I’m a 70 yo woman who’s been taking creatine monohydrate every morning (works great in coffee-no taste) for about a year. I started based on a couple of studies that showed it helps reduce muscle loss from aging. I definitely have bigger muscles and greater strength than I had twenty years ago. Maybe I’m working harder than I was then, but I’m not certain. In any case, I’m glad to hear your science-based opinion.
Creatine ruined my life. I started taking it daily for that "better performance" but instead it just helped me get jacked and didn't increase the performance I was looking for at all!
Literally the biggest reason I hear anyone say they wont take it is cause of that one paper that said the rugby participants experienced accelerated rates of hairloss, being androgenic alopecia from higher levels of dht. Wish you would've addressed this because lots of people say it's murky waters on that in particular.
thats not even close. DHT is testosterone, not creatine. If creatine increase your DHT, then its a fking gear. People will take more of them. Testosterone does makes you bald, balding always a men problem
Literally my concern as well. I usually always went to one hairdresser who told me I’d never have problems with hairloss given my hair quality and given the fact that literally noone in my family had hairloss issues from both my mom’s and dad’s side. Coincidentally I started taking creatine and changed the hairdresser for a year or so and recently I came back to my old hairdresser and she was in awe how much my hair has thinned and told me to start taking some stuff for hairgrowth and stop with creatine immidiately. I’m extremely skeptical now given the fact that I was never supposed to have any issues with hairloss and never had before taking creatine… I stopped taking creatine now and will see what happens
Iirc they measured total dht serum levels and not the local dht concentration at the hair follicles that actually causes hair loss at high concentrations. Creatine doesn’t affect the local dht level at the follicles is what they found if my memory serves me right. Jeff Nippard probably has a video about this.
I understand this isn’t a universal experience, but here’s mine. I used creatine for about 5-6 months and noticed significant hair loss. Every morning, I’d find hair on my pillow. Once I stopped taking creatine, the hair loss ceased. This whole “optimization culture” seems misguided to me. I spent most of my twenties immersed in it. Now, at 32, I’ve abandoned calorie counting, creatine, and protein powder. Surprisingly, I’m now in the best shape of my life-bigger, more ripped, and healthier than ever. The key? I quit drinking, started running, prioritized sleep, and nurtured healthy relationships. I also focus on a varied and balanced diet 90% of the time It’s not about being huge or lifting massive weights. I’ve been there. It’s about variety, balance, and longevity. Just my opinion, though!
I don't remember where, but i believe I recall Mike saying something about how minimizing drinking, being social, adding 10 lbs. Of muscle and losing 20lbs. Of fat is a "near-panacea" for healthy living
Sleep, diet and excercise are the keys to health. Seems likely that was the cause of the postive change as opposed to stopping the creatine and protein, however when you get those first three right, you dont really need the latter two unless going for competition or sports and wanting to speed up progress
I have been arguing with my mom, coaches, and Army leadership for the better part of 17 years about The difference between creatine and creatinine. Thank you for making me realize I’ve been right this whole time
Id understand maybe back in '07 google and the internet wasnt as big of a thing in terms of looking for scientific studies, but after like 2010 its absurd
@@BentusiProgenitors Nah, try arguing with family members about how the homeopathics they keep buying because the nice Norwegian fake doctor they really adore told them to take it 30 years ago, doesn't actually do anything. They never listened then and they'll never listen now because it's what they want to believe.
Same here, vegetarian 5 years, the strength/muscle gains have been insane. That's not to say I was weak/small before, but I've been asked/told "you must train... wow you've put on size, etc" a few times within the month after creatine loading phase.
@@darkmisticoor imagine if you eat meat and eggs + creatine. People tell me I’m looking more jacked every week at work😭legit been taking creatine seriously for around 3 months and seriously lifting the last 4-5 months. Life’s great after transitioning from a lil thin dweeb to a beefed up Chad
@@darkmistico for real! You meat eaters have it easy in that sense! Althouh i may also just respond well, since 5g per day is more than most people get from meat.
You are by far my new favorite person on RU-vid I like the fact that you clearly no what your talking about you help a tone of people and you seem like a genuine good dude..
47 year old ex athlete here. I never used Creatine until about one year ago and I can tell you it is the duck's nuts, it hydrates the muscles and helps me train and recover. Great stuff and I shall never be without it going forward.
