Full Transcript Creatine Safety and Side Effects 0:00 The results demonstrate that creatine supplementation does not increase the prevalence or frequency of side effects when compared to participants taking 0:09 a placebo. 0:10 Adverse event reports were extremely, extremely rare. 0:14 Most of the adverse events were associated with taking the creatinine with other nutrients or drugs. 0:19 In terms of just creatines supplementations itself. 0:22 it comes out very, very safe. 0:24 Welcome to Health Breakthroughs with Dr. 0:26 Stengler. 0:26 I'm Dr Mark Stegler and each episode we cut through the noise to bring you practical, science-backed insights for more energy, 0:34 better health and a life that feels like yours again. 0:39 Creatine, one of the hottest supplements on the market. 0:42 In this video, I'm going to answer the 13 most common questions asked about creatine. 0:47 But first, let me start with a little bit of a background on creatines, what it is and how it works. 0:51 Well, creatinine is a nitrogen-containing compound. 0:54 It's made within the body from the amino acids arginine glycine and methionine It is mainly made in the liver and kidneys, 1:00 but your pancreas can make it and your brain can as well. 1:04 Now, your body cannot make methionine in adequate amounts, so you must get it in the diet. 1:09 Creatine is mainly found in meats, poultry, and fish, So you don't get in plant foods. 1:14 This is why vegans and vegetarians have lower creatine levels. 1:18 And they also may have low levels of B12, which is necessary for methione synthesis. 1:25 Research suggests that vegetarians and vegans due to their lower baseline of creatine may experience a more pronounced improvement in muscle creatinine
What Creatine Is and How It Works 1:34 stores from supplementation compared to people who eat animal products. 1:40 Synthesized, again, mainly in the liver and the kidneys, it is taken up by the cells converted into phosphocreatine, also known as creatine phosphate, 1:50 which then is rapidly broken down by enzyme creatinine kinase to make ATP. 1:55 ATP is that energy molecule. 1:57 It's your energy currency that your cells use. 2:00 And this is how creatines works. 2:02 It's really supplying that energy production. 2:04 So when ATP is used, it becomes something called ADP. 2:08 It loses a phosphate group. 2:09 Or when a muscle contracts or a neuron fires, ATP loses the phosphate and again becomes ADPs. 2:16 But creatine is stored as fossil creatinine. 2:19 it stores that phosphate crew. 2:22 In muscle and brain cells, creatines binds a high energy phosphate forming again that fossil. 2:28 So fossil creatine rapidly regenerates ATP so you can make energy. 2:34 And this is where the benefit of creatine comes in because ATP can be restored almost instantly. 2:41 And, this reaction happens much faster than making ATP from say glucose or oxygen. 2:47 So, the result is more immediate energy availability to your muscles, to brain cells, for example, and then your cells can sustain short high energy demands 2:58 longer before fatigue sets in. 3:00 You've done everything you were told to do and something still feels off. 3:04 At Health Breakthroughs with Dr. 3:05 Stengler, we go beyond symptom management to explore integrative, science-backed approaches to the issues that medicine too often overlooks. 3:13 Chronic fatigue, brain fog, gut dysfunction, inflammation, hormone imbalance, and healthy aging. 3:18 If you're ready for real answers and practical tools to support your health naturally, follow Health breakthroughs of Dr Stegler on Doctor Talks or wherever 3:27 you listen to podcasts. 3:29 Now, in terms of the metabolism, creatine and fossil creatinine are converted to creatinin. 3:34 That is a different compound. 3:36 We doctors test, for example, on the blood test for kidney function. 3:40 Creatinin can go up, sometimes mildly, although it's not a big concern, which I'll talk about later. 3:45 For people who plant and animal foods, typically people get about one to two grams of creatines daily in their diet. 3:52 Lacto oval vegetarians, those who do consume dairy and egg products, consume only about 0.003 grams per day. 4:00 And vegans consume next to nothing for creatine in their diet. 4:05 95% of the creatinine is stored in the skeletal muscle. 4:08 But again, you do get a small amount in your brain as well, which is very, very important for brain function.
