[stmercy2020]

Okay- the instructions on my Creatine say to use 1-2 scoops daily and mix with cold water (emphasis mine.)  Does anyone know if there is any reason that whey protein should not be combined with hot water and/or any other beverages? 

I mainly want to know because I've been considering mixing it with my morning coffee, since it tastes vaguely like chocolate sawdust otherwise…

[AlexG]

Okay- the instructions on my Creatine say to use 1-2 scoops daily and mix with cold water (emphasis mine.)  Does anyone know if there is any reason that whey protein should not be combined with hot water and/or any other beverages? 

I mainly want to know because I've been considering mixing it with my morning coffee, since it tastes vaguely like chocolate sawdust otherwise…

Since I use Ethyl Ester Creatine in capsuled form (no need for a loading phase) I don't have readily available answer for you.  About the whey protein, my meal replacement powder has a whey base, and yes, it also says to use cold water, milk or juice, but I've always used warmed water (tap or microwaved) and have never noticed any problems with mixing it or digesting it (in fact, it tastes better to me, the chocolate especially, almost pleasingly cocoa-like).  I think when they say "hot" they mean as in boiling hot, so I don't think your fresh morning coffee, unless its really cooled down, would be adviceable for mixing.

“I like a good story well told. That is the reason I am sometimes forced to tell them myself.”
~ Mark Twain / Samuel Clemens (1907)

[stmercy2020]

AlexG, thanks for the advice; I tried that this afternoon- I heated up a cup of coffee, poured in some cold milk so that the temperature was merely tepid, then mixed in my protein.  Turned out pretty good.

[alex]

You guys should really be careful with creatine.  It's very dangerous for the liver if taken continously.  Usually they recomend you taking it in on/off intervals of a month or so. 

[stmercy2020]

Thanks for the tip.  I'm fairly new to the whole dietary supplement bag, and I'm trying to stay fairly healthy, so any advice on what/how often/how much is greatly appreciated.

[Uncle Arctic]

I've found another thing whey powder to be good for is adding a protein boost to pancakes.  (yes I know, for cheat days only :P)  Mix in a couple scoops of a vanilla based whey (so many to choose from) to keep up with your needs even when you aren't sticking with chicken breast and white rice.

[stmercy2020]

I've found another thing whey powder to be good for is adding a protein boost to pancakes.  (yes I know, for cheat days only :P)  Mix in a couple scoops of a vanilla based whey (so many to choose from) to keep up with your needs even when you aren't sticking with chicken breast and white rice.

LOL!  I'm really weight training to build strength for martial arts- I eat healthfully mainly because I'm diabetic (and you should see the merry hob I had to go through in order to figure out how to work protein shakes into my diet!), but carbs are a part of my life that ain't never going away…

[cpbell0033944]

OK, using my university subscription for Web of Science, a search produced the following abstracts:

Mertschenk et al, 2001:

Creatine is a substance occurring naturally in the, human body. The major proportion of the total Creatine pool is found in skeletal muscle (circa 90 %), heart and brain. The total creatine content in a normal, healthy person of TO kg is approximately 120 g. Creatine and its phosphorylated form, phospho-creatine, play an important role for cellular energy storage, buffering, and transport. Due to these properties, Creatine supplementation has become very popular in sports among athletes to enhance muscle performance and muscle mass. For this purpose, Creatine is usually taken during a loading phase at 20 g per day for one week and during a maintenance phase at 5-10 g, per day during extended periods of training. According to numerous publications, such a supplementation scheme is well tolerated and does not lead to significant side effects. Occasionally slight gastrointestinal discomfort or muscle cramping were reported. in those reports where liver and kidney functions of healthy athletes were examined specifically, no indications for adverse effects of Creatine an these organs have been noticed. Systematic studies on the clinical toxicology of creatine, however, are not available at present. Since no reports about experimental toxicity studies have been published so far, a series of toxicological examinations was thus performed, the results of which are reported within the scope of this publication. Based on these new data, Creatine did not reveal acute nor subacute toxic effects. The substance is well tolerated locally, as well. Furthermore, Creatine does not act as a sensitizing agent. Finally, no mutagenic effects were observed with Creatine in standardized bacterial mutagenicity tests. Since a significant proportion of the Creatine, taken at the dose levels mentioned above, is immediately excreted via the kidneys and since there is no evidence that very high dosages of Creatine are more beneficial, a loading dosage of 10 g per day for the first 8 days, to fill-up endogenous creatine pools, and a maintenance dose of 4-5 g per day, during the time after, are thus recommended. In addition, as a precautionary measure, it is advisable, after a prolonged period of Creatine intake (e.g. during 3 months), to take a break for several weeks (e, g. 4 weeks which is the wash-out time to return to original Creatine levels).