Fellow Dr. here. Something females or smaller individuals need to know is how taking too high a dose of creatine can affect you. I had vertigo issues for 8 months and took me 3 blood tests, an MRI and a F$%$ tone of research to finally figure out it was creatine. This is why, the inner ear helps with creatine mobilization in the body and too much creatine can generate pressure in that area and or the neck if you have finer or smaller structures (such as in females). This results in a constant low grade vertigo till you let the creatine levels drop, the dizziness disappeared between one and two weeks of not taking creatine. I spoke to hundreds of folks I could find on the internet with similar symptoms, a GP who is also a body builder and tested it myself by deliberately overloading again to see if vertigo appears and it did after a month of taking 5g per day. I have reduced my intake to 1g and no negative side effects. This is something not studied as of yet but probably should be!
Are you sticking with 1g per day for good or have you experimented with intermediate amounts to see how much you can take before it becomes an issue? Just curious on what your journey to 1g was like, whether it was being extra safe or if you worked your way down there, etc.
Fantastic, thank you! I eat quite a lot of animal protein and figured 5g wasn't needed for someone my size and would level up if I gained more muscle mass. Good to know that this supplement can be even cheaper; at 1-2g a day, a tub will last forever
Creatine aggravated my gout. I may have been taking too much, but once metabolized it can lead to production of uric acid, as explained to me by my rheumatologist. I hadn't had any issues with gout for years, was working out again, started trying to work through a plateu, added creatine, and had a pretty severe bout of gout about 3 or 4 weeks after. Stopped taking it and haven't had any issues since. So not shit talking creatine, but if you have issues with gout, this may be a specific instance to monitor closely.
do you take any urate-lowering drugs? this sounds like your baseline sUA is too high and a small exogenous bump triggered a flare that was already due to occur.
Ah sheet... I have gout n I did not know this. Thx for the info. @borisyeltsin6293 do yoiu know if the drugs will help manage the gout when taking creatine? I have some of those meds n wondering if it helps or if I should avoid creatine all together.
@@NikeLikeMike it depends. if your uric acid is dialed in, you're absolutely FINE taking creatine. meaning if you're regularly taking the urate-lowering meds and you know your serum uric acid levels (should be sub-6 for gout sufferers). that said, it sounds like you might not be that person. which is fine, no judgement whatsoever. but in your case creatine may in fact cause you to flare
This is just my personal experience, so take it with a grain of salt. After months of taking creatine, I've really noticed my hair getting thinner. It didn't increase the hair loss more than the regular hair you lost every day. For this reason, I stopped taking it a few months ago, and now my hair is back to "normal."
“The bro at GNC isn’t helping much either!” Can confirm. Last time I went to buy ON monohydrate they told me you can only absorb something like 60% of ON’s monohydrate, but if you buy the $60 whatever-brand gummies you’ll absorb all 100% of it
I just got some for the first time. My guy was pretty cool. He did tell me the monohydrate was the typical standard one, but he did mention the water retention and bloating, but that it leaned more into water in the muscles. But I mentioned I compete in triathlons and he said it might be better to take HCL because it won't have that water retention, which could be beneficial for endurance events. But I went with the monohydrate to look jacked
Creatine raised my blood pressure by 18 points. It took about 1.5-2 weeks for it to lower once I stopped. I was having really bad side effects but only taking 5mg a day.
I started taking it to help with strength and recovery as I work in a physical job. I have been able to lift more for longer and wake up without sore muscles. 10/10 would recommend.
Dr. Mike! 6 Months ago I found your channel while restarting my fitness journey after the birth of my daughter. I’ve lost 36 pounds since then and have learned so much. Thank you and the RP community for the work that you guys do!
Your creatinine blood levels WILL increase when you take creatine, but creatinine itself isn't harmful. It's just an indicator that something might be wrong with your kidneys. But if your levels are high because you're taking creatine your kidneys are probably fine. Your doctor can do additional tests to verify since creatine levels doesn't tell them squat when you're taking creatine. That's what my doctor did.
Creatine can make the test show higher creatinine levels, but it doesn't actually increase the levels, if it does It's so small it's nothing to worry about. It makes the levels look higher in test they do for Kidneys but won't actually increase it.
