The Liz Moody Podcast - Science-Backed or Bust: Is Creatine the Secret to Fighting Brain Fog, PMS & Aging?

Starting point is 00:00:00 Everywhere you look on social media right now, people are saying creatine is the magic supplement. People are saying that it leads to clearer thinking, more energy, better workouts, and it even helps with PMS and menopause and gut health. Some are even claiming that it could protect your brain from Alzheimer's or dementia, which sounds incredible, right? But here's the thing. Are these promises actually true? Or is creatine just the latest wellness hype train that we have all jumped on? If you've ever struggled with brain fog, low energy, hormonal shifts, or just wanted to feel sharper and stronger, this supplement is being marketed directly to you. And if it really works the way that people say, it could change your daily life in a big way.

Starting point is 00:00:40 But if it doesn't, you might just be wasting your time and your money. I am Liz Moody. I'm a best-selling author, a longtime journalist, and the host of the Liz Moody podcast, where I break down the science so you can actually use it to change your real life. And in today's episode, we're getting into exactly what creatine does inside your body at a mechanism of action level. We're looking at what the science actually says about its impact on energy, brain health, hormones, and even gut repair. Before we start, I just want to say, I am not a doctor, nor do I purport to be one.

Starting point is 00:01:14 I have been a journalist for over two decades, and for the last 10 years, my focus has been on science communication. My expertise is finding reputable sources, whether it's rigorous scientific research or the guests that we have on our Wednesday podcasts, and then I synthesize that research to paint you the clearest picture possible. And I always, always, always try to answer the question, what can we actually do with this information? I also have a research assistant who is a professor of health science

Starting point is 00:01:44 and a PhD on the team, Hi Kaelin, who helps make sure that we are interpreting studies accurately in our wellness trend series. We either tackle trendy topics like creatine in this episode so you can get a clear picture as soon as possible, or we will dive into more controversial issues that require nuance that different experts and different fields have different takes on like our last Wildness Trends episode on sunscreen,

Starting point is 00:02:07 which I can link for you in the show notes. All right, let's get into it. Starting with the basics. What is creatine? It is a supplement, which is usually a white powder that you take by the scoop, although I've seen some capsules and tablets and even liquid forms. When I have tried it personally, it's always been a powder, and then I usually mix it in with electrolyte water, and it's fairly flavorless.

Starting point is 00:02:28 I cannot say that I've ever tasted it. We both ingest creatine when we eat foods. like fish, pork, beef, and milk from animals, and we produce it naturally in our liver, our kidneys, and our pancreas. So you might be thinking, wait, if our bodies naturally make creatine and we can also get it from food, why on earth would we need to supplement it? Shouldn't that cover us? So here's the deal.

Starting point is 00:02:50 Our bodies do produce creatine every single day. Your liver, kidneys, and pancreas are working together to make between one and two grams. Add in diet and the average person is taking in maybe another gram from animal products. That's around two to three grams total. But here's the catch. Your muscles can actually hold way more than that. Think of your muscles like a creatine tank. With what we eat and what our bodies naturally produce,

Starting point is 00:03:14 we're really only filling that tank to about 60 to 80% capacity. Supplementing lets us fill the tank all the way to the top, which gives our muscles and our brain the fuel that they need to perform at their maximum levels. The way that I personally like to think about it is, We can run completely fine without supplementing extra creatine. But we can run at maximum performance with it. And then beyond that, there are groups of people who are more likely to have lower tanks. Women tend to naturally have lower creatine stores than men, which means supplementation

Starting point is 00:03:48 can have an even bigger impact. Vegetarians and vegans are missing that dietary creatine intake because creatine is only found in animal foods. Our creatine production declines with age, so older adults, will typically have less creatine stores. If you are pregnant or postpartum, your body is using a ton of energy. So you're burning through creatine faster. And same with athletes.

