8 ms·
Should you take creatine?
- doppelgunner 1y agoYes, if you are healthy and active, creatine is safe and proven to be effective.
- ant_li0n 1y agoit wrecks my guts. so, no.
- mhb 1y agoHow much did you try taking?
- mnky9800n 1y agoI take 5mg a day with no side effects. I think this and dietary fiber are probably the only supplements worth taking. I have yet to find another supplement that has any noticeable effect but I’m happy to try if people have recommendations. IMO The best supplements to any lifestyle are * 2-3 days a week strength training * 1-2 days a week of cardio * Good sleep schedule * creatine * dietary fiber * positive attitude even if you have to fake it some days (this is the hardest supplement imo) At least that’s my belief.
- mhb 1y agoI agree and I do all that as well. I started with the creatine a few years ago and have never had any issues which is why I was wondering if, for the people who experience them, the amount causes the stomach issues or the brand or just the creatine of any kind.
- mnky9800n 1y agoYes I definitely have heard from others that they don’t agree with the cheap creatine but like the expensive stuff isn’t that expensive. Like I think I pay like 30€ for a couple months worth. I think people really undervalue what a good strength training and cardio routine does for you. It really helps control anxiety, keep me sleeping well, and helps me focus at work, as well as have a hang out spot with other people who come regularly. And it’s like 4-5 hours a week tops. Highly recommended.
- cenamus 1y agoThat's a good point. I also used to have problems with >10g/day, but when slowly ramping it up (and not taking it all in one dose of course), I can get to 20g/day pretty easily.
- ses1984 1y agoI think there’s not much benefit over 5g/day.
- drdirk 1y agoWhen I first took creatine from an Amazon dealer I had gut problems. I later bought a "micronized" creatine (similar to https://bulevip.com/es/3418-optimum-nutrition-creatina-powder-300-gr-5060245605397.html?utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=pmax-top&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21460194675&gbraid=0AAAAA97b22I12_SZTsXA6AfcodFuqB3Va&gclid=Cj0KCQjw2IDFBhDCARIsABDKOJ6Uhxk3lxgVFig2JPoM6UQyD82ZlW8m4Re7W1F6Vezsp9WsyO3Gi4AaAtcqEALw_wcB https://bulevip.com/es/3418-optimum-nutrition-creatina-powde...) and did not experience any gut problems. Taking the same product now for 3 years. Inbetween I used some other variant from time to time and have the theory that some vendors sell a not clean product that interferes with your gut.
- byproxy 1y agoIt does that to me, on occasion. It's usually due to taking too high a dose at once and/or taking it in combination with caffeine. Now, it's not a guarantee that those conditions mean I'll get some gastrointestinal discomfort, but they certainly increase the likelihood.
- andsoitis 1y agoAnd if you're older, creatine supplementation along with regular resistance training and well-balance diet may offset muscle mass loss that happens as we age (age-related sarcopenia). There are also cognitive benefits: - memory enhancement - processing speed and attention The brain is extremely energy demanding and creatine: - increases cellular energy reserves (ATP) - improves neurotransmitter function (e.g. increasing synthesis of neurotransmitters like acetylcholine) - reduces oxidative stress damage to brain cells - enhances synaptic efficiency and plasticity crucial for learning
- francisofascii 1y agoThere is some disagreement how effective it is among the running community, because creatine tends to add a few pounds of water weight.
- astura 1y agohttps://archive.is/xC9wy https://archive.is/xC9wy
- PcChip 1y agoIt gave me crazy nightmares
- I_am_tiberius 1y agoSure it wasn't Magnesium?
- PcChip 1y ago100% positive
- mhb 1y agoWhat happens when a Pro Climber takes Creatine for the First Time? https://youtu.be/0VMQk8Box-U?si=0mD26i5P8xVVsE6x https://youtu.be/0VMQk8Box-U?si=0mD26i5P8xVVsE6x
- ren_engineer 1y agobodybuilders once again 10-20 years ahead of mainstream science
- dmos62 1y agoOnce again?
- exe34 1y agothat's not a bad idea - if you want to trial a potentially dangerous substance on people, put out some rumours that it will help you lose weight, gain muscles, makes your pp longer, etc, and there will never be a shortage of young men willing to give it a go. ten years later, you have your study.
- mikert89 1y agoI'm a strong believer in the "no free lunch principle" Through a lifetime of experiences with different substances, the body always adjusts to whatever you're taking. Taking a stimulant? the brain will down regulate dopamine receptors. Putting lotion on your face? The skin will produce less oils. There is always a downside Rather than excess in one area, we should strive for perfect balance.