Creatine Intake, Aging, and Research Overview 4:13 Now creatine levels in body tend to decline with age, likely due to factors including less dietary intake, decreased functioning of organs responsible 4:21 for creatinine production, like the liver and kidneys we talked about, increased levels of physical inactivity and decreased muscle mass for supporting 4:30 ample creatines storage. 4:31 Creatine monohydrate is the most effective and bioavailable form to increase your blood levels. 4:39 also your tissue creatine including in the brain and the muscles and to improve performance. 4:44 There's actually been over 1,000 peer-reviewed papers published on creatines supplementation. 4:50 Now most research has been with exercise, primarily resistance type training for improving measures of muscle and lean muscle mass, 4:59 muscle performance including strength, endurance and power and recovery from sport or exercise and young healthy male adults. 5:07 However, we're going to talk about other research as well. 5:10 Low dietary availability of creatine has been associated with greater health risks. 5:15 The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, known as the NHANES, which is a very popular ongoing nutritional research, 5:23 also revealed that children and adolescents with low dietary creatinine intake, less than 1.5 grams per day, were shorter and weighed less, 5:32 had less lean body mass and bone mineral content, and had higher fat mass and body fat percentage than those consuming higher amounts of creatine in their diets. 5:42 Now let's get to the first of the 13 common questions and misconceptions. 5:48 Question number one has to do with the safety of Creatine. 5:52 And my answer is based on a very recent article published in 2025 in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. 6:00 And the title of article is Safety of Creatine Supplementation, Analysis of The Prevalence of Reported Side Effects in Clinical Trials and Adverse Event Reports. 6:11 In this study, they evaluated 685 human clinical trials on creatine supplementation and evaluated worldwide adverse event report databases. 6:22 In the studies on average, the dose of creatine that was used was 12.5 grams per day. 6:27 So a higher dose, a lot of people take three to five grams. 6:31 And in the results, here's what the authors say, they say the Results demonstrate that creatine supplementation does not increase the prevalence or frequency
Question 1: Is Creatine Safe? 6:39 of side effects when compared to participants taking a placebo. 6:44 Therefore, claims that Creatine Supplementation increased risk of Side Effects are unfounded. 6:50 In another part of the article, they note that this comprehensive analysis revealed that creatine supplementation, again, 6:57 does not increase the frequency of 35 side effects evaluated that were evaluated in general with these studies compared to those taken placebos. 7:06 And in those studies, the assessed general health markers, kidney function, and other reported side-effects. 7:13 that were attributed to creatine supplementation. 7:16 So adverse event reports were extremely, extremely rare. 7:20 Most of the adverse events were associated with taking the creatinine with other nutrients or drugs. 7:26 And so in terms of just creatines supplementations itself, it comes out very, very safe. 7:32 They also talk about long-term creatined safety study on American football players. 7:37 where we showed that up to 21 months of creatine supplementation, using on average 5 to 10 grams a day, in Division 1, American football players did not 7:48 significantly affect markers of health or kidney function. 7:51 And the incidence of side effects and injury in creatinine users were about the same or lower than the percentage of athletes not taking creatines. 8:00 Well, let's move on to the other questions I want to address, the common ones that come up. 8:04 And again, these questions and the answers are based on published research as well. 8:10 So let us talk about the second question. 8:13 The question is, does creatine lead to water retention? 8:17 Well, there is some evidence that creatines supplementation increases water tension, but that if it occurs, it's just very short term. 8:24 So other than for a few days or a week or so, over long periods of time, creatinine supplementations has not been shown to cause water attention.
Questions 2 to 4: Water Retention, Steroids, and Kidney Health 8:34 That's a good thing to know. 8:36 Question number three, and this is a simple one, is creatins an anabolic steroid? 8:40 No, definitely it is not. 8:42 It's not at all, it's just a combination of three amino acids, and that's why it is approved by athletes at college level, 8:49 Olympic, professional levels. 8:51 It is not banned at. 8:53 Hey everybody, I want to take just a quick moment and invite you to my website, DrStengler.com. 8:58 Here we have the supplements that we've been using with our patients for many, many years. 9:02 High quality and high potency supplements, very pure. 9:06 So, if you're looking for high quality supplements where you can notice a difference, both in how you feel and on your lab tests, 9:12 go to our website at DrStengler dot com. 9:16 Question number four. 9:17 Does creatine cause kidney damage or dysfunction? 9:21 Well, I talked about this earlier, but when you look at all the research, the researchers indicates that creatines supplementation at the recommended doses, 9:28 usually the five to 10 grams a day, does not result in kidney damaged or kidney dysfunction. 9:33 Yes, sometimes with patients on their blood tests, we see their carotidin, which is a metabolite of creatinine metabolism, 9:39 go out mildly, But that's not indicating kidney, damage. 9:42 That's just a byproduct of creating metabolism. 9:48 Now, if you have serious kidney disease or chronic kidney, yes, of course, check with your specialist. 9:53 They still may not want you to use creatine, but For healthy people, it's not a problem. 9:58 Question number five, does creatine cause hair loss or baldness? 10:02 No, creatinine does not cause a hair or loss, or hair baldiness, and it doesn't increase testosterone levels or dihydrotestosterone, 10:09 which may be associated with hair-loss or a bald-ness. 10:12 Questions number six, Does creatines lead to dehydration and muscle cramping? 10:17 Well, again, when you look at the research, the researchers shows that no, doesn' cause dehydrations and muscles cramps,