Starting point is 00:04:11 High intensity exercise burns through creatine quickly. So baseline levels often are not enough. I feel like that makes sense because I feel like pregnant people and new moms are basically high performance athletes and we should treat them as such. So we have the creatine that we're either consuming or we are creating. And that will go primarily to the muscles in our bodies so that we can use it. during physical activity, but it will also go to our heart, our brains, and other tissues in our bodies. It then increases the availability of something called phosphocreatine in those tissues, which

Starting point is 00:04:42 helps regenerate something called ATP, which is our body's primary and preferred source of energy for quick bursts of energy. When you do short bursts of intense activity, things like sprinting or heavy lifting or hit workouts, your muscles rely on ATP for quick energy. But your muscles, can only store so much ATP at once. Creatine basically means you replenish those ATP stores faster, which means that you can push harder, you can lift heavier, you can recover quicker between sets. And for years, this was the primary way that creatine was used and what people mostly focused on. Research consistently shows that creatine supplementation can significantly enhance high-intensity, short-duration exercise performance. Think things like weightlifting and sprinting or any activity

Starting point is 00:05:30 requiring quick bursts of power. Creatine will help you lift heavier weights. It'll help you sprint faster, and it'll help you recover fast between intense bouts of exercise by mitigating muscle damage. There's also new research that shows that creatine can play a role in preventing injuries. There's also research that shows that creatine actually helps slow down sarcopenia, which is the normal loss of muscle strength and function that happens as we age. I am sure that you've heard people talk about how we lose so much.

Starting point is 00:06:00 strength as we get older, which is why weight training becomes increasingly important. It's important at pretty much every age, but the older we get, it becomes even more important. Creatine helps slow down that process. It basically protects our muscles from our increasing age. And this is interesting. There's emerging evidence that creatine may also help support bone density. Some studies have shown that creatine improves osteoblast activity, which basically means that it supports the cells that build new bone. Other research has shown that creatine helps with bone quality, making bones less sensitive to bending and to pressure. And also, if we are using creatine with weight training, it's going to help us lift heavier weights, which is a huge protective factor against bone

Starting point is 00:06:45 loss. I actually got an osteopenia diagnosis last November, which is one step before osteoporosis, and it shocked me. Basically, I found out that my bones are not as strong as I thought that they were. And I have been researching what to do about it, and weight training is very, very high on the list. And there's some confusion about which supplements hurt and help. And the whole thing has honestly just been very annoying and very confusing. So finding out that creatine has potential benefits for this was very comforting. It was very helpful. So that is all interesting. But if I'm being very honest, none of those were the reasons why I became super intrigued by creatine. The bone protection thing almost made me want to spend my hard-earned money on it.

Starting point is 00:07:31 And again, if you have athletic goals or bone density goals and that was enough for you, amazing. But for me, the cognitive benefits are where it got really, really exciting. Your brain actually needs creatine too. In fact, your brain actually needs creatine even more than your muscles. Think about it. Your brain is only 2% of your body weight, but it burns 20% of your energy every single day. That's why you can feel exhausted even when you haven't moved your body at all.

Starting point is 00:08:01 The more creatine your brain has access to, the better it can keep up when energy demands spike. Like when you're stressed or you haven't slept well or you're just trying to juggle a zillion different tasks at once. This is because, again, creatine is helping you replenish those ATP stores faster, which is giving your cells access to more energy, whether it's in your biceps or in your neurons firing. There is fascinating research that found that creatine helps us with improving our memory, decreasing mental fatigue, and boosting our overall cognitive function, especially at times when we are sleep deprived or we are stressed. This was the thing that tipped me over the edge with creatine. I often feel really brain foggy. I feel really tired. And my job is very intellectually intensive. I have to be locked in to create a podcast that I think is the most helpful for you.

Starting point is 00:08:51 Since I've been taking creatine, I've noticed a real perceivable difference in mental sharpness and clarity, starting at probably three to four weeks in, which makes sense because you have to fill up that creatine tank to really notice a difference, which we will talk about more in a second. The research is also starting to look at whether creatine could be helpful in larger brain health conversations, things like Alzheimer's and concussion recovery and long COVID. The mechanism here is more or less the same. Creatine gives your cells extra fuel. In neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's, brain cells are literally starving for energy as they try to repair themselves and keep functioning. Some new research suggests creatine supplementation may help delay that atrophy by stabilizing energy in those cells.

Starting point is 00:09:39 But it is really important to be clear. Large-scale clinical trials in other diseases like Parkinson's and Huntington's have shown that creatine is not an effective treatment for slowing progression. So while the Alzheimer's findings are exciting, they are still very early and they are very speculative. Concussion recovery is another topic that creatine research is promising in, but again, still in really early stages. Animal studies and a few small human studies suggest that creatine might help reduce brain lesions, limit amnesia, and speed up recovery after concussions. Again, the idea is that the injured brain needs a massive amount of energy to heal.

