[0:00] Welcome, my name is Dr. Warrick Bishop. I'm a cardiologist, an author and a keynote speaker. I'm CEO of the Healthy Heart Network. I'm all about trying to help people
[0:12] Live as well as possible, for as long as possible.
[0:15] heart disease is huge in Australia.
[0:18] Every 20 minutes someone suffers a heart attack. Most of these could probably have been avoided if only we knew what to do. This podcast is all about helping you understand blood pressure, weight, cholesterol and weight.
[0:32] for better health.
[0:33] If you enjoy this podcast, I would be honored for a five-star review.
[0:37] you can share it with your family and friends. It may well save
[0:41] someone you love.
[0:42] Hi.
[0:43] and welcome to my podcast and videocast station and today i'm talking about creatine you may have heard about it turns up a fair bit if you're trying to keep in touch with information around your best health journey so
[1:00] Let me share with you a little bit about what I know
[1:04] and even some of my own
[1:07] experiences using Creatine.
[1:11] It is...
[1:12] One of the bodies
[1:14] most important and significant energy systems. So,
[1:18] Let's go from there.
[1:21] Yeah.
[1:23] Thank you.
[1:25] It's a naturally occurring compound.
[1:27] It's really important for muscle.
[1:31] You may have heard of that. We use creatine for muscle, and bodybuilders have used it for years for muscle.
[1:37] But in recent time, we're realising it's also really important for the brain. Now...
[1:43] What we know is that creatine
[1:47] We don't use necessarily the molecule, but what it does is it helps regenerate energy in the body. And you may have heard that the body's energy currency is a thing called a...
[2:00] Tea.
[2:01] P
[2:02] adenosine triphosphate. And that adenosine triphosphate
[2:09] when it's split.
[2:10] to become adenosine diphosphate releases energy.
[2:15] Now creatine is made from arginine, glycine and methionine, so it's
[2:21] based off a number of amino acids.
[2:24] Interestingly, the body makes it itself.
[2:28] in two stages. The first stage in the kidney, believe it or not, so people with kidney failure may well have difficulty in producing enough creatine.
[2:38] Yeah.
[2:39] In the kidney, arginine plus glycine make
[2:43] compound called guan-
[2:46] Eden I
[2:47] acetate guad-dinano acetate.
[2:51] And then that compound
[2:54] Wait, didn't there know acetate?
[2:56] combines with a thing called SDG.
[2:59] Adenosylmethionine?
[3:01] in the liver to create creatine.
[3:04] Most creatine is stored in the muscles.
[3:07] And that's where it's used.
[3:09] Because if you think about it, there's lots of energy being used in muscles when you move around. But some, it's all stored in the brain. And remember, the brain is a very...
[3:20] energy hungry organ, very energy hungry.
[3:25] So creatine works as an energy reserve, it replenishes ATP,
[3:32] The way it does that is phosphocreatine,
[3:37] plus ADP, the spent energy source, gives rise to ATP plus creatine. Now, this can be really useful if people are doing...
[3:49] high energy workouts and using up a lot of their ATP. And really importantly, it's also really important for brain function and cellular hydration.
[4:00] So we know that creatine can improve...
[4:02] Muscle function, muscle size, a little bit, and brain function.
[4:09] Well, creatine is converted to creatinine.
[4:14] as its metabolic product or its waste product, if you like. And creatinine is excreted in the urine. Now, we've got all sorts of algorithms that we look at as doctors to measure creatinine
[4:28] in
[4:29] urine, but really importantly in the blood because we use that as a marker of clearance of creatinine
[4:36] in the body and therefore a marker of how well the kidneys are working. So creatinine levels are a direct
[4:42] are directly related to level of kidney function. So we monitor that pretty closely, and it's pretty important for us to keep an eye on those things. Now, supplementing with creatine can throw that out.
[4:58] It's really important to understand that if you supplement with creatine,
[5:01] Thank you.
[5:02] then your body has more creatine in it than might otherwise be gas-timated from your size and weight.
[5:11] Therefore,
[5:12] you'll produce more creatinine, and therefore your creatinine levels in your blood tests will go up and falsely look like your kidneys are playing up
[5:23] although they may not be.
[5:25] Remember, creatine improves performance and strength, particularly of muscles, but
[5:31] But fairly recent research is looking like high-ish levels can support cognitive function as well. So it's super important. When I talk about the doses, I'll mention that a bit later, but it's higher doses. We're talking 10 to 20 grams per day supporting cognitive.
