Could Creatine, Yes, the Gym Supplement, Help Treat…

Could Creatine, Yes, the Gym Supplement, Help Treat Depression? Creatine has long been associated with one thing: building muscle. But a new systematic review published in Brain Medicine, June 2026, asks a genuinely different question: could it also help treat depression? The honest answer, according to the researchers themselves, is, maybe, but we're not there yet. Researchers led by Bassam Jeryous Fares at the University of Ottawa reviewed five randomised controlled trials across South Korea, the US, Brazil, Israel and India, involving 238 participants in total. Most participants were women, and two trials enrolled only women. Rather than pooling the data into one combined statistical analysis, given how differently the studies were designed, researchers evaluated each trial individually. Two trials, both involving women with major depressive disorder, found real benefit. In one, women taking 5 grams of creatine daily alongside the antidepressant escitalopram showed significantly greater improvement aft