Starting point is 00:10:18 can help meet that demand. It is promising for sure, but still very much a wait-and-see area of research. And then there is chronic fatigue and long COVID. These patients often show lower levels of phosphocreatine in the brain, which could explain some of the debilitating fatigue and brain fog that they experience. Early case studies suggest that creatine supplementation might help improve energy, reduce pain, and lessen brain fog in these populations. The research is tiny so far, but for anybody struggling with those symptoms, it might definitely

Starting point is 00:10:55 be something to talk to your doctor about. Here's the question everyone's asking. Can creatine actually protect your brain as you age and maybe even lower your risk of dementia? The science here is early, but it's really promising. As we get older, our brain cells become less efficient at making energy. That's part of why things like memory and processing speed. can start to slip. Creatine basically acts like a backup generator.

Starting point is 00:11:21 It helps recycle ATP, which is your brain's main energy currency, so your neurons can keep firing even when they are stressed or running low on fuel. Some early studies show that creatine might help delay the kind of brain cell atrophy we see in Alzheimer's disease by stabilizing energy metabolism. And in older adults without dementia, supplementation has been linked to sharper memory, to less mental fatigue, and better overall cognitive. function, which is huge because we know that age-related decline often starts decades before a diagnosis is ever made. In addition to brain health, creatine has been shown in research to help

Starting point is 00:12:00 with mental health. Research has found that creatine might have antidepressant-like effects, especially in women. Basically, creatine provides more phosphocreatine and ATP for our brain, so we can withstand more stress and generally have more energy, which, is thought to decrease depression symptoms. On top of that, some research has found that creatine can activate dopamine and serotonin receptors in the brain, essentially modulating our neurotransmitters, which can improve feelings of depression. Preliminary studies have found that people who supplemented with five grams of creatine

Starting point is 00:12:36 in addition to their SSRIs felt better faster than people who only took SSRIs. And another study found that people who took five grams of creatine combined with cognitive behavioral therapy felt better than the people who did cognitive behavioral therapy on its own. To be clear, like everything else in this episode, please talk to your doctor before making any medication changes. We just want to arm you with the information so that if you are interested, you can open up a discussion. The number one rule of habits is to make the things that you want easier and the things that you don't want harder. Yet so many of us want to eat healthier, but so few of us actually take the steps to make eating healthier easier.

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Starting point is 00:19:06 Yep, there is research that shows that creatine helps with PMS as well. And I know it sounds too good to be true. but here's why it makes sense. During the week or so before your period, your hormones are shifting a ton. Your estrogen dips, your progesterone rises, and your brain is under extra metabolic stress. That is when so many of us get the brain fog,

Starting point is 00:19:27 the fatigue, the mood swings. Cretein is basically giving your brain a backup energy source during that time. It helps recycle ATP so your brain can keep running smoothly, even when your hormones are making things feel all over the place. Beyond that, creatine has a really interesting relationship with estrogen. Estrogen normally helps your brain use and store creatine. So when estrogen dips right before your period, having extra creatine on board may actually

Starting point is 00:19:56 help pick up that slack. That's going to lead to steadier energy, a better mood, all of these other benefits that we've talked about. And beyond that, there's also the physical symptoms of PMS. A lot of people feel super physically drained before their period. workouts feel harder, recovery feels slower, energy just feels low. Creatine supports muscle energy, it supports recovery, so it can help with that. Everything is just like so exhausting right now feeling.

Starting point is 00:20:26 We definitely need more research on this and also on basically everything that impacts women's health. But it makes sense, given creatine's mechanisms of action, that it could ease a lot of the typical PMS symptoms like brain fog and feeling low energy and feeling anxious or depressed by basically stabilizing both our brain and muscle energy when our hormones are shifting the most. The research is also starting to look at perimenopause and menopause. During this stage of life, estrogen levels drop dramatically and with that comes a big hit to muscle, bone, and energy. That is part of why so many women notice that they feel weaker, more tired,

Starting point is 00:21:06 or like their workout, suddenly just don't work the way that they used to. Creatine may help here in a couple of different ways. First, like we talked about, it supports muscle energy and recovery, which can counteract some of that age-related muscle loss. Also, like we talked about, it may play a role in protecting bone density, especially when paired with resistance training. And just like with PMS, the dip in estrogen seems to make creatine even more impactful because estrogen and creatine normally work together in your brain and in your muscles. So while more research is definitely, definitely needed. The early findings suggest that creatine might be one of those small, simple things that makes a big difference in helping women feel stronger and smarter and more