Mike, known your wife through the medical community and car community for eva. Just got into strength training and really appreciate your humor injected and scientific approach. Keep doing awesome stuff. this was helpful.
As far as I know, Creatine gets broken down into Creatinine and then filtered out of your blood by your kidneys. So external Creatine intake may raise Creatinine serum levels. But because Creatinine is just a biomarker for kidney health, high creatinine levels may be meaningless for folks taking creatine because the underlying cause for the high levels is not a kidney disfunction but the external intake. Not sure why Dr. Mike says they are completely unrelated because they are clearly not.
Yeah. Mike saying they are a completely different thing is flat out wrong. Creatine even spontaneously breaks down into Creatinine in water over time. The biggest blunder I have caught Dr. Mike with.
Also take a break for a week or so if you know you've got a kidney function check coming up, might lead to false alarms or worse, hiding symptoms of an actual problem
Yeah creatinine is a byproduct. I have Lupus and my rheumatologist freaked out at my elevated creatinine levels. I told him I take creatine and he made me go to nephrology. The nephrologist checked my cystatin c levels to make sure I was all good but said it was from my creatine supplementation.
The Verbraucherzentrale, which is a german institution to protect consumers, mentions 3 Issues with creatine: regular consumption reduces the amount yout body produces itself, it can be problematic for people with kidney issues and the water increases the inracellular pressure which might lead to higher risk of injury.
O dear.... i just bought one n im starting to train to increase muscle mass, as im 61yo now, lossing muscle mass n strength. How should i go with this intake of creatine pls ?? Shld i just take before going to gym, 3 time a week only ? TQ for your sharing..
@@faith5401 5 grams daily is the only thing thats important. Timing and training barely affect anything, as long as you take 5 grams a day consistently, you'll be good to go.
@@faith5401 it might be a good idea to take it along with some food, your body may absorb it better that way, but as he said, it doesn't have much effect, so it's more important to take it at a time of day where you can easily take it regularly. THat could very well be along with breakfast or dinner, especially if you take vitamins or something, just taking it along with them is all good
When I got into rock climbing, I noticed it was actually a serious enhancement for that slow static type stuff. Way more endurance, and short term recovery
there used to be concerns in climbing about increasing weight and vasoconstriction on creatine, but these were never merited out and would easily be overcome by slightly greater PCr stores on the rock and during training. while I do not give my clients dietary advice, there are a variety of supplements pushed onto climbers with smaller and irregular effects from less research, but creatine is one I am always confident with an athlete taking if they're curious. however, I often note you will be unable to notice the effect. there is research to support, but the effect is simply too small over background noise to say, and the advantage is for higher end force production and recovery of this energy pathway. you'll make strong, static moves more easily as a result of additional training capacity and quality.
I'm 63, been lifting for years, and have taken creatine at 5 g. for years no problems. I heard a study that for older people 10 g. daily can help even more. For 2 weeks I have been taking 10 g. daily with no problems. I see some increase in strength. I set a pr today with 8 reps on 15% inclines with 46 kilo dumbbells. Maybe it's a myth, but I'm sticking with 10 g. per day for a bit to see if I get some more gains.
Everytime Dr. Mike specifies that he's a "Professor of Sports and Exercise Science," I get this mental image of him wearing a lab coat with the sleeves cut off.
@@pindot787 it accelerates hair loss for those genetically disposed to it. Big difference between losing your hair at 40 vs 30. If your follicles aren’t sensitive to dht (genetic) it will have no effect on
A side effect I noticed was intense swelling of my muscles. Makes me feel like I did when I was growing as a kid. Wife says to not worry about it and perhaps double up on the creatine.
From what I have found there is a link between Creatine and Creatinine "Creatinine is a naturally occurring substance in the human body. It is a relatively simple compound that is produced in the muscles from the breakdown of creatine."
I think that one of the reasons so many people are afraid of creatine is not for mistaking it for creatinine, but conflating it with the disease/injury marker creatine kinase assay (CK). Elevated CK could point towards muscle disorders and/or acute injury, such as rhabdomyolysis after car wreck. However it doesn't always mean a health problem, since working out REALLY hard, or participating in a breakdown event (like ultra-marathoning) could also cause temporary elevations in CK. Lab values, most of the time, cannot be determined clinically significant on their own. But I am sure there are people that have heard they had elevated CK, heard it was bad, then will give advice not to take creatine because "creatine" is bad.
