Health
Creatine may not build more muscle after all, study suggests
Creatine is a popular supplement used to help build muscle, but researchers in Australia are questioning its effectiveness.
Investigators from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney found that individuals who took creatine while performing a three-month weightlifting regimen put on the same amount of muscle as those who did not take the supplement while lifting.
That’s according to their recent study, which was published in the journal Nutrients.
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“We’ve shown that taking 5 grams of creatine supplement per day does not make any difference to the amount of lean muscle mass people put on while resistance training,” senior author Mandy Hagstrom, PhD, an exercise scientist from UNSW’s School of Health Sciences, said in a news release about the study.
The clinical trial looked at 54 relatively healthy participants ranging from 18 to 50 years old who were divided into two groups.
Creatine is a popular supplement used to help build muscle, but researchers in Australia are questioning its effectiveness. (iStock)
Both groups completed the same 12-week resistance training, comprised of three supervised workouts a week.
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The creatine group took the supplement one week prior to beginning the training regimen, referred to as a “wash-in,” and continued taking the 5-gram dose each day for a total of 13 weeks while performing the exercise routine.
The control group received no creatine or placebo during the workout period.
“This is the first creatine study to utilize a wash-in phase, which is standard in other clinical trial designs,” Hagstrom told Fox News Digital.
Investigators found that individuals who took creatine while performing a three-month weightlifting regimen put on the same amount of muscle as those who did not take the supplement while lifting. (iStock)
“This allows the effect of the creatine supplement to be separated from the effect of resistance training.”
Previous trials have started supplementation and exercise programs on the same day, she noted, which made it difficult to determine the impact of each.
The researchers looked at lean muscle body mass in both groups at baseline, then after the seven-day wash-in and after completion of the 12-week weight-lifting program.
“Taking 5 grams of creatine supplement per day does not make any difference to the amount of lean muscle mass people put on while [doing] resistance training.”
They used “dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry” — which is a non-invasive imaging technique — to measure bone mineral density and body composition.
While the creatine-supplemented group (particularly the women) showed about a one-pound gain in lean body mass compared to the non-supplemented group at the seven-day mark, both groups showed a 4.4-pound gain after performing the 12-week resistance training program.
There was no difference between the two groups when it came to lean body mass growth, according to the study.
“Our research found that creatine supplements are not effective for building lean body mass with strength training when taken at the recommended maintenance dose, but there are many other benefits of creatine that were not assessed in our study,” a researcher told Fox News Digital. (iStock)
“The people taking the creatine supplement saw changes before they even started exercising, which leads us to believe that it wasn’t actual real muscle growth, but potentially fluid retention,” Hagstrom said.
Once the participants started exercising, they saw no additional benefit from creatine, she said — “which suggests that 5 grams per day is not enough if you’re taking it for the purposes of building muscle.”
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The participants did not do a typical creatine-loading phase, which involves taking 20 to 25 grams a day for up to a week to try to saturate the muscles’ creatine stores, the study authors stated in the news release.
While it is common to start with a loading phase dose, it can cause gastrointestinal issues, they noted.
More research needed, authors say
Hagstrom’s team said more research is needed to determine whether a higher dose, such as 10 mg, is needed to achieve the desired lean body mass growth effect. (This higher dose has shown benefits for bone and brain health.)
“Our research found that creatine supplements are not effective for building lean body mass with strength training when taken at the recommended maintenance dose, but there are many other benefits of creatine that were not assessed in our study,” Hagstrom told Fox News Digital.
The creatine group took the supplement one week prior to beginning the training regimen and continued taking the 5-gram dose each day for a total of 13 weeks while performing the exercise routine. (iStock)
Another area of interest for future studies is whether creatine may have a long-term benefit, according to Imtiaz Desai, one of the study authors.
“When you start weight training, you have those beginner gains in strength, which start tapering off around the 12-week mark and become slower, so it’s possible the support from creatine might come at a later stage,” Desai said in the news release.
‘Food-first’ approach
Makenzi Mollitor, a registered sports dietitian at TSI: The Schwarz Institute in Massapequa, New York, commented on the study to Fox News Digital.
She said she prefers a “food-first” approach when it comes to taking supplements.
“Putting on muscle takes a combination of nutrition and resistance training,” Mollitor, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital.
Those looking to build muscle should prioritize nutrition around their resistance training schedule, she advised.
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“Eating a combination of protein and carbohydrates almost immediately after training — ideally within the hour — will help to promote muscle growth and repair,” said Mollitor, who works with Division 1 athletes at Long Island University in New York.
“By prioritizing protein, you will also be consuming creatine, because creatine is naturally found in protein sources such as meat, poultry and fish,” she added.
“If you are someone who doesn’t eat a lot of animal protein or is vegan/vegetarian, a supplement could help fill those gaps.”
Supplements do have their place, however, according to the expert.
“If you are someone who doesn’t eat a lot of animal protein or is vegan/vegetarian, a supplement could come in handy to help fill those gaps,” she said.
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For those who choose to supplement with creatine, Mollitor recommended consuming a dose of creatine either immediately before or after training.
To ensure the safety and purity of ingredients, she also emphasized the importance of choosing a supplement that has been tested by a third party.
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An accidental lab discovery has opened the door to entirely new ways of preventing the flu.
