Should You Supplement With Creatine? - Rhonda Patrick
Summary
TLDRThe script delves into the benefits of creatine as a supplement for muscle growth and energy production. It explains how creatine converts to phosphocreatine, enhancing ATP generation for high-intensity workouts. Supplementation is shown to improve muscle power, performance, and recovery, with the International Society for Sports Nutrition endorsing creatine monohydrate as highly effective. The script also addresses misconceptions about creatine's side effects, such as weight gain and hair loss, citing extensive research indicating minimal adverse impacts.
Takeaways
- 💪 Creatine is a supplement that has been shown to stimulate muscle growth by enhancing energy production in muscles through the conversion to phosphocreatine, which is crucial for ATP production.
- 🏋️♂️ Supplementing with creatine can boost muscle capacity to produce ATP, leading to improved muscle power and performance, particularly during high-intensity and endurance exercises.
- 📈 Creatine supplementation is supported by extensive research and is regarded by the International Society for Sports Nutrition as an effective performance-enhancing nutritional supplement.
- 🔋 The recommended dosage for creatine often starts with a loading phase of 20 to 30 grams per day for 5-7 days, followed by a maintenance dose of 3-5 grams per day to maintain elevated muscle creatine levels.
- 👴 As we age, muscle mass and strength naturally decline, but creatine supplementation combined with resistance training can help counteract these age-related changes.
- 🧠 Creatine has also been studied for its effects on brain function, suggesting potential cognitive benefits that are detailed on the provided topic page.
- 🚫 The most consistent reported side effect of creatine supplementation is weight gain, likely due to water retention, rather than an increase in fat mass.
- 🏥 Long-term studies across various populations, including infants to the elderly, indicate that creatine supplementation is safe and without serious adverse risks.
- 💊 Concerns about creatine causing kidney damage are not supported by data, and the supplement has been deemed safe for use in the long term.
- 🦲 The misconception that creatine causes hair loss or baldness originates from a single study with a small sample size and short duration, which has been contested by subsequent research.
- 📊 A meta-analysis of various studies confirms that combining resistance training with creatine supplementation improves strength, increases fat-free mass, and enhances muscular endurance and bone mineral density.
Q & A
What is creatine and what is its primary role in the body?
-Creatine is a supplement that plays an important role in muscle energy production. Inside muscles, creatine is transformed into phosphocreatine, which is crucial for the production of ATP, the primary source of energy for cells, especially during high-intensity or long-duration exercise.
How does creatine supplementation affect muscle performance and growth?
-Creatine supplementation can supercharge the energy production process, boosting muscle capacity to produce ATP and enhancing energy availability for intense activities. This increase in available energy can lead to improved muscle power and performance, potentially resulting in gains in muscle performance and growth.
What does the International Society for Sports Nutrition say about creatine monohydrate?
-The International Society for Sports Nutrition regards creatine monohydrate as the most effective performance-enhancing nutritional supplement available on the market for athletes and fitness enthusiasts looking to increase their strength, power, and muscle mass.
What is the typical dosing protocol for creatine monohydrate supplementation?
-Research indicates that creatine monohydrate supplementation often involves a loading phase of about 5 grams or 0.3 grams per kilogram of body weight taken four to five times a day. This can increase creatine stores in muscle tissue by 20 to 40%. Continued supplementation of 3 to 5 grams per day is required to maintain these elevated levels.
How can creatine supplementation benefit older adults?
-For older adults, creatine supplementation combined with resistance training can counteract age-related declines in muscle mass, strength, and bone density. It may amplify the benefits of exercise, improving strength, upper and lower body performance, muscular endurance, and bone mineral density.
What are some potential misconceptions about creatine supplementation?
-Some misconceptions about creatine supplementation include the belief that it can cause kidney damage or hair loss. However, extensive research has shown no serious adverse risks associated with creatine supplementation, and the only consistent reported side effect is weight gain, likely due to water retention.
Is there evidence to support the claim that creatine causes hair loss?
-The claim that creatine causes hair loss originates from a study where participants took 25 grams of creatine a day for a week, resulting in increased serum DHT levels. However, subsequent studies have not found evidence to support an increase in testosterone or free testosterone levels, which are precursors to DHT, suggesting that creatine is not a significant concern for hair loss.
What is the relationship between creatine supplementation and kidney health?
-Despite concerns, there is no data to support the idea that creatine supplementation negatively affects kidney health. Studies involving various dosages and durations have shown no serious adverse risks to kidney function.
How does creatine supplementation impact muscle recovery post-workout?
-Creatine supplementation has been shown to help speed up muscle recovery post-workout, potentially making it easier for individuals to bounce back after intense training sessions.
Are there studies that look at creatine's effect on brain function?
-Yes, there are studies that explore creatine's effect on brain function, which can be found on the provided creatine topic page. These studies are of interest as they may suggest additional benefits beyond muscle performance and growth.
What is the consensus on creatine supplementation and its impact on testosterone levels?
