Creatine Scientist Explains 9 “Dangers” of Using Creatine - What to Believe

Summary

Dr. Darren Candow, a leading creatine researcher, debunks common myths about creatine supplementation. He explains that creatine does not harm kidneys or cause baldness, and instead has beneficial muscle building, bone strengthening, and fat burning effects. Proper dosing strategies are provided for average gym-goers seeking performance benefits versus high-level athletes requiring rapid boosts before competitions. Candow concludes that creatine is one of the most researched performance supplements, with proven safety and efficacy when combined with exercise.

Takeaways

• 😀 Creatine does not impair kidney function or cause kidney damage according to research.
• 💪 Creatine can increase strength, endurance and power output.
• 😥 There is no evidence that creatine causes hair loss or baldness.
• 🚰 Creatine helps hydrate muscles which may prevent cramps and injury.
• 🧪 Creatine is one of the most researched sports supplements.
• 🧠 Creatine may have cognitive and bone health benefits.
• 💧 Creatine can cause water retention initially but levels normalize over time.
• ❌ Creatine is not an anabolic steroid.
• 🏋️‍♀️ Creatine benefits both men and women.
• 📉 Adding creatine to a training program may help reduce body fat percentage.

Q & A

What evidence is there that creatine does not harm kidney function?

Multiple studies show creatine does not impair kidney function even with long-term use and different dosages. Creatinine levels return to normal when creatine use is stopped, indicating no permanent kidney damage.

Where did the myth originate that creatine causes hair loss?

From a study on rugby players taking high-dose creatine for 7 days. It caused an increase in DHT levels, which has been linked to hair loss, but no actual hair loss occurred in the study.

How might creatine supplementation help with muscle cramps and dehydration?

By pulling water into muscle cells, creatine hydrates muscles. This could prevent dehydration and reduce likelihood of cramps during hot weather training.

Why does creatine sometimes cause water retention and how can it be prevented?

The "loading phase" with high doses causes temporary water retention. Taking 3-5 grams daily instead prevents retention while still being an effective dose.

What evidence suggests creatine may improve bone health, especially for postmenopausal women?

Some studies show creatine plus resistance training increases bone mineral density and strength in postmenopausal women. It may help bones remodel faster and become more fracture-resistant.

Is there evidence creatine causes fat gain?

No, studies show creatine alongside training may lower body fat percentages by increasing muscle mass and metabolism.

Can creatine benefit both men and women?

Yes, research now shows benefits for muscle, bone, and brain health in both sexes and across age ranges.

What causes some people to be "non-responders" to creatine supplementation?

People who already have high natural creatine levels from diet have limited room for further storage in muscles. Vegetarians tend to respond better.

What are effective daily creatine dosage strategies?

3-5 grams daily for general health and fitness. Up to 10 grams daily focusing on bone and brain benefits. 20 gram "loading phase" for rapid boost before athletic events.

What are the main studied benefits of creatine supplementation?

Increased muscle mass and performance, improved bone strength and fracture resistance, enhanced brain function, potential fat loss when combined with training.

Outlines

00:00

😮‍💨 Creatine Doesn't Damage Kidneys or Cause Baldness

The myth that creatine damages kidneys originated from temporarily elevated creatinine levels (a byproduct of creatine metabolism). But studies show no impact on kidney function. The mistaken belief that creatine causes baldness stemmed from one study showing a minor DHT increase within normal range. No evidence substantiates hair loss.

05:01

😅 No Evidence Creatine Causes Cramping or Dehydration

Creatine does not dehydrate muscles or increase cramping. Rather, it draws water into muscles, hydrating them. This could prevent dehydration and cramps during hot summer training. Smaller daily doses avoid water retention concerns.

10:03

🧐 Creatine Doesn't Increase Fat Gain or Cause Acne

Contrary to myths, studies suggest creatine paired with exercise may slightly reduce body fat percentage. Possible reasons are increased muscle and energy expenditure. Acne misconceptions likely stem from increased stimulating exercise, not showering post-workout, etc. Creatine is one of the most researched supplements.

15:03

😊 Creatine Benefits Bones in Aging Adults

Emerging research shows creatine plus resistance training can increase bone mineral density and strength in postmenopausal women and older men. This could reduce fractures from falls. Creatine seems to slow bone mineral loss and may improve bone remodeling.