I had the same issue. One doctor said I was going through renal failure, but took a different test and showed otherwise. They intially tested for Creatinine. Anther doctor told me that creatinine is a byproduct of Creatine
I have also seen my creatinine blood serum levels increase when taking 5g of creatine daily. I stopped taking the creatine and the creatinine levels dropped. My hypothesis is that the creatine breakdown has increased creatinine and artificially indicates some kidney function issues that don't really exist.
Extremely well timed video for me. Currently going through tests for Kidney stones. Doctor's are certain it's between creatine and coke zero that is causing them..... Whilst refusing to acknowledge a family history of them. I'm gonna pre-load 50g right now in protest. Edit: Gents thank you for all the advice. It's much appreciated and will be taken onboard.
There has only been one study out of thousands on creatine that focused on hair loss. Creatine does increase serum DHT levels which impacts DHT sensitive follicles which causes hair loss in those individuals. Since there is a concerning lack of studies on this topic, one is forced to look into anecdotal evidence, of which there are plenty of stories to show that creatine does cause hair loss. I used to take it in my 20s when I was not prone to hair loss and then stopped for over 10 years. Resumed it about the same time my brother started taking it an I had no idea it was linked to hair loss. Three months in to taking it, we had a conversation about our hair loss coincidentally and then I looked into it and was surprised to find all of this information. We stopped taking it and immediately noticed the loss stop. I came to the conclusion that there is not enough of a gain from creatine to jeopardize my hair but other than that, from experience, it is a great supplement.
Even in the research that found an acceleration of hairloss in individuals, these individuals were already predisposed to such hairloss patterns, it simply accelerated something that was already going to happen. Given this, if you're genetically predisposed to hairloss, your first concern should be if you want to use hairloss products/treatment or if this doesn't bother you, and from there decide if you would also want to take creatine or not. Basically, don't put the cart before the horse.
Big Creatine lobby doesn't want anymore studies done with the link between Creatine and Hair Loss via DHT increase. These supplement companies will do anything to protect their profits
I recently got more serious about lifting weights and read about the benefits of Creatine. I was hesitant at first but after reading studies and EFSA statements on creatine I started taking it a few weeks ago. The recovery is dramatically increased, the endurance is increased and the strength seemed to profit as well. It was the only thing I changed after about a year of the same routine, so I can safely attribute these effects on the creatine. I'm at only 3 g per day (the safe dose according to EFSA) and already experienced the positive effects. So great stuff, 10/10, would recommend.
My anecdotal evidence is that my scalp dried out quite a lot leading to shedding hair and bad dandruff, when I started taking creatine. Fixed itself in 1-2 months after getting off it. I gave it another try and the side effect returned immediately.
Well it causes muscle fluid retention, meaning you have to drink more water to stay hydrated. Are you sure you weren't just chronically dehydrated? Lol
Yeah my beard and hair started getting flaky too. Came off of it twice and I'm sure creatine is what's causing it. Also Dr. Mike didn't touch on the DHT increase for some reason
As an intermediate/advanced lifter, I started creatine about a year into my lifting and it was the perfect time to do so. I will say, it gave me a little bit of stomach trouble at the beginning, but I've since lowered from 5g to 3g and taken it religiously since, and the problems stopped about a week or two in. I'm not convinced it wasn't something external but I definitely had some digestive issues for a little bit before getting into the groove.
I had that the first time I tried it when I did the BS "loading" thing. I can't remember how much I took there but it was obviously more than 5g. I figure it's probably just because you're digesting (relatively) large quantities of something that you wouldn't normally, so it causes a bit of a temporary upset.
