Creatine and Aging

[eytonxav]

This article discusses possible anti-aging benefits from creatine, which is a supplement that has been used by athletes for many years to enhance muscle building and recovery. Although this article appears in a supplement companies literature, the author is an independent fitness and nutrition expert with a strong scientific basis:

Creatine Reduces Markers Of Aging - Life Extension

 

[W2R]

This article discusses possible anti-aging benefits from creatine, which is a supplement that has been used by athletes for many years to enhance muscle building and recovery. Although this article appears in a supplement companies literature, the author is an independent fitness and nutrition expert with a strong scientific basis:

Creatine Reduces Markers Of Aging - Life Extension

Wow! If I understand it correctly, that article is saying that creatine supplementation offers essentially what just about every older person wants - - a longer, and healthier life.

Me first! I'm already first in line for immortality pills if they are ever invented.

I wonder if creatine exists naturally in certain foods so that I could just eat more of those foods and see if I am doing better or what. I suppose I should Google it. I do tend to be suspicious of nutritional advantages that can only be obtained through buying expensive supplements. "Follow the money".

 

[eytonxav]

I do tend to be suspicious of nutritional advantages that can only be obtained through buying expensive supplements. "Follow the money".

Creatine has been used for a long time by strength athletes and its not a particularly expensive supplement. This article is pointing out that there may be some other benefits to it vs just building more muscle/strength. I believe you need to be careful with dosing, as it can be hard on the kidneys if you over do it.

 

[W2R]

Creatine has been used for a long time by strength athletes and its not a particularly expensive supplement. This article is pointing out that there may be some other benefits to it vs just building more muscle/strength. I believe you need to be careful with dosing, as it can be hard on the kidneys if you over do it.

Interesting! Thanks for the info.


Edited to add: It even has its own Wikipedia article!


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creatine

 

[Letj]

Is this something that anybody can use including women who are not athletes or don't even work out?

 

[tmm99]

I would be careful and research before taking this supplement, and keep track of any changes while it. This is nothing scientific, but I know one person (male) who took it experienced high blood pressure. I have never taken it myself (female).

 

[tmm99]

I would be careful and research before taking this supplement, and keep track of any changes while it. This is nothing scientific, but I know one person (male) who took it experienced high blood pressure. I have never taken it myself (female).

I just looked up "creatine blood pressure" and Mayo Clinic said this below... (I haven't done any other lookups, just so you know...)

Blood glucose levels may need to be monitored by a qualified healthcare professional, including a pharmacist, and medication adjustments may be necessary. Creatine may cause high blood pressure.

 

[Walt34]

Cool! According to this I don't have to eat healthy or exercise, just pop this little pill and all will be right with the world:

Because of creatine’s vital impact on your body’s energy levels, it should be considered for anyone interested in slowing aging, improving energy levels, and fighting off age-related diseases.

 

[W2R]

Cool! According to this I don't have to eat healthy or exercise, just pop this little pill and all will be right with the world:

Yeah, right?

I just looked up "creatine blood pressure" and Mayo Clinic said this below... (I haven't done any other lookups, just so you know...)

Blood glucose levels may need to be monitored by a qualified healthcare professional, including a pharmacist, and medication adjustments may be necessary. Creatine may cause high blood pressure.

OK, creatine is OUT for me. I have high blood pressure and I am type 2 diabetic, so I think I'll just leave things as they are. Which is not to say that creatine is or is not a good idea for others, but that I don't want to mess with my already screwy blood chemistry and BP.

 

[braumeister]

I wonder if creatine exists naturally in certain foods so that I could just eat more of those foods and see if I am doing better or what.

Yes, absolutely.
Creatine is obtained largely from your standard protein sources: beef, tuna, cod, salmon, herring, pork, etc. Vegetarians may particularly benefit from supplementation.

But to get the amount contained in many creatine supplements, you would have to eat at least 20 pounds of meat a day. That's rather a lot.

 

[W2R]

Yes, absolutely.
Creatine is obtained largely from your standard protein sources: beef, tuna, cod, salmon, herring, pork, etc. Vegetarians may particularly benefit from supplementation.

But to get the amount contained in many creatine supplements, you would have to eat at least 20 pounds of meat a day. That's rather a lot.

That really IS a lot! No thank you! I can't eat that much.

 

[razztazz]

Observations:

Headline says "reduces MARKERS of aging". That is different from "reduces aging". Word weaseling. What are they actually trying to tell us?

Ok, so this stuff has been used for ages by athletes. Does or work? Or is it sort of a time honored talisman for athletes, like eating a lot of steak or foregoing sex a week before the big game or the championship fight? Do more people who win use it? Do people who lose or don't make the team not use it?

On a less cynical note The Wikipedia entry on it seemed much more sanguine about it. I might try it for a few weeks just to see what happens

 

[W2R]

Does or work? Or is it sort of a time honored talisman for athletes, like eating a lot of steak or foregoing sex a week before the big game or the championship fight?

Do competitive athletes actually DO that? Wow. I had no idea.

 

[razztazz]

Do competitive athletes actually DO that? Wow. I had no idea.

I suspect the reality is:

1) The steak thing: yes

2) The sex thing: Not. At least not since the 1950's

 

[W2R]

I suspect the reality is:

1) The steak thing: yes

2) The sex thing: Not. At least not since the 1950's

Oh, OK. Thanks. At least I don't feel quite so stupid now! I had never heard of the sex thing before.