Keywords

💡Creatine

Creatine is a popular sports supplement that may help increase muscle mass and performance. It occurs naturally in the body and is also found in foods like meat and fish. The video discusses common myths about creatine side effects and safety.

💡Kidney function

There is a myth that creatine can damage kidney function, because creatine is processed by the kidneys. However, studies show creatine does not impair kidney function even with long-term use. It can temporarily increase creatinine levels which is sometimes wrongly interpreted as poor kidney function.

💡Hair loss

Another myth is that creatine causes hair loss or baldness. This belief originated from one study showing creatine temporarily raised DHT levels, a hormone linked to balding. However, no actual hair loss occurred and no other evidence supports this claim.

💡Hydration

Contrary to myths, creatine may actually benefit hydration by drawing water into muscle cells. This could decrease cramps and dehydration during exercise in the heat.

💡Water retention

A common side effect of creatine is minor water retention under the skin which can increase body weight. This primarily occurs with higher 'loading' doses over 5-7 days. Lower daily doses of 3-5 grams are unlikely to cause retention.

💡Bone health

Emerging research suggests creatine combined with resistance training may improve bone mineral density and strength in older adults. This could help prevent fractures from falls.

💡Body fat

Studies show creatine does not increase fat gain and may have small beneficial effects on reducing body fat when combined with exercise.

💡Brain function

The video mentions in passing that creatine may also have neurological benefits for the brain. Many studies are exploring creatine's effects on brain health and cognitive function.

💡Vegetarians

Vegetarians respond better to creatine supplementation because they have lower natural creatine levels from not eating meat. They see bigger performance improvements by taking creatine.

💡Dosing

The standard creatine dosage is about 5 grams per day. Short 'loading' phases of higher doses (20 grams per day) can rapidly increase muscle stores. Lower daily doses (3 grams) will still accumulate over time with likely fewer side effects.

Highlights

Creatine does not impair kidney function or cause kidney damage according to multiple studies

Creatine can increase creatinine levels which is often mistaken as impaired kidney function

There is no evidence linking creatine use to hair loss or baldness

Creatine helps hydrate muscles which may prevent cramps and strains

Creatine does not cause dehydration; it may have benefits for athletes training in hot weather

Creatine is not an anabolic steroid but it does have anabolic properties

Creatine can benefit both males and females including for bone health and pregnancy

Creatine does not harm the liver

Around 30% of people may be "non-responders" to creatine for muscle building

Creatine improves bone mineral density and strength especially in postmenopausal women

Creatine may help with fat loss when combined with exercise

Common dosage is 3-5 grams per day, up to 10 grams for broader health benefits

20 gram "loading phase" rapidly boosts creatine over 5-7 days but causes water retention

Creatine and caffeine are the most researched sports supplements

Always pair creatine with exercise for benefits; it is not a magic pill

Transcripts

I remember once my grandma told me that

I was going to absolutely destroy my

kidneys because I was taking creatine

when I was I don't know 18 years old I

remember her telling me that you know I

was on steroids and that that was just

going to destroy my kidneys those are

the two things I remember from from my

grandma and I now that I've got Dr

Darren kandow here who's one of the

leading researchers in the world of

creatine we want to go through some of

the side effects of creatine and some of

the things that maybe are thought to be

side effects but aren't quite let's

start with this prot one or let's start

with this this kidney one you know CU I

think that's a big one I've seen it on

Instagram creatine's bad for your

kidneys like where did that come from

and what does the data actually suggest

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seed yeah this is kind of Taken on a