By the way, creatine metabolism DOES increase your serum level of creatinine, they're not 2 completely separate compounds, one is the metabolite of the other.. Creatinine gets anyhow filtered by the kidneys and it's still relatively little increased under creatine use. This said, it's just important to take it into account and maybe (maybe) as a doctor I would not suggest it for people with chronic renal diseases. For the rest, on point as always 👌
@@agustinreyes6111 Having a lower eGFR means you have more creatinin in you blood wich correlates to you higher protein diet and creatinin intake. That means it does increase your creatinin-production. The kidney has a kind of fixed elimination of your pee and with that you creatinin. Having a lower creatinin clearence is either because of your kidney getting unhealthier or you create a lot of creatinin that your kidney doesnt eliminate fast enough. (And yes there are a lot of different factors, but this are the two main things for your situation now) Can i ask what kind of estimated GFR calculation your physician used? Because that is a pretty low gfr for a healthy young man. It should be over 90ml/min for a healthy individual.
There has only been one study out of thousands on creatine that focused on hair loss. Creatine does increase serum DHT levels which impacts DHT sensitive follicles which causes hair loss in those individuals. Since there is a concerning lack of studies on this topic, one is forced to look into anecdotal evidence, of which there are plenty of stories to show that creatine does cause hair loss. I used to take it in my 20s when I was not prone to hair loss and then stopped for over 10 years. Resumed it about the same time my brother started taking it an I had no idea it was linked to hair loss. Three months in to taking it, we had a conversation about our hair loss coincidentally and then I looked into it and was surprised to find all of this information. We stopped taking it and immediately noticed the loss stop. I came to the conclusion that there is not enough of a gain from creatine to jeopardize my hair but other than that, from experience, it is a great supplement.
Same here. I got some serious hair loss/receding hairline on creatine. My hairline has receded about 10yrs ahead of expected based on the other men in my family. Stopped taking it because it wasn't worth it as a casual lifter.
I was laying in bed winding down for the night with airpods in, got to the end of the video and that wind-up sound effect in your outro scared the hell out of me. Thought someone just revved up a chainsaw in my bedroom or something 😂
Creatine killed my whole family, stole my wife, and made me lose my job. Never mix creatine with whisk&y and m&th. You’ll quickly find yourself in anabolics anonymous.
Dr. Mike, I wish you had addressed the claim that creatine causes hair loss. From what I understand, creatine doesn't necessarily cause hair loss, but it can accelerate hair loss in individuals genetically predisposed to it. What is your understanding on the matter?
Creatine helps build skeletal muscle. Skeletal muscle produces small amounts of testosterone in excess of that produced by your testes, and also down regulates hpg mechanisms that would signal for your body to reduce production based on the increase. Any increase in testosterone balance will also increase DHT unless you’re deficient in 5a-reductase generally, have a loss of function mutation (partial or complete) in the gene that codes for it, or taking drugs that inhibit it. If you are predisposed to male pattern baldness, this would likely cause a small effect. However, just training your muscles to get the same extra size and strength with no creatine would have the exact same effect. And it would still be very small because the increase in testosterone production from skeletal muscle is marginal unless they are very huge.
From what I can tell, there’s a mechanism that creatine mayyy increase risk of hair loss in some people, but to such a small and random extent that other factors play a much larger part in hair loss. The fact that you’re training and building muscle, and therefore increasing testosterone, far outweighs any increase in hair loss creatine may cause in just some individuals. You see this logic with tons of foods too. A study says “____ increases risk of cancer”. It ends up in the news and everyone repeats that statement. In reality the study shows a tiny correlation that’s barely statistically relevant, and likely the product of fudging some numbers anyway… Then you do some comparison and find out that being in the sun for 10 minutes increases risk of cancer far more than whatever the study claims for that food.
I do hardscape landscaping. A lot of heavy lifting, all day, monday through friday. I started taking creatine (walmart brand), and I've noticed a considerable change. I'm a lot more bulky, I have better endurance, I recover quicker, fewer issues with dehydration (biggest challenge in my line of work), and the sex life has never been better. Great video! Cheers!
I cant risk the hair loss 😅 Until there are multiple studies that prove it doesnt happen, I’m not taking it….or until I go bald naturally. Most men in my family are bald at a young age, but I hit the lottery and have a full head of hair in my 30’s. It’s thinned out some but still going strong. Not about to mess with that gift by accelerating its loss.
Finasteride my man. Talk to your dermatologist. It's stop testosterone from turning into DHT. DHT makes your hair follicles smaller causing thinning to the point of hair loss.
Same here. I was already taking finasteride, then started taking creatine, and the amount of hair that I started losing after the first month was shocking. I stopped taking creatine.