Starting point is 00:21:51 resilient as they go through perimenopause and menopause. Next, I want to talk about the way that creatine impacts our gut health. The cells lining your gut are powerhouses. They need lots of ATP to keep your tight junction strong, absorb nutrients, and keep the bad stuff out. Cretein helps those cells remake ATP faster, and creatine actually draws water into the cells. So when the cells are more hydrated, it gives that gut lining, like real structural integrity. It has been shown in studies that creatine helps preserve that barrier, and on top of that, early animal studies suggest that creatine may shift the gut microbiome, helping the good bacteria grow while preventing growth of the bad bacteria. So really, really promising stuff here for gut health. And then there's cancer, which honestly shocked me when I first saw the research.

Starting point is 00:22:43 A 2025 study that followed more than 25,000 people over time found that creatine intake was actually negatively associated with cancer risk. Basically, for every standard deviation increase in creatine consumption, cancer risk went down by about 5%. So basically more creatine, less cancer risk. At first I thought, okay, but maybe that's just because the people, People who take creatine are also the type of people who work out more, who drink less, who eat healthy, or all of those other good lifestyle habits.

Starting point is 00:23:13 But the authors controlled for all of that, for smoking, for diabetes, for alcohol, for poverty, for education, and creatine still had its own unique effect. So what is going on here? The theory is that creatine helps protect against some of the key processes involved in cancer development, things like oxidative stress, chronic inflammation, and immune system dysfunction. Creatine seems to quiet down inflammatory pathways, lower the release of inflammatory factors, and even reduce the production of damaging free radicals.

Starting point is 00:23:47 On top of that, it appears to help the immune system regulate itself, promoting protective T cells, calming down overactive macrophages, and enhancing anti-inflammatory cytokines. All of that together creates a more balanced internal environment, one that is less hospitable for cancer cells to thrive. To be clear, we need way more research on this. I am not saying that creatine cures or prevents cancer. But it does point to the fact that creatine is interacting with our body in a way that goes far, far beyond, you know, gains at the gym. I know that it seems like a lot. I really did have my antenna up like, is this too good to be true? But it does make sense if you think about creatine is essentially this thing that supports yourself.

Starting point is 00:24:34 having the energy that they need, and then those cells can go have positive impacts all over your whole body. Now, let's talk about risks because I am a hypochondriac. I do not willy-nilly put new things in my body and just hope that it goes well. Whenever I take a new supplement, I tell Zach, I'll be like, okay, I took creatine or whatever it was. So if I pass out, if I'm unresponsive, tell the people at the emergency room that that is what happened. And he's like, you just took a new brand of fish oil. Like, I think we're going to be okay. good news is that creatine has been studied for decades. And the consensus across all of that research is that for healthy people, short and long-term, creatine supplementation is generally

Starting point is 00:25:15 safe and well-tolerated when taking at recommended doses. This is not a new or untested supplement. It is actually one of the most tested supplements on the market. That said, there are some mild side effects that you might run into. Bloading and water retention are the most common, especially if you start with higher doses. Some people notice digestive stuff like cramping or stomach upset or diarrhea, especially if they take a lot at once, like more than the recommended dose, which we will get into in a second. One of the biggest fears that people have about creatine is, is it bad for your kidneys? So let's clear this up. Creatine turns into creatinine in your body, and that's a marker that doctors use to measure your kidney health. That is why people assume that creatine is hard on your

Starting point is 00:26:01 kidneys. But the research is really, really clear. In healthy people, there is no evidence that it damages your kidneys or your liver. If you already have a kidney condition, please talk to your doctor. And then this is not really a risk per se, but it is a concern that I hear from a lot of people, the idea that creatine can make you bloated or puffy. This is because creatine makes your muscles pull water into their cells, which can make them feel a little bit more puffy. If This is a fear for you. There are a few things that you can do. First, a lot of people do a loading phase with creatine where they take 20 to 25 grams a day, split into four or five doses for about a week, so their muscles get really saturated really quickly. That tank that we talked about earlier gets full

Starting point is 00:26:46 faster, and you see all of those performance benefits faster. If you are worried about bloat, just skip the loading phase. Unless you're a bodybuilder getting ready for a show, you don't need it. Just do what the research suggests. Three to five grams. a day consistently. You will still get the benefits. It will just take a few weeks longer and you avoid most of the side effects, including the bloat. And even if you do do the loading phase, that bloated puffy look will go away over time, especially if you're drinking enough water. So another vote to drink some water to hydrate yourself. The other fear that I hear from a lot of women is that they'll suddenly get super bulky looking like they will look like a bodybuilder.