life its own so the theory is that since

the kidney is the the main organ that

starts the processing creatine synthesis

that by taking creatine it was going to

wreck your kidneys and I think a lot of

us when we go to the blood or get an

annual physical and you get blood work

there's going to be something on the

blood requisition form that says

creatinin and when creatine is put in

our muscle and it breaks down with

exercise it's released in another

compound called creatinin and that is

highly used by a lot of nephrologists

and general practitioners to be an

estimation of kidney function well what

they don't tell you is when you take

creatine supplementation creatinine

levels have to go up because you have

more creatine in the muscle and

unfortunately from a medical practice

standpoint if you have more creatinin in

the in the bloodstream that's an

indication that your kidneys are not

filtering it like they should so lo and

behold a lot of people would take

creatine go to their doctor have high

creatinin levels and the doctor would

say you got to stop taking creatine

supplement Pati because it's killing

your your kidneys and so the theory was

there but the problem is when you stop

taking creatine creatin levels go back

to normal so obviously your kidneys were

not impaired with functionality it was

just a pro byproduct of creatine

metabolism um and so that's where it all

stemmed and when you look at study after

study different dosages long periods of

time there's no effect compared to

Placebo on Creatine causing kidney liver

or any other type of renal abnormality

do your creatinine levels eventually

come back back down they do because

you're reducing the amount of creatine

that's coming into the body so a lot of

people get something called an estimated

GFR test uh at with their doctor um but

if you're going to do that please tell

them you're on Creatine supplementation

you're well aware that creatinine levels

will be elevated acutely and that could

cause an alarm or false alarm and um we

see this time and time and time again um

and it's just a product of creatine

metabolism got it okay well the other

big one that's one that people are well

aware of uh is uh you know creatine is

going to make me go bald I mean that's a

big thing I mean it's absolutely uh

perfectly valid to uh to think that

right

no what's what's going on there where

did that myth come from yeah yeah so I I

was going ball before I took creatine

we'll talk about that after so it comes

back to this one study there's and again

there's over a thousand studies on

Creatine but there's one signal single

Sunday um from Australia where they

looked at rugby players who took a high

dose of creatine for 7 days and they

measured a hormone called DHT which is

derivative for precursor from

testosterone production the interesting

thing with DHT is it's increased

naturally with resistance training um it

has been implicated in hair follicle

loss and thinning and lo and behold when

they measured the amount of DHT in these

young in this young population uh DHT

levels did go up with creatine compared

to Placebo however it was within the

normal physiological range and just

because a hormone goes up means nothing

so I'll give you an example you can have

a hormone go up regarding muscle protein

synthesis but just because testosterone

went up after post exercise that does

not correlate to an increase in muscle

mass unless it happens accumulating over

time and lo and behold DHT went up uh

but no measure of hair follicle loss or

or stimulation occurred and that's the

only bit of evidence that has been

linked to this myth and it's probably

the most popular myth worldwide it's a

question I get almost on a daily basis

and since creatin and there's no

evidence to suggest it and and I go back

to sort of subjective data that I've

probably worked with a thousand people

and not a single person has ever come to

me on long-term dosages and said my hair

is thinning and I think those people

that would be one of the first things

that they would they would say so right

now there's no current evidence uh to

suggest that creatin causes baldness

yeah you never know I mean in that

particular study what did their training

demand uh go up or down even that week A

lot of times you see like in training

demand uh decreases and things kind of

get chance to recalibrate testosterone

levels come back up when they're not

taxed were they in seon were they offse

was at the end of the season you know

and I know in a lot of athletic settings

they uh they do a lot of testing in the

uh in the offseason specifically so were

they you know what was their training

like so exact it's a very difficult

thing to be able to you know could have

been a million different reverse

causation going on there as well genetic

predeposition now there's a lot of

things with that so and it's ironic that

no other study has ever assessed it uh

and that's something we still need to do

ironically yeah so okay what's uh what's

another one that comes up all time

probably another big one is muscle

cramping or dehydration so this has huge

implication for athletes are exercising

in hotter environments so one of the big

myths was that where creatine will take

water from the bloodstream into the

muscle area people thought it dehydrate

or or increase muscle cramping uh well

you would flip that around if creatine

is causing muscle to come into the uh or

sorry creatine is causing water to come

into the muscle environment it's super

hydrating the muscle and that will

decrease the incidences of dehydration

in muscle cramping so that's probably

one of the bigger myths as well that

creatin could be a very viable strategy

in hotter uh uh months during the summer

for example when training outside and

that could uh sort of hydrate the muscle

and that could cause uh a decrease in

dehydration metabolic stress and even

