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It may seem like Creatine is everywhere, with podcasters, wellness influencers, and even your neighbor promoting the product. actual, creatine market teeth projected In the United States, increasing Canada.
The supplement is favored by some weightlifters and sprinters, and is now touted for promoting healthy aging, including memory and cognitive problems during perimenopause and menopause. But doctors say the evidence is not foolproof.
If you’re already taking creatine or considering taking it, here are some factors to consider about who benefits, what’s unclear, and the safety of the product.
What is creatine? How does it work in the body?
Creatine is a nitrogen-containing compound that you can get from your diet by eating meat and fish. Does not contain creatine plantscientists say vegetarian and vegan may benefit We get it from supplements, but most of it is synthesized without being extracted from animals.
Animals, including humans, primarily store creatine. with muscles. Creatine is also synthesized in the liver and kidneys when you get enough amino acid building blocks through your diet, such as eating oily fish like herring.
Creatine’s role is to help create a short-term supply during muscle activity. of energy It is necessary to keep the heart beating and cells to grow and repair.
Who traditionally takes creatine supplements?
Have been used by athletes creatine supplement Enhances resistance training such as bodybuilding. researcher It has also been suggested that it may improve performance in sports that require intense exercise.
Although research is being conducted on creatine, replenishmentDoctors say factors such as the size, length and quality of studies on supplements are important.Therefore, reliability is important. Of note are studies on athletes. May not apply For the average person who doesn’t exercise much, is sedentary, or is already inactive enough creatine From their diet.
like protein supplementsCreatine is recommended by some wellness influencers and podcasters for both bulking and anti-aging, along with strength training.
Dr. Mark Tarnopolsky, a professor of pediatrics and medicine at McMaster Children’s Hospital in Hamilton, studied the effects of creatine on resistance training. For men and woman Over 65 years old.
Tarnopolsky, who runs his own company that sells creatine supplements, said that when taking creatine supplements in conjunction with exercise, “significant improvements in muscle creatine levels, muscle strength, and muscle function are evident.”
A new report from US-based Consumer Reports has found that many of the market leaders in protein powders contain high levels of lead. Lead levels are most likely to cause health problems in people who ingest the powder daily.
A “heaped teaspoon” of 4 to 5 grams is “probably the best bet,” he says. In contrast, some influencers recommend 20 grams a day, which seems like overkill, he said.
Searching for reliable answers to aging
The latest messages seem to focus on how creatine can help the aging body and mind, including during menopause and perimenopause. This is an estimate based on a study that found giving creatine supplements to vegans. raisedheir’s muscle levelimproved Their memory and concentration, Tarnopolsky said.
Other doctors say the evidence that creatine helps cognition, so-called brain fog, is weak. For example, some social mediasts recently discussed 36 trials. Perimenopausal and postmenopausal women More than 2 months. The researchers concluded that the supplement “may represent a promising, safe, effective, and practical dietary strategy to improve clinical outcomes and increase brain creatine concentrations.”
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For Dr. Jerilyn Pryor, professor emeritus of endocrinology and metabolism at the University of British Columbia, the trial had too few participants and too many objectives to draw firm conclusions.
previously pointed out Another observational study Results from a sample of U.S. women show that many womenThere is an omenEstimated dietary creatine needs are not met to maintain good health.
“I think so. [creatine] That’s probably something we should focus on and do better research on,” Pryor said.
Dr. Krista Mullally, a Fredericton obstetrician-gynecologist who raises awareness of menopausal symptoms, has another warning.
Medical researchers often look for the statistical significance of a treatment, or evidence that the effect was beyond what the roll of the dice would predict. However, clinical significance also exists. It is evidence that the treatment effect is large enough to produce a real and meaningful change in a person’s health, function, or quality of life.
Because they aren’t always the same, the findings may not apply to the real world, Murray said.
What is needed, doctors say, are randomized controlled studies that enroll large numbers of people and test the effects of supplements on brain function compared to a placebo.
About safety
One case study raised concerns that creatine may be linked to: kidney It can be damaging for people with kidney problems, and this supplement is not recommended for people with the following conditions: chronic disease. However, it does not seem to affect renal function. healthy person.
Professor Tarnopolsky said he had studied people with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, or primary mitochondrial disease, who had been prescribed creatine and mitochondrial supplements for 25 years but had no symptoms. Any This suggests that there is little risk when taken in moderate amounts.
For most people, taking large amounts of supplements containing creatine can cause gastrointestinal problems such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. That’s why he recommends taking it with meals.
“The only way people can take creatine is as a powder, not in gummy form, which is mostly sugar,” Tarnopolsky said. “It’s not that expensive. That’s why people come up with medical scams like this to try to make money.”
In one review, researchers concluded that not enough is known about its safety. youth athletes.
Mulally said women going through menopause often want to stay as healthy and comfortable as possible for as long as possible. However, there is no silver bullet.
Instead, Mulally suggested:
- Include regular physical activity such as weight training and strength training.
- Eat a balanced diet that minimizes processed foods, simple carbohydrates such as sugar and fruit juices, and alcohol.
- Manage risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol levels, and be socially active.
- Get regular screenings for cancers that affect perimenopausal women, such as colon, breast, and cervical cancer.
- Get enough sleep, including using cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia.
“Sometimes we get so caught up in trends that we forget the good, compelling evidence about fundamental behaviors that make for basic but uninteresting media,” Murray said.