle mass and strength. There’s early evidence that it may support brain energy metabolism and cognitive function under stress. For healthy people, studies up to five years show no serious side effects at standard doses of 3 to 5 grams a day. It doesn’t damage healthy kidneys or liver.
But social media skips past what we don’t know yet and past who shouldn’t be taking it at all.
The new creatine audience — older adults, women in perimenopause, people managing chronic conditions — is exactly the group that faces risks the videos don’t mention. People with kidney disease, diabetes, or high blood pressure should talk to a doctor before starting, because higher doses can stress kidneys that are already vulnerable. People with bipolar disorder should avoid it entirely. One clinical trial found about 12% of patients switched into mania.
Creatine also raises a blood marker called creatinine that doctors use to estimate kidney function. If your doctor doesn’t know you’re taking it, that test can look abnormal. That can lead to wrong doses of medications like lithium or metformin, or getting pulled off a drug you actually need.
Tell your doctor.
Creatine isn’t dangerous for most people. It’s one of the best-studied supplements on the market. But the gap between what the research shows and what’s being sold on social media is wide, and the people in that gap are the ones with the most to lose.
If you’re taking creatine, tell your doctor. Especially if you’re on medications dosed by kidney function. That one conversation is worth more than any TikTok.