Mendes and Tirapegui, 2002:

Creatine is a substance occurring naturally in the, human body. The major proportion of the total Creatine pool is found in skeletal muscle (circa 90 %), heart and brain. The total creatine content in a normal, healthy person of TO kg is approximately 120 g. Creatine and its phosphorylated form, phospho-creatine, play an important role for cellular energy storage, buffering, and transport. Due to these properties, Creatine supplementation has become very popular in sports among athletes to enhance muscle performance and muscle mass. For this purpose, Creatine is usually taken during a loading phase at 20 g per day for one week and during a maintenance phase at 5-10 g, per day during extended periods of training. According to numerous publications, such a supplementation scheme is well tolerated and does not lead to significant side effects. Occasionally slight gastrointestinal discomfort or muscle cramping were reported. in those reports where liver and kidney functions of healthy athletes were examined specifically, no indications for adverse effects of Creatine an these organs have been noticed. Systematic studies on the clinical toxicology of creatine, however, are not available at present. Since no reports about experimental toxicity studies have been published so far, a series of toxicological examinations was thus performed, the results of which are reported within the scope of this publication. Based on these new data, Creatine did not reveal acute nor subacute toxic effects. The substance is well tolerated locally, as well. Furthermore, Creatine does not act as a sensitizing agent. Finally, no mutagenic effects were observed with Creatine in standardized bacterial mutagenicity tests. Since a significant proportion of the Creatine, taken at the dose levels mentioned above, is immediately excreted via the kidneys and since there is no evidence that very high dosages of Creatine are more beneficial, a loading dosage of 10 g per day for the first 8 days, to fill-up endogenous creatine pools, and a maintenance dose of 4-5 g per day, during the time after, are thus recommended. In addition, as a precautionary measure, it is advisable, after a prolonged period of Creatine intake (e.g. during 3 months), to take a break for several weeks (e, g. 4 weeks which is the wash-out time to return to original Creatine levels).

Poortmans and Francaux, 1999:

Objectives. – For the last six years the consumption of exogenous creatine monohydrate has been extended more and more. Despite numerous publications on the ergogenic effects of this naturally occurring substance, there is almost no information on the deleterious effects of this supplement. The objectives of this review are to point out facts which are often in contradiction with allegations introduced by the media.
Topics. – In athletes, exogenous creatine supplements amount to 20 g per day during five days followed by 1 to 10 g per day, every day, for weeks, months, and even years. Usually consumers do not report side-effects, with the exception of body weight increase. However, gastro-intestinal disturbances and muscle cramps have been reported occasionally. Liver and kidney dysfunction have also been hypothesized but real facts are missing for this. From a theoretical point of view, exogenous creatine supplementation suppresses its hepatic synthesis (maximum 2 g per day for vegetarians). Its destination is mainly (95-98%) skeletal muscle and all excess is excreted in urine ton average 60% of the supplement). Scientific publications on the undesirable effects of exogenous creatine are almost non-existent, but newspapers and the media do not hesitate to publish false information or wrong interpretations based on one individual case of an individual with nephropathy who, later on, consumed creatine monohydrate. In addition, we did not find any side-effects on renal function after short-term (five days), medium-term (nine weeks) or long-term (up to five years) creatine supplementation in small cohorts of athletes.

