The Perfect Creatine Doses for Building Muscle, Longevity, Brain Function & Fat Loss | Dr. Candow

Here are the key takeaways from the conversation with Dr. Darren Candow on the proper dosing and types of creatine for various health benefits: 1. **Best Form of Creatine**: - Creatine monohydrate is the most effective and least expensive form of creatine. Other types do not match its overall effectiveness. 2. **Bioavailability**: - Creatine is nearly 100% bioavailable, meaning it is efficiently absorbed into the bloodstream regardless of how it is consumed. 3. **Dosing Strategies**: - **Daily Dosing**: 3 grams daily for general maintenance. - **Loading Phase**: 20 grams per day for 5-7 days, followed by a maintenance dose of 2-3 grams per day. - **Relative Dosing**: 0.1 to 0.14 grams per kilogram of body weight per day. 4. **Adjusting Dose with Training Intensity**: - Increase creatine intake when training intensity or volume increases to ensure muscle creatine stores remain saturated. 5. **Recovery and Inflammation**: - Creatine has anti-inflammatory properties and can reduce muscle protein loss, aiding in faster recovery and reducing oxidative stress. 6. **Timing of Intake**: - The timing of creatine intake (pre- or post-exercise) is not critical. The overall daily intake is what matters most. 7. **Maximum Dose and Safety**: - Doses as high as 30 grams per day have been shown to be safe, but 3 to 5 grams per day is sufficient for most benefits. Higher doses do not provide additional performance benefits once muscle stores are saturated. 8. **Creatine for Women**: - Women can benefit from creatine similarly to men, although menstrual cycle phases might slightly influence effectiveness. More research is needed in this area. 9. **Practical Recommendations**: - A general effective dose is 5 to 10 grams per day. - For loading, take 20 grams per day for 5-7 days, then reduce to a maintenance dose. - Use relative dosing of 0.1 to 0.14 grams per kilogram of body weight for individualized dosing. These takeaways emphasize that creatine monohydrate is highly effective, safe, and versatile for various health and performance benefits, with practical dosing strategies to maximize its effects.

I tried creatin in my 30s and didn't notice anything. Revisited it in my 50s. And wow what a game changer.

I have been taking 5grams a day for 30 years while weight training. At 62 now, sometimes I travel to Colorado a couple weeks a couple times a year. I never take it with me because I get flagged and it takes long to get through security. I notice a roughly 15% decrease in my overall strength on the same weight machines after about 7-10 days of no creatine. I am an experienced lifter (5 days per week) and am very dialed in to my training and overall strength. It is 100% not a placebo and works great.

What about this recent study???? “Single dose creatine improves cognitive performance and induces changes in cerebral high energy phosphates during sleep deprivation”

Perfect questions, answered everything I needed to know.

Great interview. I learned a ton and already shared it!

So glad you got Dr. Candow on here - great guy and the ultimate source of creatine.

More of this guy !

2-3 grams is the minimum effective dose. For muscle building 0.1-0.15 grams per kilogram of body weight depending on the person’s exercise goals.

Thomas thank you .

"Dosing creatine is a properly is a delicate art" is one of the silliest sentences ive heard in a long time.

A delicate art? 5 grams a day or load for 5-7 days, then do 5 grams a day. Mystery Creatine? Creatine Monohydrate (creapure). Done

Great video, very interesting. 🙂👍🏻

I won't mix creatine with my coffee anymore! Thanks for the informative video!

Good discussion. I felt compelled to pause the video and get some more creatine in me.

I've put creatine in my coffee nearly every morning in the past few months (3-4 times a week the rest is with protein shake).Guess I need to change this habit as of tomorrow... Lots of new infos (for me) on creatine. Thank you for the video!

lots of good info and some changes I am going to try. I am 220lb, I have been doing 5g in the morning with my daily vitamin right before I had my morning coffee at breakfast and 5g on gym days mixed in my pre-workout (that has caffeine); going to change to 10g daily with my dinner night time vitamin and 5g after workout!! thankz for all the great info!!

thank you both

Very informative

Thanks for another great video. Creatine got way more expensive a couple years back it doubled and tripled in price, and has stayed that way