Published Article - Creatine intake for females - a lot of benefits, very little downsides (strength, depression, body composition) :)

[primavista19]

@worshiper1994 Thank you. This inspired me to buy some creatine!! It annoys me how many myths I have to bust in my fitness journey

 

[billmeyer]

@worshiper1994 Quality post, thank you!!

 

[orthodoxdavid]

@worshiper1994 Dosing recommendations from the article:

1) Loading dose: 20 g daily for 5 days, taken in 5 g servings every 4 hours.

• Thereafter, take 3-5 g daily for maintenance

OR

2) Routine consistent dose: 5 g daily

• This method will take 3-4 weeks to build up in your body compared to the loading dose. However, both methods have the same results (according to the article)

For brain saturation (I am assuming for memory and anti-depression effects that the article discussed):

15g - 20 g daily for 3 - 7 days (in divided dose)

• Thereafter, take 5 - 10 g daily for maintenance

 

[lovejoypeaceetc]

@orthodoxdavid

Loading dose: 20 g daily for 5 days, taken in 5 g servings every 4 hours.

Thereafter, take 3-5 g daily for maintenance

*looks at my singular glass of water with 20 g of creatine in it--most of it at the bottom not in solution*

Oh.

 

[orthodoxdavid]

@worshiper1994 This is so fascinating! I opened the abstract, but I am an attorney, not a scientist, haha and my brain is not comprehending if there is a particular brand/product of creatine that they tested? Does anyone have any suggested brands? Thank you

Edit: I took a deep breath and decided the science couldn't hurt me. It looks like the creatine tested here is the brand name Creapure, manufactured by AlzChem

 

[nicoleruby92]

@orthodoxdavid Any creatine monohydrate should be good.

 

[malgosia63]

@orthodoxdavid

i can't find them on labdoor boo, https://labdoor.com/rankings/creatine?filter=quality

 

[orthodoxdavid]

@malgosia63 Actually, Creapure is #1 on the link you provided The manufacturer AlzChem sells the Creapure to different brands like Muscle Feast that is #1 there. It looks like the unflavored Muscle Feast product is 100% Creapure with no other ingredients, so it looks like a great bet

 

[susie40s]

@worshiper1994 It's actually beneficial for memory too (that's the main reason I'm taking it because I have ADHD which causes issues with that). The added gym performance bonus is a nice touch

 

[cjs5]

@susie40s Man, I have Hashimoto's that givez me brain fog, and has made me unable to exercise in any manner other than rarely and sporadically for 3 years now. I stopped taking creatine when I stopped training regularly ... Maybe that had something to do with my memory and processing getting worse too.

 

[turtledove13]

@worshiper1994 Thanks for sharing this article. The only "supplementation" I've tried is protein powders in a smoothie post work out. This article got me googling about different creatine supplements, and I found one that has BCAAs as well. I was thinking to try that. But, I would love to know what creatine product you all take, and when do you take it? Pre or Post workout?

 

[malgosia63]

@turtledove13 examine.com is the fucking best source if yo ever want to investigate a supplement

"There are many different forms of creatine available on the market, but creatine monohydrate is the cheapest and most effective. Another option is micronized creatine monohydrate, which dissolves in water more easily and can be more practical.

aim to take 5 g/day, can be taken at any time of day, what to buy? check labdoor for quality rankings, expensive DOES NOT mean quality (marketing $$)

id recommedn bulk supplements or myprotein its cheap and actually contains what it claims

BCAA's are probably unnecessary don't bother..." BCAAs are important to ingest on a daily basis, but many protein sources, such as meat and eggs, already provide BCAAs. Supplementation is unnecessary for people with a sufficiently high protein intake (1-1.5g per kg of bodyweight a day or more). "

 

[turtledove13]

@malgosia63 Great, thanks for the detailed information!

 

[sandoftheearth]

@worshiper1994 Great to see so much enthusiasm on this board for creatine. I’ve used it in the past and while this may not be a downside for everyone, I definitely didn’t like how much water retention came alongside with it.

 

[ortma]

@sandoftheearth I started my first cycle three weeks ago and I agree about the water retention. The personal trainer/friend of mine said if I was doing enough cardio and drinking plenty of water, I would be fine. But I haven't had one of my really flat stomach days since starting.

I like the fullness everywhere else. My OHP finally went up 5 lbs too! The extra focus in the gym has also been a nice benefit.

 

[mario777]

@worshiper1994 Gives me a nasty headache

 

[twinmama]

@worshiper1994 Interesting read for sure. I stopped taking creatine awhile back because I personally never noticed any changes (in recovery, etc) but I realize this is a lot happening behind the scenes that I wouldn't necessarily be aware of. Time to order another supply I suppose and throw it in with my protein powder.

Thanks for sharing!

 

[bevinluvwithjesus]

@worshiper1994 I can't take it, it upsets my tummy. It's a bummer because I know it is the one supplement that would actually do something.

 

[goaster]

@bevinluvwithjesus By "upset" do you mean nausea? I just recently started creatine tablets and a BCAA powder for the last 2 days now and have been feeling these intense waves of nausea come on throughout the day and even in my sleep. I didn't know which one was the culprit.

 

[bevinluvwithjesus]

@goaster I actually found a stomach friendly version of creatine thanks to the Tim Ferris podcast ‘Kre-Alkalyn” which is ‘buffered’ creatine.

In your case I couldn’t be sure, you would have to experiment by stopping one to see if that makes a difference and vice versa to find the culprit.