Creatine is a popular supplement that helps build muscle, but Australian researchers have questioned its effectiveness.
Investigators at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney found that individuals who took creatine while performing a three-month weightlifting regimen put on the same amount of muscle as those who did not take supplements during lifting.
That’s according to their recent research published in the journal Nutrients.
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“We have shown that taking 5 grams of creatine supplements per day does not differ in the amount of the large number of people with muscle mass excluded during resistance training,” Dr. Mandy Hagstrom, an exercise scientist at the Department of Health Sciences at UNSW, said in a news release on the study.
Creatine is a popular supplement that helps build muscle, but Australian researchers have questioned its effectiveness. (istock)
In the clinical trial, 54 relatively healthy participants, ages 18-50, were divided into two groups.
Both groups completed the same 12 weeks of resistance training. It consists of three monitored trainings per week.
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The Creatine Group took the supplement one week before starting a training regimen called “wash in” and continued taking five daily doses for a total of 13 weeks while carrying out an exercise routine. Control groups did not receive creatine or placebo during the workout period.
“This is the first creatine study to utilize the wash-in-phase, the standard in other clinical trial designs,” Hagstrom told Fox News Digital.
Investigators found that individuals who took creatine while performing a three-month weightlifting regimen put on the same amount of muscle as those who did not take supplements during lifting. (istock)
“This allows us to separate the effects of creatine supplements from the effects of resistance training.”
She noted that previous exams began supplemental and exercise programs on the same day, making it difficult to determine the impact of each.
The researchers looked at the mass of lean muscle in both groups at baseline and then looked at the completion of a 12-week weight loss program after seven days of wash-in.
“Even if you take 5 grams of creatine supplements per day, it doesn’t make a difference in the amount of lean muscle mass you wear during resistance training.”
They used “dual energy x-ray absorption measurements” (non-invasive imaging techniques) to measure bone density and body composition.
The creatine-added group (especially women) showed a 1 pound increase in lean body mass compared to the uncompensated group at the 7-day mark, while both groups showed an increase of 4.4 pounds after conducting a 12-week resistance training program.
Research showed that there was no difference between the two groups when it comes to body mass growth.
“Our study found that creatine supplements are not effective in building lean weight with strength training when taken at the recommended maintenance dose, but there are many other benefits of creatine that were not evaluated in our study,” the researcher told Fox News Digital. (istock)
“People taking creatine supplements were seeing changes before they started exercising, making them believe that it is potentially fluid retention, not actual muscle growth,” Hagstrom said.
Once participants began the exercise, they saw no additional benefits from creatine, she said — “This suggests that 5 grams a day is not enough if you are taking it with the aim of building muscle.”
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Participants did not undergo the typical creatine loading phase. This includes taking 20-25 grams a day for a week to saturate the muscle creatine store.
It is common to start with load phase doses, but they noted that it can cause gastrointestinal problems.
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The Hagstrom team said more research is needed to determine whether a high dose, such as 10 mg, is necessary to achieve the desired lean mass growth effect. (This high dose shows benefits for bone and brain health.)
“Our study found that creatine supplements are not effective in building lean weight with strength training when taken at the recommended maintenance dose, but there are many other benefits of creatine that were not evaluated in our study,” Hagstrom told Fox News Digital.
The creatine group took the supplement one week before starting the training regimen and continued taking five daily doses for a total of 13 weeks while performing an exercise routine. (istock)
Another area of interest in future research is whether creatine may provide long-term benefits, according to one of the study authors, Dr. Imtiaz Desai.
“When you start weight training, you start to tapere and slow down around the 12-week mark, so support from creatine may come at a later stage,” Desai said in a news release.
“Food-first” approach
Makenzi Mollitor, Registered Sports Nutritionist at TSI: The Schwartz Institute in Masapequa, New York commented on the Fox News Digital study.
She said she prefers a “first food” approach when it comes to taking supplements.
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“Wearing muscles requires a combination of nutrition and resistance training,” Moriter, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital.
She advised that anyone looking to build muscle should prioritize nutrition, focusing on their resistance training schedule.
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“Eating a protein-carb combination immediately after training can help promote muscle growth and repair,” Moriter, who works with Division 1 athletes at Long Island University in New York, told Fox News Digital.
“By prioritizing proteins, creatine is also consumed because it is naturally found in protein sources such as meat, chicken and fish,” she added.
“If you’re someone who doesn’t eat a lot of animal protein or is a vegan/vegetarian, supplements can help fill those gaps.”
However, experts say the supplement has its location.
“If you don’t eat a lot of animal protein or are vegan/vegetarian, supplements that can help fill those gaps may help,” she said.
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For those who choose to supplement creatine, Moritar recommends consuming a dose of creatine just before or after training.
To ensure the safety and purity of the ingredients, she also emphasized the importance of choosing supplements tested by third parties.