muscle cramping and strains and that

might be sounds like that might be one

instance where creatine can have a

little bit more of an immediate effect

correct yes uh almost well within a few

hours it will cause water to be be be uh

taken into the muscle within about two

hours so that could have some

application um especially as we approach

the hotter summer months yeah so it's

something that you could almost pregame

your uh your you know outdoor activities

with that's correct yeah why we're on

this same topic uh it's probably good to

address the other sort of it's viable is

going to be the water retention right

and that's I know it keeps a lot of

ladies away from from touching the stuff

A lot of times guys don't care that's

like oh whatever I'll retain a little

bit of water if it means I get stronger

but you know my wife um you know her her

doctor who is awesome uh for even

suggesting this is okay you know yeah go

on some creatine it might help you with

your your cycles and recalibration like

that might help with your energy um and

she was concerned that she was like I

don't want to gain weight I don't want

to have water retention uh why is that

actually happening because it's in the

same vein as the hydration discussion

it's a very viable concern it's probably

one of the main reasons a lot of younger

females primarily will not take creatine

and that's primarily around the loading

phase so a lot of regimens will do 20

gram a day for 5 to 7 days and by taking

that high volume of creatine that will

cause what we see is an acute water

retention primarily intracellularly in

the in the muscle and that can cause an

increase on the scale and a lot of

people don't like that if you don't want

to have any chance of water retention or

water or or body weight gain I would

suggest a smaller dose more frequent

throughout the day um so again 3 to 5

grams a day is a very effective dosing

strategy from a muscle performance

perspective and that will reduce any

chance of water retention so I think the

loading phase is only for those

individuals that really need a rapid

acute burst so to speak if if a a world

championship is coming up or something

that's uh demanding but from the average

person a lot smaller dose throughout the

day will accumulate uh that'll probably

not result in any uh water retention

whatsoever and that's probably something

that may motivate individuals to stay

with creatine more often from a back to

the hydration aspect then so I mean if

that's kind of understanding how it's

working based on you know basically

drawing sodium in as well can having a

small small amount of carbohydrate with

it improve the hydration aspect of it it

can because every time you take in one

gram of carbohydrates you store about 2

to three gram of water in the muscle so

combining carbohydrate with creatine can

almost give you a super hydrating effect

okay and then of course there's a got

the glycerol aspect as well too which is

kind of interesting I know some people

in Long ultr Runners will do creatine

glycerol sodium and glucose and that's

kind of their little secret cocktail and

definitely when I do it I get GI upset

from that that's too much but I've seen

a lot of people in the ultra do that

that's kind of interesting okay what's

what's another myth that we hear all the

time oh God there's many um one is it's

not an anabolic steroid uh it has

anabolic properties but a lot of people

thought it was a steroid at first and no

they're totally different uh derivatives

with that as well it can also have

enormous benefits across both sex so

males and females a lot of people were

speculating it was only for males and

now we're seeing great benefits for

young females middle-aged females and

now postmenopause females into late

years having huge beneficial effects on

muscle uh performance as well as bone

health um and the other one is during

pregnancy there's some evidence from

Australia that creat can have some

beneficial effects for the mother and

for fetal development um but that's in

its emphy in an area that we definitely

need to to improve on uh it does not

have any detrimental effects on the

liver very similar to the kidney as well

um so there's a lot of potential miss

that we've put out some papers to try to

dispel those based on evidence-based

research yeah the other one that I've

hear heard all the time is uh is acne

which that probably just comes again

from the DHD discussion there and also I

would speculate with acne or some people

have mentioned sleep depr or sleep

issues um I think with creatine you

probably engage now in an exercise

training program which can cause a

stimulating effect and maybe you might

be slightly dehydrated or overhydrated

maybe change your diet so I think

there's a lot of factors that go into

that uh when people take creatine my

theory is that they're also engaging in

exercise and maybe at a higher intensity

which some stimulating effects to the

metabol or metabolic rate not to mention

you know oily skin and not taking a

shower right after a workout and keeping

it you know um then a potential I guess

not even necessarily a side effect but a

a risk if you want to call it the risk

of being a non-responder so the

non-responder is purely based on muscle

and there's good logic to this so

unfortunately in our muscle we only have

a maximal storing capacity for creatine

so the average person stores about 120

to 140 grams of creatine in in their

body vegans are a lot less and there was

a uh in 1992 one individual got to about

185 but those individuals were about 70

to 80 kilograms and nowadays we have a

lot of really fit individuals 100

kilograms 120 so the maximal storing

capacity of muscle seems to be finite

that means we have a maximal amount and

if you're eating a lot of red meat or

seafood uh if you're synthesizing a lot

you probably have a lot of of creatine

already in the muscle and you might have

