Fairman CM, Kendall KL, Hart NH, Taaffe DR, Galvao DA, Newton RU. The potential therapeutic effects of creatine supplementation on body composition and muscle function in cancer. Crit. Rev. Oncol. Hematol. 2019;133:46–57. Riehemann S, Volz HP, Wenda B, Hubner G, Rossger G, Rzanny R, Sauer H. Frontal lobe in vivo (31)P-MRS reveals gender differences in healthy controls, not in schizophrenics. NMR Biomed. 1999;12:483–9. Creatine supplementation, when ingested at recommended dosages, does not result in kidney damage and/or renal dysfunction in healthy individuals.

Boost water content in muscle cells. Better cell hydration may increase muscle growth and reduce dehydration and muscle cramps. Many creatine monohydrate products are described as “micronised”, which means it’s been ground into very fine particles so will mix better with water. “Creapure” creatine is often described as the purest form of creatine and costs a bit more, but other micronised creatine monohydrate supplements offer similar levels of purity. How much does creatine cost? Aguiar, A. F.; Januario, R. S.; Junior, R. P.; Gerage, A. M.; Pina, F. L.; do Nascimento, M. A.; Padovani, C. R.; Cyrino, E. S. Long-term creatine supplementation improves muscular performance during resistance training in older women. Eur. J. Appl. Physiol. 2013, 113, 987-996. Rawson ES, Wehnert ML, Clarkson PM. Effects of 30 days of creatine ingestion in older men. Eur. J. Appl. Physiol. Occup. Physiol. 1999;80:139–44. Hayashi AP, Solis MY, Sapienza MT, Otaduy MC, de Sa Pinto AL, Silva CA, Sallum AM, Pereira RM, Gualano B. Efficacy and safety of creatine supplementation in childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial. Lupus. 2014;23:1500–11.Kambis KW, Pizzedaz SK. Short-term creatine supplementation improves maximum quadriceps contraction in women. Int. J. Sport Nutr. Exerc. Metab. 2003;13:87–96.

Talk to a healthcare provider before taking creatine supplements, regardless of your level of physical fitness, age or health. Are creatine supplements recommended for athletes? In summary, there is a variety of athletic events, not just resistance/power activities, which may benefit from creatine supplementation. Is creatine only effective for males? Tarnopolsky MA. Potential benefits of creatine monohydrate supplementation in the elderly. Curr. Opin. Clin. Nutr. Metab. Care. 2000;3:497–502. Santos RV, Bassit RA, Caperuto EC, Costa Rosa LF. The effect of creatine supplementation upon inflammatory and muscle soreness markers after a 30km race. Life Sci. 2004;75:1917–24.

Creatine

Smaller, daily dosages of creatine supplementation (3-5 g or 0.1 g/kg of body mass) are effective. Therefore, a creatine ‘loading’ phase is not required.

Since this case study was reported in 1998, experimental and controlled research trials investigating the effects of creatine supplementation on kidney/renal function has substantially increased [ 50, 56, 57, 58]. Overall, in healthy individuals, there appears to be no adverse effects from consuming recommended doses of creatine supplements on kidney/renal function [ 50, 56, 57, 58]. Interestingly, Gualano et al. [ 58] reviewed a small number of case studies which reported renal dysfunction in individuals who were supplementing with creatine. Similar to the case report by Pritchard and Kalra [ 51], these additional case reports were confounded by medications, pre-existing kidney disease, concomitant supplement ingestion, inappropriate creatine dosages (e.g., 100 X recommended dose), and anabolic androgenic steroid use. Spillane M, Schoch R, Cooke M, Harvey T, Greenwood M, Kreider R, Willoughby DS. The effects of creatine ethyl ester supplementation combined with heavy resistance training on body composition, muscle performance, and serum and muscle creatine levels. J. Int. Soc. Sports Nutr. 2009;6:6–6. Polyviou TP, Pitsiladis YP, Lee WC, Pantazis T, Hambly C, Speakman JR, Malkova D. Thermoregulatory and cardiovascular responses to creatine, glycerol and alpha lipoic acid in trained cyclists. J. Int. Soc. Sports Nutr. 2012;9:29–9.Kalhan SC, Gruca L, Marczewski S, Bennett C, Kummitha C. Whole body creatine and protein kinetics in healthy men and women: effects of creatine and amino acid supplementation. Amino Acids. 2016;48:677–87.