Joe Rogan and Derek MPMD Just Convinced Us Everyone Is Taking Too Little Creatine

Joe Rogan recently sat down with Derek from More Plates More Dates — one of the internet's most trusted voices on supplements and performance science — and the two went deep on creatine. Not the basics. The stuff most people get wrong.

The clip from JRE #2239 is six and a half minutes long and contains more practical creatine knowledge per minute than most fitness blogs deliver in an entire article. So we broke it down, added the science behind every point, and yes — explained how X-Optimum's Optimized Creatine Monohydrate fits into all of it.

Buckle up. Your creatine knowledge is about to get a significant upgrade.

The Video at a Glance: What Joe and Derek Actually Said

The conversation kicked off with a genuinely underrated observation: creatine helps maintain physical performance even when you're sleep deprived.

Then things got interesting.

Derek dropped the bombshell that most people have been taking suboptimal doses for years — not because the standard recommendation is wrong, but because it was never designed to be one-size-fits-all. Joe, meanwhile, admitted he'd been eating creatine gummies, taking six of them a day instead of the recommended three, and half-seriously considered switching to powder and going "full 20 grams" to see what happens.

The conversation covered cognitive benefits, creatine types, the HMB rabbit hole, vegans' catastrophically low creatine levels, and Joe's elk-meat-as-creatine-source diet. Standard Thursday afternoon podcast content.

Let's get into it.

Myth #1: "Five Grams a Day Is Enough for Everyone"

This is the one that gets repeated everywhere, and Derek politely dismantled it.

The standard 3–5g daily maintenance dose will help most people saturate muscle creatine stores — eventually. But "saturate stores" and "get the full suite of benefits" are not the same thing. According to Derek, how much creatine you actually need depends on:

• Body weight — a 140-pound person and a 240-pound person have significantly different creatine requirements
• Genetics — some people's bodies produce and retain creatine more efficiently than others
• Muscle mass — more muscle tissue means more creatine storage capacity
• Metabolism — faster turnover means faster depletion

Some of the more recent research has explored doses up to 20 grams per day, with studies in elderly populations showing meaningful benefits at higher doses. Derek's suggestion: if your GI can handle it, try bumping to 10 grams and assess from there.

Joe's response was exactly what you'd expect: "I'm going to take 20 gummies and see what happens."

The takeaway: If you're 180+ lbs and hitting 5g a day, you might be leaving performance on the table. More isn't always better, but more than 5g might be right for you specifically.

Myth #2: Creatine Is Just a Muscle Supplement

This one has been fading for a while, but Derek put it plainly: creatine's cognitive benefits are real, and they're mechanistically sound.

The brain is one of the most energy-hungry organs in the body. It runs on ATP — adenosine triphosphate — and creatine's job is to rapidly regenerate ATP when cells burn through it. As people age, or due to genetic variation, the brain's capacity to produce ATP locally can decline. Supplementing creatine helps backfill that deficit.

In practical terms:

• Research has shown creatine can support focus and attention during cognitive fatigue
• Some studies have found benefits for memory and processing speed, particularly under stress or sleep deprivation
• The sleep deprivation angle is the new frontier — creatine appears to help maintain performance when you're running on less sleep than you should be

Joe made the point that the cognitive angle hasn't gotten the attention it deserves: "It kind of got... not as much attention as it deserves. Maybe more recently it's gotten a bit more hype because of some of the literature around its cognitive effects."

Derek agreed. And then they both moved on to talking about elk steaks, as one does.

Myth #3: Gummies Are Just as Good as Powder

This is where things got quietly educational. Joe mentioned he'd been taking creatine gummies — six per day instead of the label's recommended three — because they're convenient and he keeps them at the gym.

Derek's immediate concern: gummies are less likely to meet label claims for creatine content than powders.

This is a real issue in the supplement industry. Gummies require binders, fillers, and often go through processing conditions that can degrade active ingredients. A product that says "5g creatine" in gummy form may deliver significantly less than 5g of bioavailable creatine per serving. Unless it's third-party tested and rigorously verified, you're guessing at your actual dose.

Joe's reaction to the possibility that his gummies might be underdosed: "That makes you wonder if there's actually creatine in it."

Derek's solution, delivered with the efficiency of someone who has thought about this a great deal: "Get the powder, bro."