a small area of improvement if you're on

a carnivore diet from a muscle

perspective you may not respond on the

other hand a responder is someone when

they consume Creatine supplementation

they get an improvement in muscle mass

strength endurance power so on and so

forth we see the best improvements in

vegans and vegetarians and the logic

there is they have half the amount in

the muscle they have double the capacity

to respond we don't know a responder or

non-responder from a bone or brain

benefit yet this is only from a muscle

performance perspective interesting now

speaking of the the bone side of things

like that's actually news to me I did

not realize that there was such a

benefit uh to bone health is to why is

that yeah this is probably the one of

the main areas of focus in our lab

recently and it's primarily focused on

postmenopausal females because they're

more susceptible to osteoporosis or

Frailty as we get older and just like

muscle when you combine creatine and

resistance training um you get an

increase in muscle mass but we started

to see an improvement in bone mineral

density and primarily bone strength uh

and so that has huge clinical

applications if you take an aging bone

and make it stronger or more resistant

to fracture when that individual would

fall on an icy Road or fall inside uh um

their house uh they may not suffer a

fracture and if it's around the hip

that's very uh debilitating from a

physical activity perspective so

creatine or the bone cells that are

osteoblast and Osteo class they actually

rely on Creatine just like our muscle

for energy they turn over quicker and

then the bone building process can occur

um so there's a handful of studies and

we've done some really good clinical

work that creatine seems to decrease the

rate of bone mineral density loss in

postmenopausal females but it also

increases bone strength in

postmenopausal females and older males

so now it's starting to have some bone

beneficial effects over time and we

think it reduces bone breakdown and it

might have some beneficial Effects by

improving the bone remodeling process

interesting yeah okay another another uh

big hurdle for people and I hear this

one a lot is creatine's going to

increase the potential for you to gain

fat yes a very big one that comes up a

lot and maybe it's stemming from the

water retention maybe it's just people

being misguided but uh how do we address

that one yeah so the the good thing is

we have a couple studies uh one has been

published and one that's in uh review

right now we've looked at adults from 18

uh above that have engaged in creating

supplementation resistance training and

when you look at all the data and do

perform meta analysis uh creatine had a

beneficial effect on by reducing percent

body fat in adults 18 and above and it

had a small reduction in absolute body

fat and some of the mechanisms where if

it increases muscle mass that might

correlate to a greater energy

expenditure but there's good animal data

to suggest that creatine can actually uh

improve mechanisms directly related to

Fat metabolism improve mitochondrial

health and oxidation might have some

implications in proteins involved in

beta oxidation so here's a compound with

exercise that's the key you can't take

creatine and hope it's magic um it might

have some muscle building perspective uh

benefits bone uh we've talked about

brain and now actually add in the body

fat perspective and you might get a

synergistic effect to improving body

composition and if that allows someone

to improve activities a daily living or

Stave off metabolic diseases I think

that's a huge potential uh that we need

to look forward to as we move forward I

mean it's safe to say I think caffeine

and creatine are the two most researched

sort of enic supplements that's correct

if I'm not mistaken you know and you

know the only one that's I don't even

know anyone that are that are even

remotely close to that so yeah it's so

at the end of the day I mean as far as

people that have watched this video but

maybe not the other videos uh just a a

general dosing strategy for people that

are now not concerned with creatine

after watching this video yeah so I

think you can go three ways I think the

average person that is just looking for

the beneficial effects and they're the

average person that goes to the gym

three or four days a week or play sports

you can take as little as three grams a

day move it up to 5 grams a day from a

muscle perspective take that every day

even on the days you don't work out and

you can live your life you know very

happily and very uh optimally uh but

that now if you're looking at it from a

bone and brain health perspective I

think overall 10 grams a day uh is a

very viable strategy from a whole body

perspective you do not need to take it

in one 10 gram dose you can takeen in

multiple smaller dosages uh and it'll be

very effective but for the athletes that

say uh I got a world championship coming

up very shortly or I've been asked to

try out for a certain Sport and I really

need to get a boost and help uh increase

training capacity the loading phase

which is 20 grams a day for about 5 to

7even days is very viable it's very fast

the only downfall is it will probably

cause an increase in body weight or some

potential GI track irritation so for

individuals that are body weight

conscious UFC boxing that may not be the

most viable strategy so I think you can

do uh those two the one we use a lot is

you go on a scale you see how much you

weigh and we do 0.1 gram per kilogram so

if you jump on the scale today and

you're 70 kilograms you're taking seven

grams a day take it in multiple dosages

or take it uh in one dose it's up to you

it's very easy to consume perfect well

Dr K where can everyone finds you man I

think the easiest is at Instagram at Dr

Darren CLE perfect as always keep it

locked in here in the channel and thanks

my man thanks