- byproxy 1y agoEating food? You'll eventually die.
- karel-3d 1y agoI don't know, that's a strange concept; what about cleaning your teeth? Should I stop using fluoride toothpaste to strengthen my teeth naturally? edit: on a second thought... it IS making the frogs gay... so.. maybe
- snapplebobapple 1y agoGet the sensodyne with novamin, it works drastically better than fluoride alone
- yapyap 1y ago> Putting lotion on your face? The skin will produce less oils dont you want the skin to produce less oils? so you dont get such an oily nose and such for example
- jappgar 1y agoDry cracked skin is a lot worse for your health. The body is producing oils for a reason
- herval 1y agoDrinking water? The body will get more and more thirsty! Taking vitamin supplements because the modern diet doesn’t provide all the nutrients your body needs? The body will start demanding more vitamins!!
- anotherpaul 1y agoI can recommend the science vs Podcast. They did an episode on it. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/creatine-a-hack-to-get-jacked/id1051557000?i=1000711468882&l=vi https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/creatine-a-hack-to-get... As per usual: supplements are not that marvelous as the influencers say.
- byproxy 1y agoI recommend this "Stronger by Science" episode on it: https://www.strongerbyscience.com/podcast-episode-117/ https://www.strongerbyscience.com/podcast-episode-117/
- Retr0id 1y agoI took creatine in combination with weight training and got stronger. But I was never sure what proportion to attribute to the creatine vs the training itself. I stopped taking it for a few weeks and got ~10% weaker again. And then, after resuming creatine, I was back to where I was. From that point I was fairly convinced that yes, creatine actually does something. I can't say I noticed any cognitive changes though.
- byproxy 1y agoA 10% in strength drop after stopping creatine intake seems like quite a bit. Creatine certainly helps out in resistance training (if you're a responder), but generally by way of maaaybe being able to add another rep to a set at a given weight or maaaybe being able to add 2-3% more weight to a given set. This has cumulative effects, of course, but I wouldn't expect such a steep decline. Unless you are a super-responder, that is!
- Retr0id 1y agoI'd like to emphasise that my ~10% figure is very vibes-based and I don't have hard numbers to back it up (I don't track my progression in great detail - and even if I did, I am sample size 1). My max rep counts for bodyweight exercises definitely went down, and I reduced the weight I was lifting to hit the same rep counts as before.
- astura 1y agoTFA says >One review paper from 2017 concluded that creatine can give athletes a 10-20% performance boost in brief bouts of high-intensity exercise, such as sprinting past a defender or lifting heavy weights.
- byproxy 1y agoTFA is non a scientific journal, but summarizing/editorializing results from scientific journals. They don't cite their sources for that particular claim, but it appears to be from this^1 journal, which itself is an overview of other research. The "10-20%" number comes from this^2 2003 review of existing research on creatine that states 70% of the existing research at that time showed statistically significant results and give some example numbers of performance gains with regards to resistance training in the 5-15% range. However, I believe that's just an example from one study out of the many reviewed and I don't have access to more than the abstract. Not that I'd have the scientific/statistical knowledge to properly interpret the meta-analysis, anyway, but ..point being that "10-20%" number from the article can be misleading (surprise, surprise). 1: https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12970-017-0173-z https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12970-017-... 2: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1022465203458 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1022465203458
- austinallegro 1y agohttps://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44554678 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44554678
- Husieandr 1y ago[flagged]
- gruez 1y ago>No mention of potential hair loss. That alone makes it not with the risk. source?
- ifwinterco 1y agoIt's controversial/almost a meme at this point. There is one study of rugby players done 20 years ago that claims creatine supplementation raises DHT levels, but it's never been replicated. I think the reason is everyone knows it probably won't replicate and rightly or wrongly nobody in academia cares about failed replication studies
- andrewstuart 1y agoBeautifully worded.
- byproxy 1y agoThat has been largely disproven: https://www.strongerbyscience.com/creatine-hair-loss/ https://www.strongerbyscience.com/creatine-hair-loss/
- _aavaa_ 1y agoFor anyone considering taking creatine, this kind of mentality is much more of a problem then whether you have to look like Bezos.
- egypturnash 1y agoHe's getting creaky and wrinkly now but I'm pretty sure you could still find a lot of people who would be delighted to bone Patrick Stewart.
