Does creatine cause hair loss? What about bloating? In this episode, Greg and Lyndsey bust myths and misconceptions about creatine, one of the most popular supplements on the market. Greg also explains how creatine actually works to increase muscle growth and discusses myths related to creatine dosing (is 5g per day enough?). Then, they play a few listener calls about creatine and answer questions about creatine's impact on individual genetic potential for muscularity, different forms of creatine, and the interaction between caffeine and creatine.
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TIME STAMPS, SOURCES, AND LINKS
Intro (0:00)
What’s on your mind/bright spots: Love Island (3:23)
Recommendations and plugs (8:30)
Creatine Introduction (10:49)
History of Creatine (17:56)
Creatine and hair loss introduction (38:39)
Background information on DHT (40:48)
Discussion of the study everyone cites to support the idea that creatine causes hair loss (44:35)
The key thing everyone misses when discussing the creatine/DHT study: serum DHT is irrelevant to the physiology of androgenic alopecia (54:21)
Potential physiological explanations for increased scalp DHT production and hair loss (1:04:09)
Known effects of creatine on the actual causes of hair loss (1:29:40)
Why do so many people think that creatine causes hair loss in the first place? (1:38:00)
How creatine actually works to increase muscle growth (1:48:31)
The idea that creatine doesn’t actually cause bloating (and only causes fluid retention in the muscles) is probably incorrect (2:04:01)
Myth related to creatine dosing: the typical recommendation of 5g/day is not enough creatine for serious lifters (2:15:34)
Question 1: does creatine raise the limits of muscularity that you can achieve, or does it just lead to slightly faster progress toward the same limit? (2:38:01)
Question 2: is it worth experimenting with other forms of creatine? (2:40:28)
Question 3: do caffeine and creatine have inhibitory effects on each other? (2:46:51)
MORE FROM THE SBS TEAM
RECOMMENDED PRODUCTS
- Try MacroFactor for free: Use code SBS to get a 14-day free trial of our nutrition app MacroFactor. MacroFactor has the fastest food logger on the market and its smart nutrition coach adapts to your metabolism to keep you on track with your goals. Download it today on the App Store or Google Play.
- BulkSupplements: Next time you stock up on supplements, be sure to use the promo code “SBSPOD” (all caps) to get 5% off your entire order.
- MASS Research Review: Subscribe to the MASS Research Review to get concise and applicable breakdowns of the latest strength, physique, and nutrition research – delivered monthly.