Starting point is 00:27:27 And I just cannot say this enough. Unless you are legit. legitimately training to look like a bodybuilder, it is very, very hard to achieve that type of look as a woman. Women tend to have lower testosterone levels, so getting like built is really hard, and it is not going to happen just because you took creatine. In general, women who take creatine report looking leaner, they report looking more toned. I don't look like a bodybuilder, and I've been taking it for a few months now. This fear of looking jacked is a also not a reason not to strength train. I hear so many women avoiding strength training because they don't want to look bulky and big. And I promise, promise, promise, unless you are doing a specific

Starting point is 00:28:12 diet and exercise routine to get those big bulky muscles, you more than likely will not get them. It is very hard to accidentally fall into that type of body. That's why they have competitions of people trying to achieve that type of body. It is hard. So please, please. please, please do not let it deter you from strength training. All right, let's do a little lightning round of some of the most common questions and myths that I came across in my research and the ones that you all DM'd me about. Which type of creatine is the best? This one's easy. Creatine monohydrate, it is the gold standard. It is the most studied, the most effective, and usually the cheapest. There are all of these other fancy forms like Ethel Esther, buffered creatine, liquid creatine,

Starting point is 00:28:57 but peer-reviewed science does not show them working any better or causing fewer side effects. Most of those are just marketing claims, so ignore. Is there anybody who should be extra cautious? Yes. While creatine is one of the most well-studied, safe supplements around, people with kidney issues should definitely get medical clearance first. There's also some evidence that creatine may exacerbate mania in people with bipolar disorder and people with McArdle's disease, which is a risk.

Starting point is 00:29:27 rare muscle disorder should not take it. Pregnant women should definitely talk to their doctor before adding it in. If you are remotely concerned about it, interacting with anything that you're taking, interacting with any condition that you have, any little niggling concern you have, err on the side of caution and talk to your doctor. Is it worth the money? I get this one because there are so many supplements out there. I will say I take it personally for me the cognitive and the mental health benefits

Starting point is 00:29:57 tip me over the edge, and I'm really intrigued by the brain protective benefits over time because that is a huge fear of mine. As always, I would just recommend that you think about your why. How do you want to feel? What are your goals? Given what we talked about today is creating a good fit for those goals. The best way that I approach supplements is having a why, a concrete reason for every single one that I take. And that reason is not, I saw an influencer post about it. It to be like, I take this for my anxiety, or I take this because I was lab tested and my omega-3s were low. And it is up to you if creatine is a fit given your unique wise. Also, if cost is a concern, I have found that taking the creatine monohydrate in the powdered form is way

Starting point is 00:30:45 cheaper than taking the capsule or any of like the gummy candy versions. Should you take creatine on rest days? Yes, the whole point is keeping your muscles and brain saturated with creatine, and that requires consistency. It does not matter if you are training or not. You want to take it every single day. Is three grams enough for smaller women, or should everybody take five? The research typically recommends three to five grams daily. If you are smaller and you're not in a rush, three grams is probably fine. It's just going to take you longer to saturate your muscles. If you want to get there faster, bumping up to five grams is a really safe and common approach. And I definitely would not go above five grams without talking to your.

