SUPPLEMENTS

Supplement Myth Busting 101
Today’s Supplement: Creatine
By Jason Henderson BS Health and Exercise Science- University of Oklahoma

So a few years back, in an undergraduate sports nutrition class that I had, we had an assignment.  Our professor gave each of us each a supplement.  Most were popular ones like creatine, beta-alanine, glucosamine, etc.  For our assignment we were to do some research.  We had to find the latest information on these supplements, and tell the class what we found.  Basically we were to find what about the supplement was true, what was false, and most importantly, does it work, or does it not work.  I thought wow this is so useful!  If only someone would have done this for me when I started training, I wouldn’t have wasted money on BS supplements that don’t work and are filled with only false claims and marketing.

 In this article I’d like to do just that.   Today, the supplement I chose is creatine; specifically, creatine monohydrate.   You may have heard of others like kre-alkalyn creatine or creatine ethyl ester which are derivatives or very similar chemically to creatine monohydrate.  

Let’s keep it simple and only talk about creatine monohydrate.  Creatine monohydrate is one of the most talked about, debated, and widely used supplements on the market today.  In the next few paragraphs, I’d like to briefly tell you what creatine monohydrate is, what is true about creatine, what is false, and then tell you if it actually works.

Creatine monohydrate has hundreds of published, academic studies done on it.  Studies range from increasing muscle mass, all the way to brain health, down to reducing the effects of diseases like Parkinson’s disease.   So what exactly is creatine monohydrate?   Well for the nerdy people reading this, creatine is a substrate used in muscle cells to help produce energy in the form of ATP during intense, anaerobic exercise (Medline Plus).  Animal muscle cells naturally make it.  That all definitely was a mouthful so let me break it down for you.  Anaerobic exercise is exercise done without oxygen.  Most reading this are most likely interested in the weight training aspect of creatine.  Lifting weights is a form of anaerobic exercise.  You are going at such an intensity that your body doesn’t have the time to take the oxygen that you are breathing to your muscle to produce energy so your cells have to make it in other ways.  This is where creatine comes into play.  Creatine gives your cells that extra push to go beyond what used to be your failure.

So what is true about creatine?  Well being that the body naturally makes creatine, all of the information above is true and factual information that you can look up in any biology textbook.  Creatine does supply the muscle with extra fuel when oxygen just isn’t enough.  In a study done in 2005 actually done by one of my former professors at OU, they found that “when maximal force or strength is what is being measured, it generally appears that creatine does significantly impact force production regardless of sport, sex or age”(Bemben and others).  So no matter what sport you do, if you’re a guy or girl, young or old, creatine works!   


Now what is false about creatine?  I’ve heard people making claims that it dehydrates you, causes cramping, and makes you less tolerant to heat.  Some also say that it can be bad for your kidneys, and some even go as far as to say that it is a steroid.  Now, I don’t think I need to prove that creatine isn’t a steroid.  Neither the Olympic committee nor the NCAA bans it, and these are two very strict organizations on athletes and supplementation.  The other claims are equally as false.

If you tell someone you are taking creatine, they might say that it causes cramping or dehydrates you.  This is another myth that has no research to support it.  In fact, research suggests just the opposite.  In another research review done by some other professors in the Health and Exercise Science department at OU, they found that research shows that creatine can enhance performance in hot and/or humid conditions.  They also found information saying that creatine can positively affect water levels when dehydration is a threat (Dalbo, VJ and others).

 Now what about kidneys?  If you have healthy, functioning kidneys creatine is safe (Medline Plus).   In another review done by some researchers in Italy, they looked at numerous studies on creatine.  Studies they looked at investigated things like heart function, digestive function, kidney, and liver function.  They found that in normal healthy individuals there were no side effects except increased body mass (Bizzarini and others).   I’m sure most of you just were like, increased mass? That’s a GOOD side effect.  It makes me bigger!

The bottom line is creatine monohydrate does work.  I use it daily and don’t experience bloating or water retention.  In fact, I know of bodybuilders who have used it right up to contest.   So the next time someone tells you that your liver will explode, you’ll puke your toenails, you’ll grow a third arm, or other BS myth, you can show them this information.  There are supplements out there that suck.  Creatine isn’t one of them.   And I’ll end with this.  My personal recommendation, after reading the research is to go with the form of creatine most widely studied and with the most results, which is monohydrate.  It also conveniently happens to be the cheapest form.  So, do yourself a favor, instead of paying 50 dollars for the newest creatine malate, chelate or whatever cocktail they try to sell you, just spend 20 or so dollars on creatine MONOHYDRATE, and now that you know the truth, let it set your ass free in the gym!

Sources

Bemben MG, Lamont HS. Creatine supplementation and exercise performance: recent findings. Sports Med. 2005;35(2):107-25.
Bizzarini E, De Angelis L. Is the use of oral creatine supplementation safe? J Sports Med Phys Fitness. 2004 Dec;44(4):411-6.  
Dalbo VJ, Roberts MD, Stout JR, Kerksick CM. Putting to rest the myth of creatine supplementation leading to muscle cramps and dehydration. Br J Sports Med. 2008 Jul;42(7):567-73. Epub 2008 Jan 9.

Medline Plus Supplements. Creatine.http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/873.html. (Accessed Tuesday, July 12, 2011)