-Among numerous studies, only a few observed minor increases in total testosterone levels after creatine supplementation, while the majority found no change at all. There were no increases detected in free testosterone levels, which is the precursor for DHT production.
Outlines
💪 Creatine's Role in Muscle Growth and Energy Production
This paragraph delves into the benefits of creatine as a supplement for muscle growth and energy production. Creatine is crucial for the conversion into phosphocreatine, which is essential for ATP production—the primary energy source for cells, especially during high-intensity or endurance exercises. Supplementing with creatine can enhance this energy production process, leading to improved muscle power and performance. It has also been shown to speed up muscle recovery post-workout. The International Society for Sports Nutrition recognizes creatine monohydrate as a highly effective performance-enhancing supplement. The recommended dosage includes a loading phase of 5 grams four to five times a day, followed by a maintenance dose of 3 to 5 grams per day. Studies have demonstrated the positive effects of creatine on exercise performance, muscle mass, and recovery, especially when combined with resistance training.
🏥 Safety and Misconceptions of Creatine Supplementation
The second paragraph addresses the safety and common misconceptions associated with creatine supplementation. Despite numerous studies on creatine, the only consistent reported side effect is weight gain, likely due to water retention, rather than an increase in fat mass. Long-term studies involving various age groups and dosages up to 0.8 grams per kilogram body weight have shown no serious adverse risks. Concerns about kidney damage have been debunked by the lack of supporting evidence. The myth of creatine causing hair loss originated from a study showing a temporary increase in dihydrotestosterone (DHT) levels in rugby players after a week of high-dose creatine supplementation. However, subsequent studies have not found significant increases in testosterone or DHT levels, suggesting that creatine is not linked to hair loss. Overall, creatine supplementation appears to be safe and beneficial for enhancing athletic performance and health.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Creatine
💡Phosphocreatine
💡ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate)
💡Creatine Kinase
💡Magnesium
💡Muscle Growth
💡Anaerobic Activities
💡Muscle Recovery
💡International Society for Sports Nutrition
💡Creatine Monohydrate
💡Loading Phase
💡Resistance Training
Highlights
Creatine is a supplement that has been long touted for stimulating muscle growth.
Creatine plays a crucial role in muscle energy production, being transformed into phosphocreatine which is essential for ATP production.
Supplementing with creatine can enhance energy production in muscles, particularly during high-intensity or endurance exercises.
Creatine supplementation can improve muscle power and performance, potentially leading to muscle growth.
The International Society for Sports Nutrition regards creatine monohydrate as the most effective performance-enhancing nutritional supplement.
Creatine has been shown to speed up muscle recovery post-workout, aiding in bouncing back after intense training sessions.
Research indicates that creatine monohydrate supplementation often involves a loading phase of 20 grams per day for 5 days to increase muscle stores.
Maintenance of elevated creatine levels requires 3 to 5 grams per day of continued supplementation.
Oral creatine supplementation has been used since the 1980s to enhance physical performance.
Creatine supplementation can help maintain higher intensity training, increase fat-free mass, and enhance endurance and strength.
Combining resistance training with creatine supplementation can improve strength, fat-free mass, muscular endurance, and bone mineral density.
Creatine has also been studied for its effects on brain function, with findings available on the topic page.
The only consistent reported side effect of creatine supplementation is weight gain, likely due to water retention.
Long-term studies show no serious adverse risks associated with creatine supplementation, even promoting health and performance benefits.
There is no data to support negative effects on kidney health due to creatine supplementation.
The misconception that creatine causes hair loss and baldness originates from a single study with limited evidence.
Subsequent studies have not found evidence to support an increase in testosterone or DHT levels related to creatine supplementation.
