One of the pervasive myths surrounding the use of creatine is that it’ll make you lose water faster, dehydrate you, etc…well, you know what? This is just another example of moronic conclusions derived from muddled thinking. If creatine were so bad for your fluid balance, then you’d suspect that if you worked your tail off under heat-stressed conditions, and you were a creatine consumer, that you’d fall over with cramps worse than a bitter-beer face. Here’s what a study from San Diego University showed us. (Kern et al. 2001. Physiological response to exercise in the heat following creatine supplementation. Journal of Exercise Physiology online. 4(2).)
Twenty college males supplemented with creatine or a placebo for 28 days. Subjects in the creatine group consumed 4 doses of creatine (5.25 g per dose) for five days; for the remaining 23 days, they consumed 2 doses of creatine per day. The placebo group got equal dosages of a placebo.
Subjects exercised on a bike for 60 minutes at 60% of their max oxygen uptake under hot conditions (99 degrees F, 25% relative humidity). The found that the rise in body temperature during cycling exercise was less in the creatine group. This was due in part to the fact that the creatine group had a gain in total body water over the one-month supplementation period.
What does this tell you? Well, despite the anecdotal reports that creatine causes dehydration, cramping, etc, the subjects in this study reported no side effects. In fact, this study shows the opposite of what you’ve read. Does creatine dehydrate you? Clearly not.
Recently, a 2009 study stated the following: “No evidence supports the concept that creatine supplementation either hinders the body's ability to dissipate heat or negatively affects the athlete's body fluid balance. Controlled experimental trials of athletes exercising in the heat resulted in no adverse effects from creatine supplementation at recommended dosages.”(2)
References
1. Kern et al. 2001. Physiological response to exercise in the heat following creatine supplementation. Journal of Exercise Physiology online. 4(2).
2. Lopez RM, Casa DJ, McDermott BP, Ganio MS, Armstrong LE, Maresh CM. Does creatine supplementation hinder exercise heat tolerance or hydration status? A systematic review with meta-analyses. J Athl Train 2009;44:215-23.
