Creatine for Cognition Support in Older Adults and as Part of a Healthy Lifestyle

In Part 2 of this Nutrition Outlook interview, Michael Fredericson, MD, FACSM, Co-Director of the Stanford Center on Longevity, shifts the conversation from strength and bone health toward cognition and the broader question of blind spots in the energy/sports nutrition industry. Discussing creatine's cognitive potential, Dr. Fredericson notes that the science is still preliminary. Though evidence suggests creatine may support memory in older adults, its effects on focus and attention remain inconsistent across studies.

Turning to potential industry blind spots, Dr. Fredericson argues longevity-focused consumers must first cover foundational health "pillars" — movement, a Mediterranean-style diet, stress management, social engagement, and purpose — before supplements can meaningfully help. He likens supplements to "icing on the cake.” He also notes how alternatives like HMB, used in Elysium’s Creatine+ system and long used in bodybuilding, are now recognized as safe and beneficial for the general population, citing the International Society of Sports Nutrition's consensus paper endorsing creatine's safety and lifelong use.

Catch up with part 1 of this interview for insights on creatine for longevity, muscle mass, and bone density.

A partial transcript can be found below.

Erin McEvoy: So, looking more into the health span aspect, cognition is recognized as part of a strong health span. In terms of creatine, what's the outlook for using a targeted creatine system to support cognitive health, focus, and memory as we age?

Michael Fredericson: Well, you know, this is all still very preliminary, and so at this point in older adults it does look like creatine may help with their memory, but it doesn't look like it has that great of an effect on their focus or attention, or some of the other cognitive aspects. Those are findings are more inconsistent, so there's something there, but I think we're still trying to tease that out with further studies.

So, for instance, in 2023 I believe there was a meta analysis, so that was a paper trying to put together the articles that are out there at this time, and they found 8 randomized controlled trials, which are that's a good scientific study when you have to randomize it and pair compare it against like a placebo effect. And they found that creatine supplementation did improve memory compared with placebo, particularly in older adults, whereas it didn't really seem to do much in younger individuals, maybe because they didn't need it. And then there was a systematic review in 2025 that focused specifically on adults who were age 55 or above, and they did seem to show some in 5 of 6 studies that they noted there was a positive correlation between creatine and cognition, particularly in memory and attention, but there's some issues in terms of how some of these studies were conducted, and so I think the jury's still out, but it does look promising.