Deep dive into creatine: benefits, risks, dose, mechanism of action | Peter Attia with Layne Norton
Creatine Supplement
In this section, the speakers discuss creatine as a supplement and its benefits.
Safety and Efficacy of Creatine
- Creatine is safe and has efficacy.
- There are cognitive benefits to taking creatine.
- It is relatively inexpensive for what you're getting.
Importance of Creatine
- Creatine is a high energy phosphate donor that exists in muscle as phosphocreatinine.
- It acts as a high energy phosphate donor to reform ATP and allow better performance.
- It pulls water into muscle tissue, which may actually be anabolic.
Benefits of Taking Creatine
- Increases lean body mass and strength.
- Improves strength and contractability even with non-contractile water.
Recommended Dosage
- No clear evidence for taking more than 5 grams per day.
- Some people may experience GI irritation when taking extra creatine.
Creatinine and Cystatin C for Renal Function
In this section, the speaker discusses the use of creatinine and cystatin C as markers for renal function.
Creatinine as a Marker for Renal Function
- Trials have shown that an increase in creatinine can be a marker of renal function.
- However, creatinine is not always reliable since it can vary based on muscle mass and training volume.
- The speaker recommends using cystatin C instead of creatinine to estimate kidney function.
Understanding Markers
- Elevated liver enzymes or elevated creatinine do not necessarily mean that there is damage to those tissues.
- Correlation versus causation should be considered when interpreting lab results.
Creatine Supplementation
- There is no compelling evidence that creatine causes hair loss.
- Creatine supplementation has benefits even on non-lifting days.
Benefits of Creatine Supplementation
- A recent meta-analysis showed that taking five grams of creatine per day increases lean mass, strength, and performance.
- Taking more than five grams per day also provides benefits but it's hard to compare them directly based on the way they did the meta-analysis.
Creatine Loading and Cycling
In this section, the speaker discusses creatine loading and cycling.
Creatine Loading
- Research shows that loading creatine saturates the muscle cell faster.
- However, loading creatine can cause GI irritation such as bloating and nausea.
- Taking 5 grams of creatine daily will also saturate the muscle cell within a few weeks and provide the same benefits as loading.
- It is recommended to take 5 grams of creatine daily to make it a part of your routine.
Timing of Creatine Intake
- There is no conclusive evidence on when to take creatine.
- Take it whenever you'll take it regularly.
Creatine Cycling
- Coming off creatine reduces endogenous production of creatinine and down-regulates the creatinine receptor on the muscle cell.
- However, intracellular levels of creatinine do not fall even after coming off it for a month or so.
- As long as intramuscular levels are not falling, there's no benefit to coming off.
- There's probably no reason to cycle it since it's not hormonal like steroids.
Conclusion
In this section, the speaker concludes by summarizing key points about taking creatine.
Key Points
- Taking 5 grams of creatine daily provides similar benefits as loading without causing GI irritation.
- Timing doesn't matter much; just take it regularly.
- There's no need to cycle since there's no benefit in coming off if intramuscular levels are not falling.