Deep dive into creatine: benefits, risks, dose, mechanism of action | Peter Attia with Layne Norton

This clip is from podcast # 235 ‒ Training principles for mass and strength, changing views on nutrition, creatine supplementation, and more | Layne Norton, Ph.D.

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The Peter Attia Drive is a weekly, ultra-deep-dive podcast focusing on maximizing health, longevity, critical thinking…and a few other things. With over 45 million episodes downloaded, it features topics including fasting, ketosis, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, mental health, and much more.

Peter is a physician focusing on the applied science of longevity. His practice deals extensively with nutritional interventions, exercise physiology, sleep physiology, emotional and mental health, and pharmacology to increase lifespan (delay the onset of chronic disease), while simultaneously improving healthspan (quality of life).

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[duanerichardson]

Yup. Got flagged once for high creatinine in my lab results. Did a 24-hr urine collection and was sent to a specialist. He took one look at me, asked if I worked out and took creatine, and when I said yes, he said there was no problem.

[Josephv]

It works amazingly for me. Muscles pumped. Best of all, no joint pain anymore. No cramping. Mind is clearer. The stuff is AMAZING. Use it.💪🏻💪🏻

[enntense]

I live in Houston and work outside in the field. Summer can be brutal. Creatine is a great tool for protecting yourself from heat stress. Like seriously good and effective. Kind of weird you don’t see that angle mentioned much.

[mrhead]

Creatine pretty much changed my life, suffered from chronic depression for over 30 years never touched anti-depressants i always battled with my demons in my own way. Been taking a lower dose, 3g per day now for 3 months, after around 2 months i noticed the way i think has changed, i dont seem to have any dark thoughts, ive even tried to make myself depressed but it doesnt seem to work, which has worried me, strangely...its like i cannot be sad attention span has increased, i struggle to read and process what im reading, i would need to read something 3-4 times for it to 'sink in' now i read it once. The neurological benefits of this stuff seem to far outweigh the physical benefits, makes me wonder what the world would be like if everyone was on this.

[fxfxnytro]

I have been using creatine since the mid 90's without any health issues. Best supplement on the market hands down.

[egcruzer]

Thank you for the straight to the point video. So many of the medical advice videos turn a 1 minute of content into a 20 minute video. Lots of gems in this one above and beyond the standard creatine videos. Thanks again.

[Thegingercrew]

I started taking about two months ago to gain a little weight and add lean muscle. I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in 2000, not on meds since 2016. I was very surprised at the benefits of creatine in my bowels. Others have complained about GI discomfort but for me it was the opposite. Been having the best poops since I was diagnosed. Maybe something about the water absorption in the intestines. Either way was a very pleasant surprise for me. Thanks for all you do!

[SuperSlainer]

I started taking 3g creatine monohydrate 8 days ago principally to help with mental health issues. After about 3 days I could already see physical improvements in dead lift, curls, dead hang, sprints. For the first time in a very long time I actually felt and had a „pump“ in my muscles.

Regarding mental health effects, it’s difficult to outright say any effects are due to creatine. The physical aspects are solely due to creatine intake, my diet is otherwise exactly the same.

[oleshko-g]

I got the answers to Literally ALL the questions I had about Creatine.
Creatinine elevation, loading, dosage, cycling. Thank you so much 🙏

[pryme]

I’ve been using Creatine on and off(mainly on) for 22 years, consistently. No adverse effects and for me at least, it has not affected my hair. I’m mid 40’s with a full head of hair still. Too bad it has DOUBLED in price in the last two years.
As far as types, I’ve used them all from phosphagen HP back in the early 00’s, cell tech after that to the alkaline, micronized and good ole monohydrate. The latter is the way to go, especially if you can find the crea pure German stuff as it is much finer and dissolves completely. I loaded it when I was young because I thought you had to. That’s marketing crap, I just use 3-5g a day no loading and it still works as expected.

[biknjak]

For me the "saturation" (at 5 g/day) takes about 3 weeks to feel the full effect. It also takes about 3 weeks for its effects to fade away when I quit taking it.

Recently got a full body test done as a precaution and had slightly elevated Creatinine (1.36, for a normal range of 0.9-1.3 mg/dL) and doc kinda scared me away from taking any Protein and Creatine supplements citing kidney damage. I have a high Lean muscle mass % and low body fat % and I’ve been into fitness and calisthenics since adulthood (33 now). This obviously scared me a bit and I went into the rabbit hole to find more about this, the more I read the more I felt the elevated levels were because of higher muscle mass (currently at weight 70.95kg with 58.46 kg Muscle Mass and 61.51kg fat free BW). Finally got to this video and the research papers mentioned and now a bit relieved. It was quite stressful for the last 2 weeks since the doc’s recommendation.

[BasslineHeavy]

Creatine is so beneficial for me when training, I’m noticeably stronger, my muscles look fuller and it seems easier to fin muscle. But for me I always noticed a pattern where it would make my face bloated and my skin worse and in the end I decided it just wasn’t a trade off I was willing to make as you can stay in good shape without creatine

[TonyGoodnight]

20 years ago I used Creatine in liquid form and I feel it helped my cycling fitness get better. Then I started getting cramping when I used any creatine, so I stopped using it and the cramping stopped. In 2021, I tried it again in power form without loading and cramped terribly within 2-3 days during cycling trainer rides. I consumed proper amounts of fluid and electrolytes pre, during and post workouts. So I stopped again and cramping stopped, but it took at least a week for cramped Muscles to recover!!!!

[likewisegaming]

Creatine is a game changer. The first year I started getting back in the gym I wasn’t taking it. But have been taking it the last 3 years and it’s helped me substantially as far as endurance, recovery, and overall energy.

[stephenhumphries]

Interesting talk I'm 67 years of age and still reasonably muscled however I've only recently joined a gym, Creatine seems like it is well tested and as I'm interested in at least keeping the muscle mass that I have and hopefully gaining some muscle mass I am going to start taking this supplement, much appreciated.

[timsmith]

I started taking creatine HCL last year and got some blood work done this past July which tested my eGFR (stands for estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate) and found that it had dropped to below below 60 from a previous high of 72. Normal value is >59 mL/min/1.73. An eGFR below 60 mL/min for three months or more may indicate Chronic Kidney Disease. I immediately got off of the creatine! I'll test again in January and see if it's gone back up. Also, my Creatinine had gone up, but that wasn't as big as a concern. If your kidneys don't have a normal filter rate, though, that's a *bad* thing.

[dvcallen]

Thanks for the video, really useful!
Here's something I can't get my head around: If there was one study that showed that creatine supplementation might promote hair loss, through the increase in DHT, I really don't understand why we take for granted that it doesn't (one study out of one is a 100% average), and why other studies aren't being done. It sounds like an underestimation of the problem...
I quit creating because of this possible side-effect being in my 40s and not wanting to take the risk. The bottom line is that one study has been done and it showed that it might promote hair loss 🤔

[hikedayley]

Thank you guys for this very important information. I have sarcopenia. I am doing an experiment on myself(n=1). Increasing high quality protein to equal a minimum of 150 g per day. Taking 5 g of Creatine per day and supplementing Leucine with each meal. Doing a 3 month Challenge.

[joeydeason]

Thank you for mentioning the fact that elevated liver enzymes do not always mean liver disease. Reference ranges need to be adjusted for a more individualized approach to reviewing bloodwork, especially for athletes who are lifting a lot of weights and/or carry a lot of muscle on their frame.