Dr. Mike, I'm so glad you do what you do and create quality content for RU-vid. Educational and your sense of humor is top notch. You totally crack me up man, i love it! Thanks for all you do!
Quality content??? The amount of swearing and the recycled information, known for years before this internet "phd" turned up do not constitute "quality content".
Creatinine is a metabolite of creatine, though, which means that supplementation of creatine can lead to an increase in serum creatinine (not harmful) and thereby an over-diagnosis of CKD. Creatine is not harmful at recommended dosages but is not entirely unrelated to creatinine.
Taking creatine can definitely affect creatinine levels in blood serum. But creatinine is only an indirect indicator of a certain part of kidney function (glomerular filtration). The standard values that the doctor uses to estimate kidney function assume that you have a standard creatinine production in your muscles. They don’t take into account the extra saturation of creatine in your muscles, which may result in elevated creatinine output. The creatinine blood test is like looking at the puddle in front of a storm drain. You don’t know whether the puddle is caused by a clogged drain or an unusually high amount of rain.
On the hair loss question that wasn't even addressed: DHT is directly what causes hair loss, and there are multiple factors that cause its production (testosterone, Alpha-5 enzyme and Alpha-5 receptors). If your T levels are the limiting factor, then more DHT can be produced by elevating your T levels, but there can be multiple limiting factors, such as not enough receptors or Alpha-5 enzyme. That's why some people lose hair when elevating T levels and others don't.
When I started on it I started to get trouble sleeping. Now I’ve experienced for the first time full blown insomnia. Reading others having similar experiences.
Yeah it can lead to premature hair loss. Doc Mike doesn't exactly need to worry about it though lol Personally, that's the reason I won't take it. Never had a problem getting muscle in my life (yet) and I don't want to, possibly AND permanently, sacrifice my magnificent hair for temporary semi-superficial muscle gains. I just drink a coffee/energy drink and push it in the gym or at work until actual physical exhaustion. Never been shredded, but I've never been weak either (I like to enjoy life and eat delicious food, you just gotta earn it, imo). When I hit 50-ish and stop caring, I'll probably take it since I'll want a higher quality of life and will want to slow down my physical and mental decay.
10:11 is so wrong. Creatinine is a byproduct of creatine. Yes it is naturally produced but when supplementing with creatine, you will have higher levels of creatinine. There is nothing wrong with this. You just need to tell your doctor that you supplement with creatine so they know why your creatinine are elevated. If your creatinine levels are elevated than that could indicate that something is wrong. High levels of creatinine aren't inherently bad, they're just a data point that can be used with other data points to gauge kidney function.
I love how your videos are based off an evidence-based approach! And not just some random anecdotal evidence! In that vein, would you mind linking some of the creatine studies you used as sources for the video and general training?
Ive been taking creatine for 3 months and it has made me less stupid lol it has removed brain fog and along with working out at the gym and completely eliminated my anxiety too
Another clear no bs video, love your work. Can you comment about the studies showing an increase in serum DHT and its relation to accelerated male pattern hairloss?
I once had a doctor warn me about creatinine. But since I took general chemistry in college I knew that just because two things sound similar, doesn’t mean it’s the same thing and that generally “tanine” was an important distinction in chemical compounds. I was a bit frustrated that doctor somehow forgot this
No doubt about it for me. I am thinning, but still have most of my hair. Creatine kicked the loss into full gear. I quit 6 months ago and it has stopped thinning and maybe went back to close to pre creative levels. At 46 vanity is leaving me quickly, but I rather have my hair, than having 10 more lbs on my bench.
Something that Dr Mike neglected to mention is that creatine actually can promote hair loss. This isn't a joke, it's serious. Many people who I've told to take creatine in the past have come to me and said that they immediately start shedding after taking it. This is definitely something that has been documented and studied and probably should have been brought out in the video. No, I'm not a hater and yes, I have a liked the video and am subscribed to Dr mike. Just dropping this comment to help inform others that this is a real phenomenon regardless of what certain people in the industry might think.
@@OpenGrave my clients have been the ones to tell me that after beginning their use of creatine they began to have hair loss shedding. This is without knowing in advance that the study ever existed. Whether it's true or not according to the studies I can't say but according to my clients who did not know in advance it sure is true.