Starting point is 00:31:27 doctor? Is there a best time of day to take it? Not really. Some studies suggest that taking it pre or post workout can be helpful if performance is your main goal, but the overall consensus is that consistency, so taking it every single day to keep that tank full matters way more than timing. Does creatine help with endurance sports like running or cycling? Not as much. Creatine powers your anaerobic energy system, so quick explosive efforts like sprint, or lifting. Endurance sports rely more on aerobic systems that utilize glucose, not ATP, like glycolysis. So if you are training for a marathon, creatine will not directly help your performance, but like we talked about earlier, it might support your recovery. Will creatine

Starting point is 00:32:14 help with fat loss? So, creatine does not burn fat, but it will likely help you build muscle. And more muscle means a higher metabolic rate. So you will basically be burning more calories, even when your body is at rest. So it's actually hugely supportive of fat loss, but in a more roundabout way, it won't directly make you lose fat. Does creatine cause hair loss? So this is based on one really small study from 2009

Starting point is 00:32:42 that linked creatine to an increase in DHT, which is a hormone that's connected to male pattern baldness. But more recent larger studies, including a 12-week randomized controlled trial, have debunked it. Creatine is not associated. with hair loss. Will creatine make you ripped

Starting point is 00:32:59 without working out? So I saw TikTok where someone had this insane six pack and they were like, it's just creatine. And I was like, false. Creatine helps you train harder. It doesn't magically make you stronger

Starting point is 00:33:11 without training. I also saw some people who were worried that you had to cycle on and off creatine and that is not necessary. Creatine keeps working as long as you keep taking it. If you stop your muscle stores, your tank will just gradually return to baseline so there is no harm in stopping and there is no rebound effect. I've also seen people say that you

Starting point is 00:33:31 have to take creatine with sugar or it won't work, and that's also not true. Taking creatine with carbs or carbs and protein can speed up the rate that your muscles absorb it, but it is not required. If you take it with water, you will still saturate your muscles. It just might take a week or so longer. I take it with water. I take it with just my electrolyte water. I basically make this like morning drink. It's electrolyte water. My sun fiber. And then it's creatine. And then I add basil seeds to that. And it's delicious.

Starting point is 00:34:01 And I drink it most mornings. I know that you guys are going to ask what brand of creatine I take. And I was honestly hesitant to include it in this episode because this episode is in no way sponsored. Like we have our normal brand sponsors that you'll hear in the ad breaks. But nobody is paying me to say what I am saying in the episode. And a lot of podcasts are secretly sponsored. Like they don't only have, this is hard to explain, but like they don't only have the ad partners, but the content of the episode is sponsored.

Starting point is 00:34:32 And they don't share that. They don't disclose it. And we have chosen not to do that over the years. And we have given up so much money. This is a main revenue stream for so many podcasts because it just ethically feels very, very wrong to me to do that. In journalism, it's all about like your source material. What is the quality and caliber of your source material? And if your source material is paying to be there, then that kind of.

Starting point is 00:34:55 compromises the quality of it to me. So I really, really don't want you to think that a brand paid me to say anything that I said in this episode. And I didn't want to leave you high and dry without a brand recommendation. So the brand that I personally take is Puri. And they are a podcast sponsor generally, meaning they pay for ad spots. But again, they don't pay for episode content. And they in no way paid to be mentioned in this episode. I'm actually not even sure if they're a, partner in this episode because we figure that out later. So maybe there's an ad for them in this episode. Maybe there's not. I like them. I started working with them in the first place because they are incredibly rigorous about testing. And if I am taking something daily, that is especially important

Starting point is 00:35:41 to me to not have heavy metals or other contaminants in it when I'm trying to be healthier. I don't want to be putting stuff in my body that's making my body less healthy. So if you want to try purees creatine, which is the one that I take, you can use code Liz Moody to get a discise count on it because, again, they're a pod sponsor in general. So they've paid for ad spots in other episodes. So I have a code so you can save some money. But you don't need to take Puri. It's just the creatine that I personally take. In general, just look for a third-party tested creatine monohydrate if you want to try it. I hope this was helpful. If you know someone who feels overwhelmed by all of the wellness noise online, send them this episode. My goal is

Starting point is 00:36:21 always to make these trends feel a little less confusing. to help you get your head around how they fit into your life and if they should fit into your life at all. And if there's a trend that you've been curious about, leave me a note in the comment on Spotify or YouTube or in an Apple review. I really want to make this podcast as helpful as possible. And knowing what you guys are wondering about, what you're curious about, gives me great directions to go in. We are currently working on a wellness trend episode about peptides and we have another one about grounding, which I've already been really surprised about the research on. So also take a quick second and make sure that you've hit that follow button, that subscribe