Transcripts
so the next question was submitted by
Peter and the Peter asked about creatine
um Peter says creatine as a supplement
is long touted as a stimulate is
stimulating muscle growth is there any
evidence for this um so we have a topic
page on Creatine it's very in depth it
goes into everything and Under the Sun
on Creatine so foundy fitness.com
toopics they're alphabetized clicked on
click on C and you will find Creatine
please go look at that up if you want to
learn
um what my team and I have put together
on Creatine so how does creatine work it
does it does play a really important
role in how our muscles produce energy
inside of our muscles creatine is
transformed into phosphocreatine through
the action of a of an enzyme called
creatine kisee which by the way requires
magnesium to function magnesium to
function so phosphocreatine is a key
player in the production of ATP this is
the primary primary source of energy and
most all of our cells particularly
during high-intensity short duration
exercise or long duration endurance
exercise as well um supplementing with
creatine can sort of supercharge this
whole energy production process it
boosts our muscle capacity to produce
ATP it enhances energy available
particularly under intense you know Anor
robic activities um this increase in
available energy can lead to improved
muscle power uh it can you know help
help performance as well um these
enhancements can lead to you know even
gains in muscle performance and growth
so you know creatine has there's enough
data out there to to sort of make those
statements um additionally creatine has
been shown to help speed up with Muscle
Recovery post-workout so potentially
making it easier to bounce back after
really intense training sessions um the
international Society for Sports
Nutrition regards creatine monohydrate
as the most effective erogenic so this
is a performance performance-enhancing
nutritional supplement on the market for
athletes and fitness enthusiasts looking
to increase their strength their power
muscle mass again go to our topic page
because it has all those studies um
backing up backing up those statements
with respect to
dosing um I the Research indicates that
creatine monohydrate
supplementation a lot of times a lot of
these studies were done with a loading
phase so they're about five grams orx
approximately 0.3 gram per kilogram of
body weight of creatine taken four s a
four or five times a day so that's a lot
of creatine um and that was able to
increase creatine stores in muscle
tissue by 20 to 40% with continued
supplementation 3 to 5 grams per day
required to kind of maintain those
elevated levels um you know a lot of the
there's a lot of studies dating back to
the 1980s where oral creatine
supplementation was routinely used to
enhance physical performance I there's
many studies now showing that you know
muscle creatine uptake improves exercise
performance while low creatine phosphate
levels are related to muscle fatigue
particularly during physical activity so
in particular there's evidence
suggesting that these people that are
participating in heavy resistance
training while supplementing with a
total of 20 to 30 grams of creatine per
day they can maintain higher intensity
training they can increase their
fat-free Mass they can increase their
endurance strength and um it promotes
Muscle Recovery after exercise training
as we age we do face the challenge of
declining muscle mass bone density
strength that's part of the natural
aging process or should I say natural
sedentary aging process um engaging in
resistance training is a way to
counteract these you know age related
training these age related sedentary
related
changes so this you know adding the
creatine supplementation into that mix
particularly for older adults may may
increase those benefits even more they
may amplify them so there's a meta
analysis again which pulls together data
from a lot of different studies and it
is found that combining resistance
training with creatine
supplementation um does improve strength
it improves upper and lower body
strength it increases fat-free mass and
it enhanced muscular endurance and Bone
mineral density there's also a variety
of studies looking at creatines effect
on brain function as well that are very
interesting I'm also very interested in
you can find those on our our topic page
um on our creatine topic page so make
sure you check that out adverse effects
misconceptions of creatine there's been
over a thousand studies that have been
conducted um using creatine and the
really only consistent reported side
effect from creatine supplementation has
been I I would say um weight gain but
not fat Mass so this probably is water
gain um but that's that's really the
main I would say in consistent main
adverse effect with creatine
supplementation there's a lot of
short-term and long-term studies in
healthy and also people with diseases
ranging from infants all the way to
elderly and the doses of creatine R
ranging from 0.3 to 0.8 grams per
kilogram body weight per day for up to 5
years and they've shown that creatine
supplementation really has no adverse
serious adverse risks and again may even
promote a variety of health and
performance
benefits there's been a lot of interest
in kidney damage or renal function and
there's really no there's just no data
support to support a negative effects on
Kidney Health with respect to creatine
supplementation does creatine cause hair
loss and baldness I think that's
another I would say misconception that
that that sort of makes makes its rounds
in the in the blogosphere in in people's
um Minds so that that link between
creatine supplementation hair loss
originates from this one study it was in
in college aged male rugby play rugby
players and in the study the
participants took 25 grams of creatine a
day for a week just one week and um then
they did that was their loading phase
and then they did five grams a day for
two more weeks and after the end of the
3-week trial there was a notable
increase in their serum DHT levels their
dihydrotestosterone levels so it was a
56% rise uh after their initial week and
then a 40% increase from Baseline even
after the maintenance period so this
outcome was significantly different from
the placebo group which consumed glucose
instead of creatine so the the the DHT
has been increases in DHT has been
associated with hair loss in some cases
so the concerns about creatine
contributing to baldness have come from
the study and DHT levels not not any you
know indication of actually those
participants losing hair or anything
like that there have been there have
been some subsequent studies exploring
creatine's impact on testosterone levels
to look at a little bit more of a
broader perspective so among 12
additional studies that have looked at
creatine doses ranging from three all
the way to 25 grams a day over periods
of 6 days to 12 weeks only two two of
those studies out of the 12 observed
minor increases in total testosterone
that were um that were deemed you know
actually they were deemed
physiologically uh maybe relevant the
majority of them 10 studies found no
change at all in testosterone levels and
then furthermore um in the studies that
measured free testosterone so this is
the precursor for the DHT production the
dihydro testosterone production there
were no increases at all that were
detected so I think that that initial
study has now sort of been called into
question because there have now been a
variety of studies that have come out
that have shown there's really no
evidence to
support um you know an increase in the
testosterone or the free testosterone or
anything that would be um leading to the
DHT now why they didn't measure DHT
directly who knows um but I I would say
right now it does it doesn't seem like
it's a big concern based on those newer
and um the quantity of those newer
studies and so one one study versus you
know these other 12
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