Creatine increases DHT??

[E_Weazy Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close E_Weazy]

Hey guys, I was just surfing pubmed for ways to increase DHT, and I stumbled upon this one article.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.login.ezproxy.library.ualbert a.ca/pubmed/19741313

Abstract
OBJECTIVE: This study investigated resting concentrations of selected androgens after 3 weeks of creatine supplementation in male rugby players. It was hypothesized that the ratio of dihydrotestosterone (DHT, a biologically more active androgen) to testosterone (T) would change with creatine supplementation.

DESIGN: Double-blind placebo-controlled crossover study with a 6-week washout period.

SETTING: Rugby Institute in South Africa.

PARTICIPANTS: College-aged rugby players (n = 20) volunteered for the study, which took place during the competitive season.

INTERVENTIONS: Subjects loaded with creatine (25 g/day creatine with 25 g/day glucose) or placebo (50 g/day glucose) for 7 days followed by 14 days of maintenance (5 g/day creatine with 25 g/day glucose or 30 g/day glucose placebo).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Serum T and DHT were measured and ratio calculated at baseline and after 7 days and 21 days of creatine supplementation (or placebo). Body composition measurements were taken at each time point.

RESULTS: After 7 days of creatine loading, or a further 14 days of creatine maintenance dose, serum T levels did not change. However, levels of DHT increased by 56% after 7 days of creatine loading and remained 40% above baseline after 14 days maintenance (P < 0.001). The ratio of DHT:T also increased by 36% after 7 days creatine supplementation and remained elevated by 22% after the maintenance dose (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS: Creatine supplementation may, in part, act through an increased rate of conversion of T to DHT. Further investigation is warranted as a result of the high frequency of individuals using creatine supplementation and the long-term safety of alterations in circulating androgen composition. STATEMENT OF

CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Although creatine is a widely used ergogenic aid, the mechanisms of action are incompletely understood, particularly in relation to dihydrotestosterone, and therefore the long-term clinical safety cannot be guaranteed.


Although more studies are suggested by this article, I wonder how do you guys feel about this?

As creatine can be used for working out, and I have used it before, this makes it a lot more interesting now.

[blink2000 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close blink2000]

Wow, a 56% DHT increase sounds huge to me. However, I wonder if the effect is more or less pronounced depending on the subject's age. There might be other factors as well. They will have to do more studies to figure out conclusively what's going on.

[E_Weazy Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close E_Weazy]

Very true blink, but with some more digging for random info on creatine yesterday, I have found many other effects.

There were several studies talking about the anti-oxidant effects of creatine, and how it has increased focus in people by lowering their levels of BOLD (Brain Oxygen Level Dependancy).

Once again, just something to share with the community here, since many threads focus on increasing DHT.

[blink2000 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close blink2000]

Once again, this is very interesting. When I first started using creatine very little was known about it. Generally I only use it to speed up healing after a workout, that's the primary benefit it gives me (I don't get a strength increase at all from it, although perhaps that does happen for other people).

[vulcan Retired ModeratorPE Gym EditorPEGym Hero Find all posts View Profile Close vulcan]

This is really interesting.

It's a shame there were only 20 of them in the study.

[wind chill Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wind chill]

Once again, this is very interesting. When I first started using creatine very little was known about it. Generally I only use it to speed up healing after a workout, that's the primary benefit it gives me (I don't get a strength increase at all from it, although perhaps that does happen for other people).

blink what do you think about taking creatine after a PE workout?

[E_Weazy Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close E_Weazy]

At least this article is very new, so I will hope to see more studies done on this subject.

And yes blink, at least the recovery aspect helped you, as the water retention allowed for extra processes to occur in your muscles.

[E_Weazy Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close E_Weazy]

blink what do you think about taking creatine after a PE workout?

Taking creatine after a workout is not beneficial, as many creatine supplementation require a loading phase.

What this means is, you are supposed to saturate your body with creatine for it to work when it is needed. It is not taken like protein powder, where you take it after a workout to aid recovery.

So if you were to want the recovery aspect of creatine, you would have to take a week of creatine at 15-25g everyday before you see the effects. This is generally how creatine is used and suggested to be used by universally everyone.

[blink2000 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close blink2000]

blink what do you think about taking creatine after a PE workout?

I don't know if it would make a difference.