[5:48] cognitive function
[5:49] Because of that,
[5:51] There's a belief that it helps with healthy aging and recovery. Plays a role in methylation. We know that's really important in maintenance of things like DNA and neurotransmitters.
[6:02] We know that the sweet spot over the years for mussels has been 3-5 grams per day and that's basically a scoop. If you buy creatine, you can buy it in a tub or a bag or some such. It'll often come with a scoop and the scoop's about 3-5 grams per day.
[6:19] *sigh*
[6:20] Creatine monohydrate is the one that is generally available. So you'll see that as the most widely available and easiest to access option.
[6:30] Historically, weightlifters have used creatine
[6:35] to build up their muscles
[6:38] in the first instance of trying to
[6:42] load up first and then use it ongoing to help with their
[6:47] best muscle journey. So loading with high doses, 10 grams a day for a week or so has not been
[6:57] unheard of and it's certainly been used in the past.
[7:00] Hydration is very important because those extra molecules need water,
[7:07] to balance their osmolarity.
[7:11] Yeah.
[7:12] Well, you're wondering if you might benefit. If you're an athlete,
[7:16] and you're active or you're particularly focused on building your muscles, there's a good chance you would benefit from using creatine. And already many athletes, many weightlifters would be doing that.
[7:28] People who may not get enough of those amino acids on board, vegetarians and vegans, or people with poor nutritional diets, they may actually benefit as well. Older adults trying to maintain muscle mass, but particularly also older adults trying to maintain muscle.
[7:47] cognitive function.
[7:49] Interestingly, through that cognitive function or cognitive support component, people under significant stress, both physical and emotional, may well benefit from higher doses of creatine in shorter periods of time, a bit over and above maintenance, responding to a particular situation.
[8:11] Is it safe? Well, it appears to be extremely safe, and people have used doses 10 and 20 grams on a daily basis without any major problems.
[8:21] There's a concern about kidneys, but it's mainly because the creatine
[8:27] which is in a higher concentration introduced to the body, gives rise to creatinine, which increases the body's level of creatinine, and therefore in the blood tests, it looks suspicious, like something's wrong.
[8:41] So it doesn't damage the kidneys, it just looks like it might. So you have to let people know if you are actually supplementing with a reasonable dose of diabetes.
[8:51] creating because you might get an accident emergency with a
[8:54] simple fall or trip they do it blood
[8:57] Realize your creatinine...
[8:59] is off, think your kidneys are problematic, but it may simply be
[9:05] the creatine supplementation.
[9:08] It doesn't seem to have any major side effects when used appropriately and really nicely, it seems,
[9:13] to support cognitive function, and there's a lot of data and a lot of usage over the years of it supporting muscular energy.
[9:21] health, muscular gains and muscular function.
[9:26] Well, what can you take away from creatine?
[9:30] It is a powerful supplement and one that many of us could potentially benefit from. It is supported by some research, particularly for muscles, but more importantly,
[9:42] and in recent time, supporting the brain. And that may be really important, not just for people as we age, someone like me,
[9:50] who enjoys a little bit of creatine in my regular shake, but also people with chronic neurodegenerative disease because chronic neurodegenerative disease means that there are going to be neurons that are just not working as well as they should be. If we can support them by giving them an extra source of energy, that may be helpful.
[10:10] Not a lot of research that I'm aware of there, but I don't think there's a great deal of harm that would happen. If you are in that situation, checking with your specialist is always highly recommended.
[10:22] Creotin is pretty affordable, it's widely available, and that monohydrate
[10:27] is pretty safe, pretty easy to get hold of and pretty easy to use. So good for your body.
[10:36] good for your brain, and hopefully good for your long-term health.
[10:41] Well, I hope you found today's journey on creatine
[10:46] interesting and informative and it might be something that's useful for you. I'd love you to follow me on YouTube if you've enjoyed this.
[10:54] Please like it and share it. If you've got any queries or questions, drop us a note and reach out with any topics that you'd like covered or specific questions. Love the feedback. Really appreciate you taking the time to have a listen. And I hope that today has been valuable for you.
[11:11] Till next time, I do wish you the very best. I hope you live as well as possible.
[11:15] For as long as possible, take care and bye for now.
[11:18] Did you know that coronary artery disease kills one in four people? So most of us are likely to carry some risk or know someone who does. If you're interested in finding out more about how to evaluate that risk,
[11:34] check out
[11:35] www.virtualheartcheck.com.au. It'll give you information about risk,
[11:43] And what else can be done to be even more precise?
