A study published in the June issue of JAMA Oncology offers the world a way to reduce deaths from cancer by more than half and new cases from occurring by nearly the same rate. We just have to stop smoking, start exercising, maintain a healthy body weight, and drink alcohol in moderation.

While that suggestion could strike you as being simple, it should strike you as being familiar. Decades ago, highly publicized research determined that doing those four things increased life span. One of the ways that life span increased, obviously, was by reducing the incidence of cancer. As a result, those four lifestyle changes have been seen as the best way to keep cancer at bay for years.Point to the intro: Sometimes the most important studies are not the ones that break new ground but tamp down the old soil rock-solid.In fact, Siobhan Sutcliffe, associate professor in the division of public health sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, addresses that concept in a Washington Post article about the aforementioned study. "Even while we're making new discoveries," he says, "that shouldn't stop us from acting on the knowledge we already have."Are you acting on the knowledge we already have about creatine supplementation? In its position paper on the matter, the International Society of Sports Nutrition writes, "Hundreds of studies have shown the effectiveness of creatine monohydrate supplementation in improving anaerobic capacity, strength, and lean body mass in conjunction with training," that it can "optimize performance of an endurance athlete," that its suggested use is "safe, effective, and ethical," and that its proper use usually produces an increase of between 2.2 and 4.4 pounds of lean body weight in one week.Since most position papers make Rush Limbaugh look like a liberal, you can dismiss the misconceptions you may have heard, such as the weight you gain from creatine is nothing but water retention, that its long-term use causes renal distress, and that it's especially dangerous for still-growing teenagers. The Society's position paper repudiates all that.The reason why the Society so staunchly supports creatine supplementation results from reviews like Richard Kreider's, professor and department head of Health and Kinesiology at Texas A&M University, that was published in February of 2003 in Molecular Cell Biochemistry. In it, Kreider states that about 70 percent of the over 300 studies available at that time reported significant strength gains after creatine use. And in the positive studies, maximal power and strength and maximal effort through muscle contractions increased between 5 and 15 percent.Moreover, in an activity like sprinting - where the winner of a race is often decided by hundredths of a second - performance improved between 1 and 5 percent. (For the best male high-school 100-meter sprinters, that can be as much as half a second!) In protracted sprint workouts, repetitive sprints were generally 5 to 15 percent faster.In short, the information found in Kreider's article is the type I hope you already know. But that study only partly explains why I believe just about everyone should be supplementing his or her diet with creatine.Other studies - as well as my personal experience - suggest that creatine makes you feel better and age better.The feel-better part has been determined in a number of ways, including a study published online by the American Journal of Psychiatry in August 2012. It found that women who were suffering from serious depression got relief from antidepressant medicine twice as fast when they also used 5 milligrams of creatine daily.Since antidepressants usually need to be in the body about six weeks to begin working, Perry Renshaw, professor of psychiatry at University of Utah Medical School, likened this discovery to finding the Holy Grail.Research published in the journal Cell Transplant in 2005 explained the reason why creatine supplementation can positively affect mood. Creatine protects the neurons that produce dopamine, a neurotransmitter that excites the central nervous system in a way that makes us feel good.While the age-better part of the creatine argument has also been proven by a number of studies, it makes more sense to begin with a common-sense explanation of why.Mitochondria are the powerhouses in your cells - in essence, converting food into energy. Muscle cells need lots of energy so they have loads of mitochondria. The aging process causes mitochondria to lose efficiency, which means you lose energy, a loss that triggers many age-related diseases.Creatine supplementation mitigates that loss, a fact made apparent in a study published in 2011 in the journal Amino Acids. In it, the lab mice given creatine lived nine percent longer than the control mice, which equates to seven years of additional human life.If all the discussion about creatine experimentation has persuaded you to perform one on yourself, buy a 500 gram jar of pure creatine monohydrate. Many companies offer a high-quality product at a really reasonable price. If you do as I do and purchase Just-Creatine from SportPharma through Netrition.com, the cost per serving is less than 11 cents.The reason why you are using it will determine how many servings you use per day. To age better and feel more energized - but not necessarily to make strength and weight gains - I have found two servings per day works best. One serving per day is generally suggested, however, and may be enough for you.If you desire strength and weight gains, do a loading phase of four servings per day for five to seven days and then use two servings a day.While the labels on most jars instruct you to mix creatine with your favorite beverage, mixing it in a hot beverage such as coffee or tea allows for total dissolution and the highest rate of assimilation.