Comment by firefax

4 months ago

Normally I wouldn't ask this, but having seen the effects of Alzheimer's I must ask: is there any evidence that taking creatine will harm my brain?

Let's be real: I take a lot of edibles. I smoke sometimes on a hike. Every once in a while I get a Guiness and a gyro. My health is by no means perfect, and if I'm willing to take in literal poison (yes, alchohol is that dangerous that I say such things even about my precious Guiness).

Anyways, for years I've been mostly skeptical of vitamins. I've heard a megadose of Vitamin C can shorten the symptoms of a cold, but a "megadose" is relatively small enough that just some OJ can do that, no need for pills.

But if I'm not giving up my Guiness and gyros, I probably should be willing to be more flexible about my "no vitamins or weird supplements rule".

So TL;DR: Let's flip this around: What are the risks of creatine, presuming a safe supply chain? (It's legal where I am as far as I know, which I'm a fan of for most things since then you can get a receipt and there will be some authority that investigates if you're unlucky to get a "bad batch".)

20 comments

firefax

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omnimus  4 months ago

Creatine is one of the most studied supplements in fitness and i don't think there ever was evidence it was harmful.

Then again supplements mostly create expensive pee.

mulle_nat  4 months ago

No sure about brain harm. But I used creatine for a few months and I got cramps in an intensity like I never experienced before. I then decided it was not worth it for a few watts of cycling FTP increase. So I would not consider it harmless for everbody, but this sideeffect seems pretty rare.

  • matwood  4 months ago

    Did you up your water intake along with the creatine? Since you say you're a cyclist you may have just been getting dehydrated.

Aurornis  4 months ago

There are scattered reports from people who take it and feel worse. Some don’t notice until they run out or forget to take it for a few days and realize their mood improves.

This happens with a lot of popular supplements. I don’t know how common it is, but it’s a thing that happens. There are proponents of every supplement who will tell you it’s perfectly safe and any negative effect is due to impurities or your imagination, but there are a lot of reports from people who believe it’s helping until they stop, and are surprised that they feel better without.

papascrubs  4 months ago

Long term studies haven't shown any harm. I've taken 30g a day for well over a year now for both the physical performance and the cognitive benefits. I had brain fog following a bad COVID infection which this has helped with. My family also has a history of Alzheimer's and dementia (both sides), I figure it can't hurt.

The only side effects I've encountered have been mild GI discomfort, and that only rarely (mostly when restarting after a vacation etc-- I drop the routine when I travel). Roughly similar to having a morning coffee at its worst.

I've found I get much thirstier when on this high of a dose. If you're not already a big water drinker I'd definitely invest in a nice insulated bottle to drag around.

  • bob778  4 months ago

    30g? That seems like a lot - isn’t the standard dose 5g?

    Did you build up incrementally and find that to be the best?

    • monkpit  4 months ago

      The standard studied dose _is_ 5g, but the common advice you hear in the gym community is that you will see cognitive benefits from 10-20g or more, depending on your body mass. 30g isn’t uncommon. And, many believe that 5g may be too little for optimal muscle gain, again depending on your body mass.

      Adverse effects, as mentioned, are mostly GI-related, some people experience bloating especially with monohydrate. Another effect is an increase in water retention, which, in turn, means you need to drink more water. It’s generally regarded as safe for the kidneys unless you already have reduced kidney function.

      So, overall, not really a big deal to take well over the studied 5g dose. Not to mention the recommended loading dose is 5g 4x daily.

    • papascrubs  4 months ago

      It is definitely more than the standard dose. I was already taking 5g for weightlifting purposes. After some of the studies suggesting mental benefits I titrated my dose up to 30g (the high end of the studies). Just added an additional 5g per week until I hit 30. I add it in powder form to my daily protein shake-- usually in the morning. While it could be a placebo, I personally feel there's a noticeable difference. I buy in bulk so it ends up being less than $.90 a day to dose at this level. It's an extremely cheap supplement.

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coreyburnsdev  4 months ago

if you're worried about Alzheimers why do you take Marijuana? that would be the first thing to do in prevention