X-Optimum Optimized Creatine Monohydrate is 100% pure creatine monohydrate powder — no gummies, no guessing, no binders, no fillers. What's on the label is what you get. Micronized for easy mixing, unflavored so it doesn't alter whatever you're stacking it with.

Creatine Monohydrate vs. HCL: Which One?

Derek broke this down cleanly. There are multiple forms of creatine on the market, but the main comparison people encounter is:

Creatine Monohydrate

• The most researched form by a wide margin
• Tried, tested, and proven across hundreds of studies
• Cheaper and more widely available
• Potential for GI discomfort in some people (particularly at loading doses)

Creatine HCL (Hydrochloride)

• Bound to hydrochloric acid instead of a water molecule
• Theoretically more water-soluble, which may reduce GI issues
• Less research behind it compared to monohydrate
• More expensive

Derek's verdict was clear: if monohydrate agrees with your stomach, there's no scientific reason to switch to HCL. Monohydrate is where the literature lives. HCL is a fine alternative for people who genuinely can't tolerate monohydrate — not a meaningful upgrade for everyone else.

X-Optimum carries monohydrate. The form with 50+ years of research behind it. Not the trendy alternative. The original.

The Vegan Problem Nobody Talks About

One of the more sobering moments in the clip: Joe asked what creatine levels must look like for someone on a vegan diet.

Derek's answer: "Not good. Not good enough for sure. There's no way."

Here's why. Creatine is found almost exclusively in animal-sourced foods — primarily red meat and fish. The body synthesizes some creatine on its own, but not enough to fully saturate muscle stores. Meat eaters who eat multiple pounds of protein per day (Joe, apparently) are still getting less than 5 grams from diet alone.

For vegans and vegetarians, dietary creatine intake is effectively zero. Their baseline muscle creatine levels are measurably lower than omnivores, and the cognitive and physical performance benefits of supplementation are correspondingly more pronounced.

Joe, who eats "multiple pounds of meat a day" (including a pound of elk for breakfast, because Joe), admitted he probably still benefits from supplementation. If he benefits, essentially everyone does.

"One of the Most Slept-On Supplements"

That's Joe's words, not ours. And he's right.

Creatine has been around for decades, studied more than virtually any other performance supplement, and consistently shown to be both safe and effective. Yet it still gets overshadowed by flashier, newer, more expensive options that have a fraction of the evidence behind them.

Here's what the research actually supports:

It is not a steroid. It does not give you a permanently puffy face (Joe blamed creatine for this for years before realizing he was just eating too much). It does not damage your kidneys in healthy individuals. These myths have been studied and dismissed repeatedly.

How X-Optimum's Optimized Creatine Monohydrate Fits In

X-Optimum Optimized Creatine Monohydrate is exactly what Derek would hand you if you asked him what to take:

• 100% pure creatine monohydrate — the form with the deepest research base
• No fillers, no added flavors, no unnecessary ingredients — you're paying for creatine, not filler
• Micronized powder — mixes clean into water, juice, or a shake without clumping
• Unflavored — stack it with whatever you want without changing the taste
• Made in the USA — manufactured to quality and consistency standards

Suggested use: One scoop in 8oz of water or juice. During a loading phase (first 5 days), take four times daily to saturate stores faster. After that, one to two scoops daily for maintenance — and if you're over 180 lbs, consider whether bumping toward the higher end is worth experimenting with, just as Derek suggested.

At $21.99, it's one of the most cost-efficient performance decisions you can make. You're not paying for branding, celebrity endorsements, or a podcast deal. You're paying for creatine.

The Bottom Line

Joe Rogan and Derek MPMD spent six minutes talking about creatine and covered more ground than most supplement guides do in their entirety. The key takeaways:

1. 5 grams isn't always enough — your dose should scale with your body weight and goals
2. The cognitive benefits are real — brain ATP production, not just muscle performance
3. Powder beats gummies — better dosing accuracy, no label claim guesswork
4. Monohydrate is the gold standard — more research, lower cost, proven results
5. If you eat a plant-based diet, you especially need this — your creatine baseline is low
6. It's one of the safest, most-studied supplements available — no, it doesn't make your face fat

Joe eventually said he was going to ditch the gummies and go powder. You don't have to wait until episode 2,500 for permission.

Get X-Optimum Optimized Creatine Monohydrate here.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Always consult a healthcare provider before starting any new supplement regimen.