Harvard Doctor: Your Brain Is Starving for Creatine & NAD IV Therapy Is a Waste of Money with Dr Andrew Salzman | #1349

The Ben Azadi Show

Ben Azadi

Health & Fitness, Alternative Health, Fitness, Nutrition

4.8 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 13 July 2026

⏱️ 65 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Get a FREE 7-day Youngr™ Mini Pouch with code FREEDOM here: https://bit.ly/4f0ddV2 Everyone treats creatine like a gym-bro muscle powder. Harvard-trained physician Dr. Andrew Salzman says that's backwards: the organ with the highest creatine demand isn't your muscles — it's your brain. In this episode, Ben and Dr. Salzman break down why your brain is quietly starving for creatine, how creatine actually shuttles energy inside every cell, and why the trendy NAD IV drip may be a waste of your money. What we get into: Why your brain — not your muscles — has the highest demand for creatine Creatine as your cells' "FedEx truck": how it delivers ATP energy where it's needed The link between low creatine and neurodegeneration (Parkinson's, Alzheimer's) and age-related brain fog Why NAD IV therapy is "pretty much useless" — the molecule can't even get into your cells The kidney myth: why creatine doesn't wreck your kidneys, and is actually essential for them Why you should NEVER mix creatine into a hot coffee Do you really need to "load" creatine? (Dr. Salzman's answer may surprise you) Creatine's surprising role in gut health, leaky gut, and vision One line to remember: creatine is the FedEx truck of your cells — no truck, no delivery. Guest: Dr. Andrew Salzman — Harvard-trained physician, Chief Medical Officer of Wonderfeel Find All The Ben Azadi Show Sponsorship Deals https://www.benazadi.com/sponsorship-deals Ben's website: http://www.benazadi.com

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Dr. Salzman, you're a Harvard-trained physician, and last time you're on my podcast, you blew
0:05.5	my audience mind talking about how NAD IV therapy doesn't actually get into your cells,
0:10.9	and we took a deep dive into NMN and NAD.
0:13.4	Today I want to start with a claim from you that's just as wild.
0:17.3	Most people think creatine is a Jim Bro muscle supplement. There's a lot of research on it,
0:22.9	but the organ with the highest concentration, the highest creatine demands, I should say, in the body
0:27.6	is not the muscle at all. It's the brain. And you were just telling me a little bit about that
0:32.5	offline. So can you explain how the brain is starving for creatine and what happens to your thinking
0:38.5	when creatine stores run low?
0:40.6	Let me give a more overall perspective first, then we can hone down on the brain.
0:46.3	Now about 95% of the creatin in your body, it is true, is in the muscles, okay?
0:51.6	Because all muscular activity requires creatin. So from a percentage perspective, yes, the muscles, okay, because all muscular activity requires creatin. So from a, from a percentage
0:56.3	perspective, yes, the muscles dominate, but actually from an importance perspective, that other
1:02.4	5%, which is in all your other tissues, is even more critical. And when we talk about the brain,
1:08.2	we're talking about an organ that receives 25% of your cardiac
1:11.5	output, right?
1:12.5	So more than any other tissue, the brain is a consumer of energy.
1:18.0	And what's unique about the brain, and we have to look at the brain as an evolutionary
1:22.6	tissue, today, when we look at homo sapiens, we look at humans, the wiring in the brain is
1:31.2	phenomenal. I don't think we even can imagine it. I'm sure no one on your show has ever considered
1:36.3	this, but look at this here. Recently, some scientists took a fly. Pretty simple brain, right?
1:42.0	Lies are not, they're that smart, at least the ones I know.
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 20 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Ben Azadi, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Ben Azadi and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.