About the only time the average person hears about Creatine is when the doctor glances at the results of their annual check-up lab tests. And it’s usually declared ‘Okay’. But what is Creatine, anyway? And are you getting enough?
Until recently, Creatine has been deemed specifically important for professional
athletes, body builders, and ultra-high-performance Olympians…
According to the preamble to a recent report on the stuff, Creatine has, until recently, been seen as ‘a gym-only supplement’. But the Texas A&M University team wanted to look into where the average peson is at with their Creatine.
Creatine has traditionally been associated with building and preserving muscle mass, strength and physical perseverance. Thus, it has been deemed specifically important for professional athletes, body builders, and ultra-high-performance Olympians. But now, it’s known to be, “emerging as a powerful tool for everyday wellness.”
But the group’s study revealed, many of us may be getting too little of the powerful, multi-talented nutrient. And the problem may be that we’re not eating enough of the foods from which we get na-turally-occurring Creatine…
What they did
The study itself was simple. Researchers looked at the prevailing dietary and activity profiles of the average Western adult. And found that even relatively sedentary individuals, who should be getting 2-4 grams of Creatine a day, were falling short. Considering the greatly-expanded list of body func-tions in which the team assessed Creatine as performing an important role.
“It’s now understood to play a vital role in cellular energy, cognitive function, and healthy aging,” the report explains. “And it’s also specifically associated with, “boosting memory and reducing fatigue […] and preserving muscle mass over time.”
What they found
But even if we did eat more red meat, and oily fish, the survey says most of us would not be getting enough Creatine.
“You only get about a gram of Creatine per pound of red meat or fish, like salmon. So it’s expensive, and takes a lot of calories to get a gram,” says Dr. Richard Kreider, a professor at, and Director of the Exercise & Sport Nutrition Lab at Texas A&M University. This is why supplementation matters, es-pecially for vegetarians or vegans who do not consume enough Creatine in their diets.
The takeaway
Ideally, Kreider concludes, family physicians should be taking into account such factors as an indi-vidual’s muscle mass and activity level when recommending specific amounts of supplemental Creatine.
My take
Fortunately, Creatine supplements are abundantly available and relatively inexpensive (see photo, top of page.). Equally important, Creatine supplements have been found, in hundreds of previous experiments, to be generally safe. Researchers have consistently reported very few side effects, and no significant differences in the rate of side effects, for participants taking a placebo versus those taking Creatine.
Even if we all needed to top off with an estimated 5-10 grams of extra Creatine a day, it sounds like something we could all consider – even within restricted budgets and/or fixed incomes…
~ Maggie J.