No creatine after 40?

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Shouldn’t you stop using creatine after you turn 40? We investigated.

“No creatine after you turn 40”

Two weeks ago, I received an email forwarded to the editorial team.

I know that extra creatine will certainly lead to more muscle building, but I read on the internet that there are risks associated with it, and on a few sites, it is also advised against after the age of 40.

I initially thought it was a prank because the question came in on the very day I turned 40 myself.

But no, it turned out to be a genuine question.

I’ve already written several articles about creatine, including potential side effects. So far, the articles I’ve written about it have only shown that there may be a risk for people with existing kidney problems and that there might be a correlation with baldness.

I had never heard anything about downsides specifically after turning 40.

So, I started an online search for sources on this.

Creatine actually has more effect on older individuals

Some researchers argue that creatine has more effect as you age [1]. Various studies have shown that creatine levels (creatine and creatine phosphate) decrease with age [2,3]. Other studies have shown that people with lower levels of creatine (phosphate) benefit more from creatine intake [4,5]. Makes sense right? However, this is not always demonstrated, as in a study comparing the effects on vegetarians and meat eaters [6]. The vegetarians had creatine levels twice as low before they started intake, but showed the same results in body composition as the meat eaters. However, this study did not involve strength training, which according to other studies is necessary for the effects of creatine.

When this is done, as in a study by the University of Boston, this theory holds true [4]. A group with an average age of 58 had lower levels of creatine phosphate than a group with an average age of 30 (35.0 +/- 5.2 vs. 39.5 +/- 5.1 mmol/kg). However, in the older group, creatine use increased the level twice as much as in the younger group, ultimately bringing both to the same level (45.7 +/- 7.5 vs. 45.7 +/- 5.5 mmol/kg).

Creatine above 50: different results

According to some researchers, people over 50 should actually benefit more from creatine use. Researchers from the University of Oklahoma concluded [7]:

Results suggest creatine supplementation to be a safe, inexpensive and effective nutritional intervention, particularly when consumed in conjunction with a resistance training regime, for slowing the rate of muscle wasting that is associated with aging. Physicians should strongly consider advising older adults to supplement with creatine and to begin a resistance training regime in an effort to enhance skeletal muscle strength and hypertrophy, resulting in enhanced quality of life.

However, there are also studies showing that creatine may have little effect on body composition in older individuals. Like the study by Rawson on men over 60 [8]. Still, creatine had benefits in this group as muscle fatigue decreased.

These data suggest that 30 days of Cr-supplementation may have a beneficial effect on reducing muscle fatigue in men over the age of 60 years, but it does not affect body composition or strength.

A similar result was shown in a 1998 study on men and women (trained and untrained) between 67 and 80 years old [9].

We conclude that oral creatine supplementation does not provide additional benefits for body composition, maximal dynamical strength, and dynamical and isometric endurances of healthy elderly subjects, whether or not it is associated with an effective strength training.

In another study, the effects of creatine and training were compared in a group of men between 55 and 70. Although strength and fat-free mass increased, this did not differ significantly between the group taking creatine and the group receiving a placebo (although the latter group had more fat mass) [10].

Despite these improvements, ingesting creatine post-exercise did not enhance the observed resistance training-induced changes in body composition and/or muscle strength.

The studies do not show a consistent picture. Researchers from McMaster University in Ontario did see an effect of creatine on body composition in men and women over 65 [11].

CrM supplementation resulted in significantly greater increases in fat-free mass and total body mass, as compared with placebo (p <.05). The CrM group also showed a greater increase in isometric knee extension strength in men and women, as compared with placebo

The same conclusion was drawn from a study by the University of Saskatchewan on men over 70 [12].

Creatine supplementation, when combined with resistance training, increases lean tissue mass and improves leg strength, endurance, and average power in men of mean age 70 yr.

Creatine use safe in older individuals

In the aforementioned McMaster University study, individuals over 65 received 7 grams of creatine per day for 14 weeks. This did not result in negative side effects [11]. Concerns about the effect on the kidneys are often raised, as discussed earlier in an article. In a two-year study on creatine use by older adults by Atkinson, it was found to have no effect on their kidney function [13].

Conclusion

I could not find any studies showing that individuals over 40 should not use creatine. Let alone specifically over 40. In theory, older individuals should actually benefit more from creatine use. However, not every study demonstrates the added value in older individuals. In terms of safety, there seems to be no reason for older individuals not to use creatine.

Didn’t we have an expression for that? Oh yes: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

References

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