Thinking about creatine supplements for your workout? Here’s what you need to know

Darren Candow has taken creatine virtually each day for over 20 years. 

He says the complement helps throughout intense exercises and helps him fight grogginess whereas travelling, particularly after lengthy worldwide flights. 

Candow is a kinesiology professor and director of the College of Regina’s Getting old Muscle and Bone Well being Laboratory, and is an adviser for 2 complement corporations that produce creatine. 

He is half of a big group of well being specialists who say that a long time of analysis helps taking between two to 5 grams of creatine per day to extend musculoskeletal power and efficiency.

Newer analysis suggests these dietary supplements might need cognitive advantages, too.

“Creatine might be one of the efficient dietary supplements to eat from a muscle efficiency perspective,” Candow instructed Dr. Brian Goldman, host of CBC’s The Dose.

Taking an excessive amount of, although, may result in gastrointestinal misery, together with nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. And it could be linked to physique dysmorphia in boys and males.

Here is what it’s worthwhile to find out about the advantages and dangers of creatine, and how one can use it safely.

What’s creatine? 

Found in the 1830s, creatine is a naturally occurring compound produced within the liver, pancreas, and kidneys that helps present power to the muscle tissue and mind. We will get further creatine by consuming protein-rich meals like crimson meat and seafood, says registered dietitian Katie Jessop, who works with the Toronto FC. We will additionally get the compound via dietary supplements. 

Roughly half of what we want comes from dietary sources, says Jessop.

Purple meat is the most effective supply, however fatty, cold-water fish together with mackerel, herring and sardines are good sources, as effectively. Poultry supplies some, however cheese has the least amongst animal proteins, says Candow. 

WATCH | Analysis on dangers of extreme dietary supplements wins 3-minute thesis competitors: 

Analysis on dangers of extreme dietary supplements wins three-minute thesis competitors

Ph.D. candidate Parisa Varshosaz gained Laurentian College’s three-minute thesis competitors describing her analysis on some dietary supplements and their hyperlink to sure start defects.

Research shows that vegans get little or no dietary creatine, drawing as a substitute on their physique’s pure provide.

Candow says roughly 15 to 30 per cent of persons are creatine non-responders, who will not see any of the standard advantages of creatine supplementation. That might be as a result of they have already got excessive creatine ranges, or decrease shops because of age. Girls additionally might have much less total creatine than males, which could “blunt their response” to supplementation. 

Taking an excessive amount of creatine — usually greater than 0.3 grams per kilogram of physique weight per day — can typically result in gastrointestinal misery, together with nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. 

How does creatine enhance musculoskeletal efficiency? 

“One of many issues that creatine does is it helps our muscle tissue run extra effectively by altering or lowering the acidic atmosphere in our muscle tissue,” Jessop stated.

Research suggests that taking the complement can present a lift throughout high-intensity duties like weight coaching. 

“On common, in the event you simply carry out weight coaching and also you do it for possibly 4 to 6 weeks, you in all probability get about an eight to 10 per cent enchancment in muscle mass,” stated Candow. 

Jessop says creatine dietary supplements work finest mixed with train and a nutritious diet. Nonetheless, she says they’ll additionally assist athlete recovering from accidents, by serving to keep muscle throughout a break from train.

Creatine dietary supplements may assist older adults keep away from situations like sarcopenia, which might lead to losses in muscle power, mass and efficiency, says Candow.

A 2022 review discovered that combining the dietary supplements with resistance coaching elevated lean physique mass by roughly 1.1 kilograms in adults, no matter age.

Research also suggests taking creatine would possibly sluggish bone mineral density loss and scale back the quantity of bone tissue that is damaged down and absorbed by the physique. Nonetheless, extra analysis must be carried out to confirm these outcomes.

Are there mind advantages?

Although its results require additional examine, some analysis suggests creatine may enhance cognition, particularly short-term reminiscence and reasoning. 

A 2024 study found that creatine dietary supplements “might confer useful results on cognitive perform in adults, significantly within the domains of reminiscence, consideration time, and data processing velocity,” although additional validation trials are wanted.

Candow says they appear to be significantly useful for people whose brains are underneath stress.

“For instance, sleep deprivation, hypoxia [a form of oxygen deficiency], getting people to do a very mentally fatiguing process, that is the place creatine appears to return to the rescue.”

How a lot creatine ought to I take per day? 

Creatine dietary supplements are available numerous kinds, however a 2021 study suggests a sort referred to as creatine monohydrate is finest. 

Candow, who co-authored that examine, says this is solely a water molecule linked to creatine. As soon as consumed, the water molecule dissolves and the creatine left most carefully resembles the sort that we produce naturally. 

Specialists advocate that individuals who wish to take creatine dietary supplements ought to eat two to 5 grams a day, roughly equal to the creatine in 1.1 kilograms of uncooked beef. 

Candow provides that some athletes might take roughly 20 grams of the complement a day for 5 to seven days, to saturate their muscle tissue with it. Nonetheless, this may result in grastrointestinal points.

WATCH | New pure well being product rules will drive up costs, distributors say: 

New pure well being product rules will drive up costs, distributors say

Federal opposition events say they’re being inundated with offended messages over the brand new Well being Canada pure well being product rules. Distributors say the value of every thing from pure toothpaste to dietary supplements to protein powder may go up, making them unaffordable to many.

He recommends beginning with two to a few grams a day and slowly growing the dosage. 

“From a scientific pathology perspective, we have checked out kidney and liver enzymes, blood cell depend, coronary heart [health] and we do not see any adversarial results even at increased dosages as much as about 11 grams of [creatine] monohydrate a day for 2 years,” stated Candow. 

He says folks ought to seek the advice of with a doctor if they’ve issues. Candow additionally famous that there are few research that assess its long-term results past 4 to 6 months. 

Hyperlinks between creatine use and muscle dysmorphia 

Whereas creatine dietary supplements are thought of secure by many well being specialists, a rising physique of proof hyperlinks muscle and physique dysmorphia in boys and males with the usage of performance-enhancing substances, together with the comparatively benign creatine. 

Kyle Ganson, an assistant social work professor on the College of Toronto, says his research shows that younger individuals who eat creatine dietary supplements confirmed increased ranges of muscle dysmorphia signs in comparison with those that do not take it. 

“I might by no means say that creatine is the trigger [of body dysmorphia],” he stated. “However what we do know is that there’s something about the usage of creatine that contributes to some extent to muscle dysmorphia signs.”

That features the idea that one’s muscle tissue aren’t large enough or robust sufficient, regardless of outward appearances on the contrary, in addition to an intense need for larger muscle tissue, resulting in misery. 

Folks contemplating creatine or another dietary complement ought to give attention to a nutritious diet and train first, stated Ganson. 

He provides that dietary supplements aren’t effectively regulated in Canada, with bodies like Health Canada counting on business to “show efficacy and security.”

Ganson says folks ought to nonetheless train warning.