It absolutely does accelerate hair loss in some people. Everyone who says “nah bro it’s a myth” does not know what they are talking about. I also experienced hair loss on it, and the hair loss stopped when I ceased it. Forums are filled with massive amounts of anecdotal evidence for the hair loss effect. I have no idea why the industry is so vehemently and idiotically opposed to the mountains of evidence right in front of their face. But nobody wants to run the study that kills the popularity of the golden boy of legal performance enhancers.
Yesterday a nurse friend of mine told me that creating is responsible for virility dysfunction and damages the kidneys. I just listened her without questioning.
8:51 i would say its wrong if you dont drink enough water creatin can make your dehdration worse because your muscels Will need more water in the first lodings
Me too, as I personally experienced noticeable hair thinning when using it, which went away in the following 6 weeks after I stopped taking creatine. I would've chucked it up to chance but considering the thinning reversed after I stopped, theres no real way I can just say "nah creatine is fine". It might be for you, but for me (and a lot of others) it speeds up, or triggers hair thinning/loss.
@@corexmailyI think that's just person dependant i have been taking 5g in pre workout and 5g after gym and not noticed anything different and have been doing this for around 2months now and i have a head full of hair and no thinning touch wood (touched my empty head)
@@curtwilliams8802 it 100% is, thats why theres conflicting info on it. It seems to affect people who are already predisposed to balding/thinning hair, accelerating / kickstarting the process for some
@@corexmaily Same with me, made my hair thin so I came off it and it grew back. Experimented again a few months later with creatine and the same results as last time. Real shame because I looked bigger when on creatine especially when I got a pump from the gym. Never seen myself with such great shoulders but now I am off it I just don't have the look I want anymore. I sum it up to just valuing my hair more.
What do you think about creatine for people with androgenetic alopecia? There is a study that links creatine consumption to increased DHT levels in the body, which might increase hair loss in people predisposed to it. Would be interesting to me to hear your opinion about this.
i lost all of my hair on the top of my head (classis male pattern baldness) until my 16th year. Started using creatine at 18. Creatine can, therefore, affect even your past self and has strong quantum properties! (sarcasm)
@@Amar061 Holy fuck, you lost hair on your crown by the age of 16???! That's insane, bro. RIP. But also, I have no idea how what you wrote relates in any way to what that other dude wrote.
@@Riwillion Yes, I have never met irl somebody like me, but I did meet such guys on the net. it is extremely rare, and I dont know what it happened. it is not Alopecia or such. As the relevance to OP, I was joking that creatine is so strong that it can disrupt the past xd
From personal experience, creatine gives me massive muscle cramps to the point I can't breath, but it's delayed reaction, I take it for 2-3 days and it will hit me at random. It's as if my muscle fiber are twisting up and locking down for 15-20 minutes. It's insane, because when I take it I can train without fatigue but the pain outweigh the benefits in my case. I went to the doc, it's not a common side effect and is unusual but even the doc has no clue what to make of this. I know my family has mixed connective tissue disorder, I wonder if that could be related since it's hereditary. But that won't stop me from achieving my gains, I swear!
That study that linked Creatine to hairloss was done a long time ago and it is still being referenced everywhere. Which begs the question: "Why hasn't there been any more studies on that topic after ?" Because clearly people want to know. Here is what I think: (conspiracy territory) It would be of great interest for supplement companies to get rig of the "rumors" that creatine causes hair loss. So they conducted studies to disprove those rumors but the results weren't so effective in disproving hairloss linked to creatine. They probably found out the rumors were true and never published the studies.
Im 61 and can tell anyone that creatine really works. It takes a little while to get into your system but ince you're there, it will make a difference.
I'm 63, and started this year, been 6 months on 5 mg every day. It added another set of reps to each of my exercises. Water weight gain is real. Strength/muscle gains are real too. Feels like an additional 7-10% in strength and ability.