Starting point is 00:36:58 button so you do not miss out on future episodes. As always, you can find all of the discount codes from today's episode at lizmoody.com slash codes. And you can hang out with me online at Liz Moody on Instagram and TikTok. I love you. I love learning and growing with you. And I will see you on the next episode of the Liz Moody podcast. Thank you so much for tuning into this episode of the Liz Moody podcast. If you enjoyed the episode, go ahead and follow on Apple or Spotify or subscribe on YouTube and hit that notification bell so you never miss a new episode. And if there's somebody in your life you think would benefit from this episode, send them a quick link. It is the best way to support the podcast and it is so, so appreciated. And if you're watching this,

Starting point is 00:37:38 drop me a comment. I would love to hear your thoughts and what resonated most with you. Thanks again for being here. I feel so lucky that I get to grow and learn and share with you. And I will see you on the next episode of the Liz Moody podcast. Oh, just one more thing. It's the legal language. This podcast is presented solely for educational and entertainment purposes. It is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, a psychotherapist, or any other qualified professional. When you think about strength and resilience, like your ability to feel energized, to recover well, to stay strong as you get older, what do you think that actually comes from? Most people say working out or good nutrition, and yes, of course that matters.

Starting point is 00:38:21 But there is a biological foundation underneath all of that that most people are completely overlooking. I have been diving deep into this lately with the team at timeline and what I've learned has genuinely shifted how I think about my own health. Every single movement that your body makes, every step, every workout, every muscle contraction depends on energy produced at the cellular level. And at the center of that is your mitochondria. Here is the thing that that nobody tells you, certainly nobody told me, starting around age 30, our mitochondria naturally become less efficient. More get damaged, more become sluggish, and over time that impacts your energy, your strength, your recovery, and your resilience. Most of us respond by pushing more,

Starting point is 00:39:03 we're like noticing these things and we're adding in more protein. We're trying to fix it with more supplements. We're trying to do harder workouts. And those things do help. But timelines research suggests that we also need to be supporting the cellular machinery underneath. And that is exactly what their supplement, Mitopure does. It contains Eurolithin A, which helps your body clear out damage mitochondria and support healthier ones so that your cells can produce energy more efficiently. Because this is happening to your cells, it's going to impact your entire body, your immune system, your muscles. One study found that taking Mitopure increased muscle strength by 12% in four months with no change in exercise routine, it's going to impact your energy, your sleep, your skin,

Starting point is 00:39:46 your cell health impacts all of this, and urolithine A keeps your cells healthy. Timeline has done over 15 years of research and testing on this one product, urolithin A, which, by the way, most of us lack the gut bacteria to synthesize naturally. That's why many of us need to supplement it to get the benefits. This has become a staple supplement for me. It is my top way to support how I want to look and feel as I age. support yourselves and how you age with mitopure gummies from Timeline. Visit Timeline.com slash Liz and save up to 39% on your mitopier gummies.

Starting point is 00:40:18 That is timeline.com slash Liz. I'm genuinely confused how masterclass gets literally the absolute top people in every single field to teach every single one of their classes. I use it when I want to learn things directly like the cooking class from Thomas Keller has all of the wisdom that you would normally have to go to culinary school for. But also, I'm being honest, this is like a use of. case I don't hear a lot of people talking about. I'll just watch it for entertainment when I want to do something that's far more interesting than scrolling. Christina Aguilera taught me to sing. Shan Boudrum's

Starting point is 00:40:52 Art of Mastering Confidence and Sex Appeal class is 10 out of 10. There's menopause classes with leading doctors. There's script writing with Mindy Kaling. Literally, you name it, they're on masterclass, and it is such a good way to get off your phone, but have something that's like not quite as long or hard to get into as a TV show or a movie and that it just keeps you entertained and interesting. and you are learning. There are over 200 classes from the world's best, all for just $10 a month when billed annually, and you get unlimited access to every class on the platform so you can learn at your own pace whenever you want on your phone, your computer, or even in audio mode, like a podcast. If you're looking to stop scrolling and start consuming entertaining content that makes you feel

Starting point is 00:41:34 excited and helps you learn, masterclass is it. And the best part, every membership comes with a 30-day money back guarantee so you can start learning risk-free. Right now our listeners get an additional 15% off any annual membership at masterclass.com slash Liz Moody. That's 15% off at masterclass.com slash Liz Moody, masterclass.com slash Liz Moody.

The Liz Moody Podcast - Science-Backed or Bust: Is Creatine the Secret to Fighting Brain Fog, PMS & Aging?

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