Future prospects. – We have no intention to validate or not the supplementation of exogenous creatine by athletes, but apparently there are no real deleterious effects on the body of healthy consumers. Nevertheless, one has to be careful about individual reactions when excess food are taken up. We are convinced that regular biological check-ups are needed to avoid any abnormal reaction under creatine supplementation.

Review by the same pair in 2000:

The consumption of oral creatine monohydrate has become increasingly common among professional and amateur athletes. Despite numerous publications on the ergogenic effects of this naturally occurring substance, there is little information on the possible adverse effects of this supplement. The objectives of this review are to identify the scientific facts and contrast them with reports in the news media, which have repeatedly emphasised the health risks of creatine supplementation and do not hesitate to draw broad conclusions from individual case reports.
Exogenous creatine supplements are often consumed by athletes in amounts of up to 20 g/day for a few days, followed by 1 to 10 g/day for weeks, months and even years. Usually, consumers do not report any adverse effects, but body mass increases. There are few reports that creatine supplementation has protective effects in heart, muscle and neurological diseases. Gastrointestinal disturbances and muscle cramps have been reported occasionally in healthy individuals, but the effects are anecdotal. Liver and kidney dysfunction have also been suggested on the basis of small changes in markers of organ function and of occasional case reports, but well controlled studies on the adverse effects of exogenous creatine supplementation are almost nonexistent.

We have investigated liver changes during medium term (4 weeks) creatine supplementation in young athletes. None showed any evidence of dysfunction on the basis of serum enzymes and urea production. Short term (5 days), medium term (9 weeks) and long term (up to 5 years) oral creatine supplementation has been studied in small cohorts of athletes whose kidney function was monitored by clearance methods and urine protein excretion rate. We did not find any adverse effects on renal function.

The present review is not intended to reach conclusions on the effect of creatine supplementation on sport performance, but we believe that there is no evidence for deleterious effects in healthy individuals. Nevertheless, idiosyncratic effects may occur when large amounts of an exogenous substance containing an amino group are consumed, with the consequent increased load on the liver and kidneys. Regular monitoring is compulsory to avoid any abnormal reactions during oral creatine supplementation.

Finally, a randomised trial (more rigorous than other types of study) by Robinson et al, 2000:

Background-The use of creatine (Cr) as a nutritional supplement to aid athletic performance has gained widespread popularity among athletes. However, concerns have recently been expressed over potentially harmful effects of short and long term Cr supplementation on health.
Methods-Forty eight young healthy subjects were randomly allocated to three experimental protocols aimed at elucidating any potential health risks associated with five days (20 g/day) to nine weeks (3 g/day) of Cr supplementation. Venous Mood samples were collected before and after periods of Cr supplementation and were analysed for some haematological indices, and for indices of hepatic, muscular, and renal dysfunction.

Findings-All measured indices were well within their respective normal range at all times. Serum creatinine concentration tended to be increased the day after Cr supplementation, However, values had returned to baseline six weeks after the cessation of supplementation, These increases were probably attributable to increased creatinine production rather than renal dysfunction. No indication of impairment to the haematological indices measured, hepatic function, or muscle damage was apparent after Cr supplementation.

Interpretation-These data protide evidence that there are no obvious adverse effects of acute or more chronic Cr supplementation on the haematological indices measured, nor on hepatic, muscle, and renal function. Therefore there is no apparent health risk associated with Cr supplementation to healthy people when it is ingested in quantities that have been scientifically proven to increase muscle Cr stores.

Hope that gives an idea of the current thinking. 🙂 8)

[stmercy2020]

Thank you kindly, Chris- that's good info that I didn't have ready access to. 🙂

[cpbell0033944]

Thank you kindly, Chris- that's good info that I didn't have ready access to. 🙂

Any time, old chap; it's one of the perks of doing postgrad research that you get access to papers (or at least the abstracts as here) that most can't access.

[Author]

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