Questions 5 to 8: Hair Loss, Cramps, Youth, and Fat Gain 10:23 so that is not a common thing that occurs with creatine supplementation. 10:28 Question number seven, is creatinine harmful for children and adolescents? 10:32 Well, there's limited evidence and research in terms of children, adolescents, but so far appears safe and potentially beneficial for a children's and adolescent. 10:42 So check with your doctor, check your pediatrician if you plan to use it with kids. 10:49 Does creatine increase fat mass? 10:52 No, creatines supplementation does not increase that mass and this has been studied in a variety of different types of population. 11:00 Really on the opposite. 11:01 If you're exercising using creatinine, it tends to make you more likely to have lean muscle mass. 11:08 Question number nine. 11:10 is a creatine loading phase required. 11:13 You see a lot of stuff on the internet about using loading phases where you take higher doses of creatines for a certain period of time. 11:19 But no, when you look at all the evidence combined, you don't have to have a loading dose of Creatine. 11:25 Lower daily dosages of creating supplementation, usually like three to five grams a day are effective for increasing muscle stores, 11:33 helping with muscle recovery and performance. 11:37 Question number 10, is creatine beneficial for older adults? 11:42 Absolutely. 11:42 There's growing body of evidence showing that creatines supplementation, especially when combined with exercise, provides benefits for the musculoskeletal 11:52 system and performance in older adult. 11:55 Question Number 11, Is creatinine only useful for resistance or power type activities?
Questions 9 to 11: Loading, Older Adults, and Athletic Benefits 12:01 Well, most of the research has been done with the resistance and power type activities where, again, the majority of research showing has shown that it 12:09 is beneficial. 12:09 However, there are a number of athletic events that aren't resistance or power activities, where creatine supplementation may be a benefit. 12:17 For example, creatines supplementations with carbohydrates or carbohydrate and protein has showing to increase greater muscle glycogen storage than just 12:27 taking carbs by themselves. 12:29 Also may reduce muscle damage or enhance recovery from intense exercises other than just, you know, the power type exercises. 12:38 Individuals supplementing their diet with creatine experience less muscle damaged with different types of exercise, inflammation, 12:44 and muscle soreness, as well as during four weeks of intensified training. 12:50 This is what some of the research is showing. 12:52 So there is evidence that athletes who supplement creatine during training experience less injuries, less musculoskeletal injuries and actually heal from 13:04 injuries more quickly. 13:05 There are also some preliminary information that creatinine supplementation may help with concussion and traumatic brain injuries. 13:12 So check with your specialist with that. 13:14 But the evidence was so compelling that the International Society of Sports Nutrition recommended that athletes engaged in sports that have a potential 13:22 for concussion or even spinal cord injuries take creatine for its nerve protective effects or neuroprotective effects. 13:30 Question number 12. Is creatinine only effective for males? 13:34 Definitely not. 13:35 There's accumulating evidence that creatines supplementation has benefits for both males and females and especially across the lifespan of females as well 13:46 with little to no side effects for the females. 13:51 Question number 13. Are other forms of creatine similar or superior to creatinine monohydrate and is creatines stable in solutions and beverages?
Questions 12 to 13: Women and Creatine Forms 14:02 Yes, there are some different forms as the most well researched and the best type to use. 14:11 And yes, there are different types of creatine monohydrates you can take in powders which mix into water and fluids and beverages very, 14:20 very effectively. 14:20 Well, those are the top 13 questions that you get on creatinine. 14:25 I hope you found that helpful. 14:26 The science behind creatines is actually very impressive. 14:30 Well, if you like this video, make sure you hit the like button. 14:33 Make sure to subscribe to the channel and look for my other videos on a wide variety of different health conditions. 14:38 And it's been great to be with you. 14:40 Thanks for listening to Health Breakthroughs with Dr. 14:43 Stengler. 14:43 If today's episode resonated with, you please follow the show, share with someone who needs it and leave a review. 14:50 It helps more people find us. 14:52 For more resources and wellness support, visit DrStenglar.com.
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