Creatine may help build muscle without any exercise, experts say
When it comes to health supplements and powders, a major player that many gym-goers and athletes swear by is creatine.
Not heard of it? The naturally occurring substance usually comes in powdered form and can help support performance, recovery, and muscle growth.
“Creatine works, in part, by drawing water into muscle cells, which is one reason it supports performance,” Dr Stuart Hesketh, senior lecturer in sports medicine at the University of Lancashire, told Women’s Health.
But can creatine be effective even if you don’t plan on hitting the weights room any time soon?
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Well, experts say yes: creatine could be great, as long as you’re willing to consume three to five grams per day.
New research suggests that a daily scoop may be able to put on some lean muscle mass and also improve brain function and provide other health benefits.
The conclusion came from a study conducted by experts at Texas A&M University (TAMU), which was published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition.
The group, led by Richard Kreider, professor and director of the Exercise and Sport Nutrition Lab at the institution, separated 64 people, aged 45 to 65, into two groups.
The first cohort, containing 38 participants, was instructed to work out three times per week and consume for the duration of the 12-week trial.
On non-training days, they were expected to walk around 10,000 steps per day. 26 subjects did not exercise.
Both groups took a double daily dose of either creatine or a placebo and were advised to follow a diet approved by the American Heart Association.
This consisted of a 300-500 calorie deficit and a daily plate made up of 55 percent carbohydrates, 15 percent protein, and 30 percent fat.
Surprisingly, both groups saw improvements, with sedentary subjects packing on around 2.4 pounds of lean tissue.
They also had greater strength on bench presses and leg presses after 12 weeks.
Those who exercised while dosing themselves on creatine had three pounds more muscle mass plus showed greater strength on both exercises.
Additionally, they improved their time to exhaustion, reduced their overall body fat percentage, and saw ‘favourable’ changes in cognitive function and glucose control.
Speaking about how the study, titled ‘Effects of creatine supplementation with and without exercise and diet intervention on body composition, cognitive function, and markers of health in middle-aged and older adults, showed that creatine ‘increased energy in the muscle’, Kreider said: “Non-exercise physical activity and functional activities may increase correspondingly.
“If you feel better and daily activities are less demanding, you are more apt to do physical activity.”
He continued that he and his team are certain that with more research, you can claim that creatine has ‘important implications for middle-aged and older individuals seeking to reduce body fat while maintaining muscle mass and cognitive function’.
Researchers at Texas A&M added that they would like to continue their creatine research, particularly focusing on exploring the supplement's metabolic and cognitive effects.
Sebnem Ünlüişler, a genetic engineer and chief longevity officer at the London Regenerative Institute, who was not involved in the study, has also weighed in on the results.
She told Medical News Today that she believes the research ‘adds useful evidence for creatine as part of a healthy ageing strategy’, celebrating how ‘improvements in lean mass were seen even without structured exercise’.
“However, the participants were middle-aged rather than elderly, the sample was relatively small, and DXA measured lean tissue rather than muscle directly,” the expert continued, adding that a further study with a ‘more controlled or focused approach to diet’ would benefit the conclusion further.
Ella Scott