Many creatine experts don’t like how many talk about the supplement. Some are fed up with cotton candyflavored energy drinks claiming to be “super creatine” in colorful cans, protein bars stacked with supplements, social media posts mistaking creatine for steroids.
Others are fed up with the plethora of “before and after” videos of young men flaunting their bulging muscles after a few weeks of taking the supplement, or women showing off their abs that they attribute solely to this powder.
“I don’t know why people are making up this particular dietary supplement,” said Jose Antonio, associate professor of health and human performance at Nova Southeastern University in Florida, who has studied creatine.
The creatine world is riddled with misinformation, he said, despite ample and growing evidence that the supplement can improve rapid bursts of athletic performance and increase muscle mass.
Is the powder a miracle workout supplement, or is the wave overdone? Here’s what you need to know.
What is creatine?
Creatine is formed in the body from amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. It serves as a kind of fuel for skeletal muscles and when combined with exercise can promote muscle growth. It’s made in the liver and kidneys, but you’re also likely to get creatine from your diet — like red meat, fish, and chicken.
Throughout the day, your body naturally replenishes creatine in your muscles, but supplements can help “replenish” according to Eric Rawson, professor of health, nutrition and exercise sciences at Messiah University in Pennsylvania.
Creatine monohydrate the form of creatine commonly found in commercial powders has been extensively studied. “There’s probably more data on creatine monohydrate than any other dietary supplement,” Antonio said.
There are more than twenty different formulations of creatine, Rawson said, including creatine hydrochloride and creatylLleucine. But only creatine monohydrate has strong evidence in its favor, so he would recommend not consuming any other form of the compound.
What are the advantages?
Creatine has specific, targeted benefits for exercisers. The dietary supplement can help you with quick bursts of activity, e.g. B. lifting a weight or running a short distance. For example, if you’re in the middle of a stationary bike workout, you can increase your speed for a sprint, said David Creel, an exercise physiologist and psychologist and nutritionist at the Cleveland Clinic’s Bariatric and Metabolic Institute.
But the effect is usually small. Creatine makes more sense for certain competitive athletes who want a splitsecond advantage, said Samantha Heller, senior clinical nutritionist at Langone Health at New York University.
“A regular gym goer, a cyclist, someone who plays soccer on the weekends — they don’t need that,” she said.
Scientists have been studying creatine and exercise performance since the early 1990s. A recent review of 35 studies found that creatine supplementation combined with resistance training increased lean body mass—body weight minus fat—by more than a pound in adults regardless of age.
The difference is small but significant, although men reported greater gains than women. Vegetarians and vegans are likely to respond better to the supplement because they don’t get as much creatine in their diets, Rawson said.
Creatine can provide a small increase in muscle mass, but “whether it’s 2%, 3% or 4%, no supplement compares to proper exercise, sleep and dietary habits,” Rawson said.
Still, the increase could have a noticeable impact on older adults in particular, he said. “A very, very small improvement in strength can mean the difference between a fall and no fall.”
New research suggests that creatine may have cognitive benefits, potentially improving memory and relieving symptoms of concussion or traumatic brain injury, although this data is much more limited than studies of creatine and muscle fitness.
Are there any side effects?
“There really doesn’t seem to be much of a risk, which is unique for a supplement,” Creel said.
People who take the supplement, especially in large amounts, may experience gastrointestinal discomfort, Heller said. You may also swell or gain weight.
There are some claims on social media that creatine causes hair loss, but doctors say there isn’t any significant research to back it up. And you won’t get any kind of energy boost from creatine it’s not like the energy boost you get from drinking an espresso, Creel said.
The supplement is popular among teenagers, but there is no data on its longterm use, particularly in people who are still growing, said Pieter Cohen, an associate professor of medicine at the Cambridge Health Alliance who studies supplements. Very cautiously, he suggested that teenagers should refrain from using creatine.
What to consider
As with any supplement, you should consult your GP before beginning creatine use. And like other supplements you can choose from, creatine isn’t tested by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Cohen said. This means that there is no guarantee that a powder you buy will actually contain the amount of creatine it claims, or even any amount at all.
You should also stick to the recommended dose, which is usually 3 to 5 grams per day. There is no substantial data on how long people can safely take the dietary supplement beyond five years.
It’s also important to set specific goals before taking the supplement, Cohen said, and determine what the pill or powder can really help you with bearing in mind that it’s not a guaranteed ticket to gaining muscle.
“People think creatine is a steroid,” Antonio said. “It’s like saying water is fire.”
Translated by Luiz Roberto M. Gonçalves