 

[razztazz]

Oh, OK. Thanks. At least I don't feel quite so stupid now! I had never heard of the sex thing before.

How old are you? That used to be a big "sports thing" I remember hearing it a lot when iw as a kid, although it was often used humorously, even though it didn't apply to me at that age.

In "Rocky" Micky tells Rocky to "Stay away from that pet shop dame. Women weaken legs!" That, as I saw it when I first saw the movie, was a sort of evocation of old fashioned athletic training techniques.

 

[redduck]

"Creatine gained national attention during the summer of 1998, as Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals and Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs pursued baseball's single-season home run record. McGwire, whose 70 home runs would break a record that had stood for 37 years, admitted he was using the supplement."
Sep 2, 2010
Using Creatine: A Muscular Debate - LiveScience

www.livescience.com/34883-creatine-dietary-supplement-builds-muscle-10...

++++
Don't know about the anti-aging, but if you want to increase your home run production, you might want to consider using Creatine. I guess if you use this you can still have all the meat and sex you want. Home runs, meat and sex: what's there not to like? I guess if you don't use Creatine, you won't hit as many home runs, but maybe still can get to first base. However, the article isn't clear on this point.

 

[aja8888]

"Creatine gained national attention during the summer of 1998, as Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals and Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs pursued baseball's single-season home run record. McGwire, whose 70 home runs would break a record that had stood for 37 years, admitted he was using the supplement."
Sep 2, 2010
Using Creatine: A Muscular Debate - LiveScience

www.livescience.com/34883-creatine-dietary-supplement-builds-muscle-10...

++++
Don't know about the anti-aging, but if you want to increase your home run production, you might want to consider using Creatine. I guess if you use this you can still have all the meat and sex you want. Home runs, meat and sex: what's there not to like? I guess if you don't use Creatine, you won't hit as many home runs, but maybe still can get to first base. However, the article isn't clear on this point.

Darn, when I was playing college baseball, if I knew about Creatine I might have made it to the major leagues, or at least to first base with Susie!

 

[6miths]

'Follow the money'... I like that. The supplement business is a multi-billion dollar industry. Virtually none of the wares being hawked have been shown to be beneficial to the average person and as more and more controlled research has been done, more and more have been shown to be not only useless but harmful to health.

 

[eytonxav]

"Creatine gained national attention during the summer of 1998, as Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals and Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs pursued baseball's single-season home run record. McGwire, whose 70 home runs would break a record that had stood for 37 years, admitted he was using the supplement."
Sep 2, 2010
Using Creatine: A Muscular Debate - LiveScience

www.livescience.com/34883-creatine-dietary-supplement-builds-muscle-10...

++++
Don't know about the anti-aging, but if you want to increase your home run production, you might want to consider using Creatine. I guess if you use this you can still have all the meat and sex you want. Home runs, meat and sex: what's there not to like? I guess if you don't use Creatine, you won't hit as many home runs, but maybe still can get to first base. However, the article isn't clear on this point.

This analogy to McQuire and Sosa is a poor one. Creatine did not give them the home run boost, but rather it was steroids. Creatine is not a steroid.

 

[Aerides]

Summer of 98 was a lot more fun at the time, not then knowing all the other stuff in addition to Creatine they had going on. We knew about the creatine, but not the rest. Saw MM hit 56 and 57 at the ballpark.

 

[nash031]

I used Creatine in my 20s for about six or seven years. I had no known negative health effects from it. Creatine generally helps hold water in your muscles, which can help you gain "mass". In addition, there is some evidence that it helps prolong your ability to do work while lifting, thus allowing another rep or another set, which, of course, makes you stronger.

There is little to no evidence that Creatine itself actually makes you stronger directly or in any anabolic way.

While on Creatine, you're usually encouraged to drink more water. Generally, when I would take it, I'd put on about five lbs right away, mostly due to water weight retained in muscles.

I don't know much about the negative medical issues, but what I'll say is I generally found creatine powder unpleasant to take, felt like I was bloated quite a bit (from water retention), and found the expense not worth the perceived benefits.

There are other studies out there that show mild gains in endurance from taking Creatine, but for most endurance athletes the water retention weight gain is off-putting, so it's not widely used in my athletic endeavors anymore.

In my experience learning about it and supplementing with it, I doubt there would be any benefit from taking it. As others have mentioned, the supplement industry is a huge, little-regulated marketplace.

For another comment: creatine does come in pill form, but it's generally consumed either directly as a powder or as part of a powder-sugar mix, the theory being the insulin spike caused by the sugar allows your body to use more of the creatine itself. Then you can get into the $80 and $100 creatine powders mixed with HMB...

Ten years after I took my last creatine supplement, I was able to put on as much muscle mass and was stronger deadlifting and squatting by doing this neat-o thing called "hard work" via CrossFit (which can also be hard on your kidneys, by the way!).

It's a money grab, IMO.

The no-sex thing is an old wives tale too. ;-)

 

[tmm99]

Great writeup, nash. Always good to hear from someone who has has experience!

Maybe the water gain causes the rise in blood pressure that my friend experienced (and I read about), but that's just my guess.

 

[HFWR]

For those in competition, a slight edge could be important. But for most of us the results will be minimal.

You're wallet will lose some weight though...