mixing creatine

[bigjohnstud]

hey guy's, was wondering if mixing alot of creatine at one time would last or a waste of creatine. right now i mix about 5g of creatine with 5oz of gatorade. could i mix say 15g with 15oz and just shake it up and drink 5oz and get the same results.

[DBarcelo]

Creatine doesn't desolve in liquid, so you have to be carefull even with shaking it, so I would say it's better to just mix the 5g with 5oz. of Gatorade. Creatine isn't bad for you, but if you take in more than you should, it can increase your serum creatine levels and that can cause all kinds of problems with things like your heart.

[Ambulance]

Agree, you'll most likely end up with most of your creatine at the bottom of the gatorade...

[Jayro107]

Big Johnstud Iff U Consume To Much Creatine At Once It Is Like U Are Wasting It Because Your Muscles Can Only Absorb So Much At A Single Time... Youll In The Long Run Jut End Up Pissing It Out ... Drink The 5 Grams.

[DBarcelo]

You don't actually piss out extra creatine, you piss out creatinine. If you take in excess creatine, it can end up in your blood and be deposited in organs instead of muscle.

[RP7]

You don't actually piss out extra creatine, you piss out creatinine. If you take in excess creatine, it can end up in your blood and be deposited in organs instead of muscle.

Is that true? And is that bad?

[DBarcelo]

Yes it's true, and yes it's bad. We had a girl go to the emergancy room for chest pains and it turned out she had an elevated serum creatine level. She only had one can of RedBull (or something like that), but it was enough to raise her serum levels.

[RP7]

This might come out funny, but is more commentary on the situation than any kind of criticism.

Now I'm not accusing you of lying or anything, so don't take this the wrong way, but creatine seems to strictly get its bad rep from these 'urban legends.'

Once again I'm not questioning your integrity, however these storys are pretty prevalent: all undocumented, heresay, 1st person sometimes but more often 'someone's friend.'

Point is its hard for the creatine using people (like myself) to take these stories to heart. If this is so bad why isn't it well known, why are there not warnings on the bottles? I take 10g before my workouts and feel I'm more likely to bang Kournikova then go to the hospital. What were the circumstances behind this... did she have a weak immune system, allergy to creatine, any other health problem? Could she have had that elevated level for another reason?

[DBarcelo]

More than likely she already had enough creatine in her system, or her body wasn't able to metabolize the creatine for some reason.

As far as the documentation and warnings are concerned.....it is well documented in the medical community that supplimenting too much creatine can elevate serum creatine levels and can be dangerous. It's also well known in the medical community that the only tests done on creatine were short and they checked the brain for any changes.

As far as I know creatine doesn't have a bad rep at all.

Some people don't eat foods with a lot of creatine in it and some people do eat a lot of foods with creatine in it. If you don't eat a lot of high creatine foods, you can use the extra creatine and you'll notice the effects more than the person that does eat a lot of high creatine foods. So, if you don't foods with creatine in it, you should do okay with 10mgs per day, but if you do eat foods with a lot of creatine in it, that's overkill. Your body weight also determines how much may be too much for you. A 250lb person has a lot more room to store creatine than a person that only weight 75lbs.

Also, the effects of a high serum creatine level can be very subtle. You can have a gradual thickening of the heart that only several MRI's or ECG's could pick up. If you don't need 10mgs and you keep taking that much over a long period of time, you'll be one of those people you read about that are healthy as a horse and just drop dead for no apparent reason, then they say there was an underlying heart condition. If the blood coagulates before autopsy, it may never be discovered that there was a high serum creatine level.

Why aren't there any warnings??? They don't have to put a warning. They aren't controled by the FDA the way other food manufacturors are. And there aren't many deaths atributed to it, just medical problems. I've never bought any diuretics, but I'm pretty much willing to bet they don't have a warning on the bottle and diuretics kill thousands of people every year.

Basically, it's not urban legand, it's not undocumented and it's not heresay. It's just not something you can find out about on the internet. But if you go ask an ER doctor or a sports medicine doctor or even a kidney doctor and they can tell you about the effects of creatine and excessive creatine in the human body.

[RP7]

Basically, it's not urban legand, it's not undocumented and it's not heresay. It's just not something you can find out about on the internet. But if you go ask an ER doctor or a sports medicine doctor or even a kidney doctor and they can tell you about the effects of creatine and excessive creatine in the human body.

A relative of mine is a naturopathic 'doctor' and she also does live-blood cell analysis. I constantly barrage her with questions and give lists of supplements for her old instructors to look at. These are people who specialize in degenerative diseases caused by diet, and lets face it, the prevalence of cancer and other health probelms in our western world is pollution and our diets - chickens w/hormones, pesticides on fruit.......etc. I worry about this stuff as I eat mostly organic foods.

I asked a sports medicine doctor once too..... didnt say this.

Creatine always gets the thumbs-up (just stick to the doses is all I hear). I take it from your posts you're some kind of an EMT? Once again we have two distinct camps. And once again I dont know who or what to believe.......sigh

Are you telling me I shoudl just take juice then?

[DBarcelo]

I'm telling you just what any other doctor will tell you, stick to 5mg per day and you're fine. If you tell those same people that you take twice as much as you're supposed to for a prolonged period of time, then you'll here the problems. Creatine is naturally accuring, though the creatine you suppliment is not the actual creatine your body uses. Your body has to metabolize it and turn it into biological creatine. So, sticking with 5mg per day is just fine. Like I said before, if you're 200lbs and don't eat foods with creatine in it, then taking 10mg will be fine. But for the average person, 5mg is the most that should be taken. You can also try to ask them about the serum creatine levels. Or just ask, what happens if I DON'T stick with the doses?

And no, I'm not an EMT, I'm an MD, Phd. I've been doing renal work for about two years now. And one of the things we are concerned with is creatinine levels in dialysis patients.

[RP7]

Holy **** I'm arguing health with a doctor. Man am I stuborn.

Answer me this then: I only take 10g on my workout days and NONE on non-training days... does that make a difference?

[DBarcelo]

Your body uses more creatine when the muscles are active, so taking 10g's while you're working out isn't going to be as risky. Every time your muscles are active, more creatinine is produced, and your body has to get rid of it, so just make sure you urinate when you feel the need and you'll be just fine with the 10g's on workout days. But no more than 5g's on non-active days. You should also break it up so you get 5g pre-workout and 5g post-workout just to be on the safe side.

[Jayro107]

DBarcelo great info... quick question.... taking creatine while trying to cut up is that a good idea or not because doesnt creatine retain a lot of water

[DBarcelo]

Creatine does cause intra-muscular water retention. That's why people tend to get dehydrated after taking creatine. It can pull water from other parts of the body and put it in the muscles. Because it's intra-muscular, it doesn't matter if you take it while cutting, so long as you're not taking a diuretic also. While cutting, you have to also limit your water consumption. People that take creatine and drink a lot of water get that rounded look to them. The only potential probelm I see is the dehydration being intensified. If you're in a hot climate like Texas or Florida, it may not be the best idea. Outside of that, you should be fine. And remember, no more than 5g per day (even on workout days if you're trying to cut).