While investigating how influenza replicates, researchers discovered that different flu strains use completely different strategies to infiltrate human cells, SWNS reported.
By targeting the specific molecules the viruses rely on, scientists found that they could block them from entering new cells and halt their replication altogether.
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Researchers say these “fundamental insights” into seasonal influenza highlight a clear path toward developing better preventive medications.
“The hope is that fundamental, curiosity-based research like this helps to pave the way for novel strategies to treat and prevent influenza infections,” principal investigator Dr. Emily Bruce, from the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine, said in the SWNS report.
While investigating how influenza replicates, researchers discovered that different flu strains use completely different strategies to infiltrate human cells. (iStock)
While several flu strains cause illness, H1N1 and H3N2 influenza A viruses are the most common. However, current flu tests cannot differentiate between them, and clinical treatments are identical for both.
Although vaccines and antivirals are available, Bruce noted a “dire” need for better medications to stop the virus from spreading cell to xxcell.
“You don’t get sick when a virus is in one cell,” he noted. “You get sick because a virus replicates itself and goes into many more cells.”
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The study, which was published in The Journal of Virology, originally aimed to map how viral RNA segments are transported within cells to create new viral particles.
The team used H1N1 and H3N2 viruses isolated from the nasal passages of positive patients in 2022.
Clinical treatments remain identical for both primary strains of the flu virus. (iStock)
During the investigation, the team unexpectedly stumbled upon a cellular pathway that blocked the virus from entering lung cells, SWNS reported.
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The data revealed that when a specific human protein called Rab11B was depleted, H3N2 viruses failed to enter human lung cells. H1N1 viruses were completely unaffected.
Using reverse genetics, the team mapped this defect and uncovered a brand-new, H3N2-specific role for Rab11B during viral entry.
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This discovery challenged the scientific assumption that all flu viruses enter cells the same way.
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“Viruses are like pirates from different countries hijacking someone’s ship,” Bruce said. “Different viruses, like different types of pirates, use different methods to get onboard.”
This discovery challenged the scientific assumption that all flu viruses enter cells the same way. (iStock)
“We had previously thought that all flu viruses used the same way to get into a cell, but we discovered that this is not true,” she went on. “H1N1 and H3N2 need different proteins to get in, and if you get rid of the right protein, a specific virus can’t get in.”
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While these findings identify a critical cellular pathway for viral entry, the study was conducted using isolated cells, the researchers acknowledged.
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Further research is needed to determine whether blocking the protein is safe and effective within a live, complex human respiratory system.
Bruce and the team hope to conduct further research to determine whether this Rab11B-dependency is a fundamental property of H3N2, or if it’s a trait unique to currently circulating flu strains.
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Eating processed meat like ham, sausage and bacon may be linked to a higher risk of certain types of cancer, according to new research.
While health organizations have already confirmed that processed meat can contribute to colon cancer, this study looked closer at cancers in the upper digestive tract, where the link has historically been less clear.
To understand these connections, researchers from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), one of the world’s largest long-term nutrition and cancer cohorts, tracked the health and diets of 450,112 people across Europe for an average of 14 years.
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The study group included 131,426 men and 318,686 women, according to the study’s press release.
During the follow-up period, 876 people developed stomach cancer and 215 people developed esophageal adenocarcinoma, which is cancer of the tube connecting the mouth to the stomach.
For female participants, eating both processed meat and white meat was linked to an increased risk of developing the disease. (iStock)
Researchers tracked where the stomach cancers grew, separating them into the upper part of the stomach near the throat and the lower part of the stomach.
The researchers also sorted the tumors into two categories based on how the cancer cells appeared under a microscope: intestinal, which forms more organized structures, and diffuse, in which the cells are more scattered throughout the tissue.
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After adjusting for other lifestyle factors, the researchers found that for every extra 30 grams of processed meat a person ate per day, their overall risk of stomach cancer went up by 9%. Eating that same extra 30 grams a day was also linked to a 13% higher risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma.
A standard single slice of regular deli-sliced ham or lunch meat averages around 28 grams, according to USDA data and nutritional tracking databases.
An extra 20 grams of white meat, such as chicken and turkey, was linked to a 12% higher risk of cancer in the main body of the stomach. (iStock)
An extra 20 grams of white meat, such as chicken or turkey, was linked to a 12% higher risk of cancer in the main body of the stomach, the researchers noted.
The study also revealed differences between men and women. For male participants, only processed meat showed a clear, statistically significant link to a higher risk of stomach cancer. For female participants, however, eating both processed meat and white meat was linked to an increased risk.
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These findings align with global health benchmarks, particularly those established by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer.
The agency has long classified processed meat as a known human carcinogen, primarily due to its strong, well-documented links to colorectal cancer.
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However, health organizations have also consistently pointed to a potential, yet less definitive, relationship between these meats and cancers of the stomach.
Eating 30 grams of processed meat a day, or the equivalent to one slice of ham, was linked to a 13% higher risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma. (iStock)
Further scientific investigation is needed to confirm the findings and to account for other underlying risk factors, such as certain stomach infections, which could interact with dietary habits.
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A key limitation of the study is its reliance on self-reported diets, which can sometimes lead to inaccuracies in how participants recall their meat consumption over time, the researchers noted.
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The findings were published in the International Journal of Cancer.
Fox News Digital reached out to the researchers requesting comment.
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