- owebmaster 1y agoIf much, creatine helps with hair growth. It definitely does not make a person bald. You probably would have it taking creatine or not.
- olalonde 1y agoI got a little worried after reading some reports on Reddit about creatine and hair loss.
- eth0up 1y agoNote that in the US, there is one company that produces and sources its creatine from the US. This company is CON-CRĒT. The rest is almost exclusively sourced from and produced in China. One exception, though they'll not reveal their source company, is VitaminShoppe, which has one single version sourced from US. That is Kre-Alkalyn. NOW, LifeExtension, etc, all of them, along with the majority of their other products are sourced from China, with NOW, in my opinion, the only one conducting rigorous testing to ensure product integrity. The supplement industry in general has become a product of China. This is up to the individual to glean meaning from, but it remains reality. For those interested, my inquiries with Life Extension were met with flagrant hostility. Those with NOW resulted in a long, amiable conversion with someone in direct, frequent contact with research scientists. Hostility is more common than friendliness with the dozens of inquiries I've made, but mostly when pressed past the initial superficial aloofness of the template reply. Edit: with our corporatism paradigm, product origins are increasingly difficult to determine, with many companies now excluding origins from product labels, but most using weasel words, eg "Proudly packed in the US from globally sourced ingredients", which has one meaning which has nothing to do with the US. As one of myriad examples, go into a Treacherous Joe's and try to find origins for their teas. Pay attention and you'll see this behavior is expanding into many products, and actual food products.
- bschwarz 1y agoFor an alternative consider the German-made Creapure, on which a large chunk of creatine monohydrate research has been performed.
- eth0up 1y agoI did, but found indication they were sourcing from China, which is the general rule in Germany now for most things. I haven't formally pursued it though. Regardless, it does seem of good quality. My first choice, being in the US, is still either of the two previously mentioned. Creapure seems a good option if needed.
- mhb 1y ago
- anenefan 1y agoTo myself it's darn odd to read these sort of stories ... since it was just over 30 years ago when I used it with the idea it would hopefully strengthen some of my weakened neck muscles via the serious whiplash due to a cycling accident. I only did so after reading the various studies on it and after an article in New Scientist was examining how safe and beneficial it might be to older people in nursing homes. I used a lower dose rate than body builders at the time. The take away after taking it for a number of months - use quality creatine - unflavoured 100% or of high analysis with minor impurities. (Yes some is cheap and nasty, regardless of what the shop is charging - these days I would recommend purchasing from a pharmacy or equivalent.) Ensure the dose is completely dissolved in the water / fluid before being swallowed and not just a cordial suspension. After a while I noted benefits apart from helping sore and tired skeletal muscles - gut seemed to work better - a much calmer state of mind / more mellow, way less chewing over whichever idiot said and did - the serious near continuous cold that had plagued me for more than a couple of years, was finally beaten, even after I stopped using it.
- on_the_train 1y agoI know the science. But I know three people who take/to it. All three of them had hair trouble after. Again: I know the papers. I still won't touch it.
- snapplebobapple 1y agoHair trouble? Like they lost their hair?
- on_the_train 1y agoHair loss is widely attributed to creatine. With several studies out there saying that there's no connection.
- snapplebobapple 1y agoI havent noticed that yet and ita been a half a year. Kind of sad, would save me the trouble of shaving it off every couple months
- maxglute 1y agoCreatine for responders slightly improves your leverages by increasing water in muscles, which translates to a few % more weight or few more reps. Guestimate, 5% for weight, 10% for reps on higher rep sets. Which is to say it gives a little more headroom for intermediate/advanced lifters who needs to start dialing in program /volumes/recovery/diet in to progress. A few % of intensity or reps per set across training block makes all the difference. Which makes creatine pretty good no shit supplement if you taking lifting remotely seriously as a hobby when it cost $30-60 per year when bought bulk. Ultimately it's deciding if you're willing to shell out $5 a month to look a bit more swole, have slightly more headroom programming/dietting, or if programming and diet on point, lift slightly more than you otherwise would with the extra water balloon leverages. It's like the cheapest pay to win, pay for slight boost in gym ego/self esteem supplement along with a caffeine, which for many is enough.
- xnx 1y agoSafe cheap and effective. If you lift, you should take it. A lot of people mentally group creatine with a anabolic steroids. Not even close. Creatine effects are small, but measurable. Anabolic steroids effects are huge and impossible to miss.
- anabelluis423 1y ago[dead]