@@jackrogers8633 Ive had several brands or types that didnt feel like I was taking anything at all (particularly the ON micronized or krealkalyne whatever). Felt like normal non- micro mono had the best feelable results
wait, you didn't mention the balding myth. I've heard in one study it was linked to elevated levels of dihydro testosterone, which might cause early balding? that's like the only thing that ever made me think twice about it
"One theory put forward to explain the potential link between creatine and hair loss is that creatine may increase levels of dihydrotestosterone (DHT), a hormone linked to male pattern baldness. However, it should be stressed that studies have yet to conclusively confirm this theory. It's important to understand that genetics also play a major role in hair loss, and that creatine may only be a triggering factor in predisposed individuals. "
Great detailed breakdown, thanks for this. I’ve been taking creatine mono steadily for years now. It’s a staple of my supplementation, which is basically protein, creatine, collagen, fish oil, magnesium, and vitamin D.
My bro in law is the head nephrologist at his hospital. I asked him about creatine years ago when I got rabdo from excessive training. Bear in mind he sees people with kidney disease all day everyday, so from that frame of reference, he thinks its not worth the risk. Plus there needs to be more studies on hair loss caused by creatine.
It is not a general effect that everyone gets. But if you are one of the unlucky like me, you get bad shedding and hair loss from creatine, just stop taking it and it should go back to normal. I have tried several times over the years with the same effect every time.
For some,yes. Its had bad effects on my hair (a woman with hip long hair) and its absolutely not worth it for me. It caused thinning,dandruff (which I absolutely never have). It did make my muscle look insane,literally like I was on steroids. Super weird and cool,but hair is #1
Good info, thanks! What about the relation between creatine and high blood pressure? Some people complained that creatine has made their blood pressure very high!
All I can say is I started taking creatine and my creatinine measured skyrocketed showing me in stage 3 kidney failure. I stopped taking creatine and when measured again 6 months later kidneys were showing previous levels of creatinine.
Dr. Mike, please make a video breaking down preworkout ingredients such as L-Citrulline, Beta Alanine, Betaine Anhydrous, etc. and the optimal doses. Similar to the videos Derek from MPMD used to post. Thank you in advance RP team! Like if you agree so we can get the video we want!!
****PLEASE READ**** Creatine is NOT a scam! However, 1 in 4 people DO NOT need ANY type of creatine supplement whatsoever!! Why? If you find that creatine monohydrate does absolutely JACK-SQUAT for you, then you're one of the lucky 1 in 4 people that already produce huge amounts of creatine naturally (I'm one of them as well). Hence, why it doesn't work for you. So, keep that in mind when decide to go try it. About 24% of people don't benefit from it at all. Look it up for yourselves if you think I'm trolling or something. Because I'm not!
Congrats on 2M subs when you reach it guys! Creatine loves me twice a day. Keep up the excellent and informative work. Keep grinding to be jacked all you certified kings 💪🥳
I took creatine in the past (5g daily). Started losing my hair. I stopped taking it and my hair slowly started growing back and now it is back to normal. I tried creatine more than once and the same thing happened. I heard a lot of people say it was not a side effect of it, but it was for me.
There doesn't seem to be many official studies on it, so science-based guys like Dr. Mike and Jeff Nippard will always say there isn't enough scientific evidence, and I agree because it's just a stated fact...BUT the sheer amount of anecdotal experiences I've heard of on top of my own personal experience really has me convinced. I got super consistent with my creatine intake in my mid-20s and noticed significant hair shedding in the shower. The corners of my hairline move back like an inch in just a few months. I had a very strong, round hairline before that. I stopped taking it right around then and I'm now in my 30s. If the hair loss wasn't tied to creatine, you'd expect my hairline to keep moving back because it's supposed to be a natural part of aging, but it hasn't. While I never regained the hair I lost, my hairline has been solid since then with significantly less hair shedding in the shower.
@@R4nnek It was very slow (losing and growing back). I was consistent in taking it. I would guess the first time, six months of taking it every day. It took a few months to grow back. Second time, was a few months, but I was aware of it/watching for it that time. I tried lowering the dose to 3g and that did not help.
Creatine ruined my life. Began taking it 7 months ago. Got insanely jacked, and began getting ladies left and right. Ended up getting syphilis. Don't do creatine, kids.
One thing to consider for people in sports that are heavily based on strength to weight ratio is that the gained water weight can actually decrease your overall performance by offsetting the gained strength through the additional weight you have to move. Ive recently started creatine for a few months as a climber and sure enough i gained a few pounds, which led to my climbing performance significantly dipping! Once i came off it returned back to where it was.
