Should you use Creatine?

I am still developing which and how specific supplements are going to fit into the Brady Nutrition Philosophy. If you want to follow a very strict paleo/primal lifestyle then it is easy to rule out most supplementation.  Our philosophy is not aimed at a truly strict regime but one that provides flexible and achievable guidelines to support a wide range of individuals; from endurance athletes, to families on a budget, to friends and family who may only implement parts of the program. There is a place in our philosophy for supplements that clearly support its primary goals, to be as lean, strong, and healthy as possible.

As part of my Christmas Challenge I decided I would consider certain supplements and first on the list was creatine.  I have a kilo of this stuff sitting in my cupboard staring at me every time I open it up.  My initial reaction was I would take it during my challenge and it couldn't hurt.  I discussed this plan with a friend and following his comments immediately began to rethink the idea.

I have taken creatine several times when I was lifting weights in college. I had notable short term strength increases and while not as clear I think there were also some smaller long term gains.  Mark's Daily Apple has a great write up on creatine and I recommend reading it if you interested in understanding its mechanics in more detail.

So does creatine fit into the Brady Nutrition Philosophy?  To make this decision I asked myself a few simple questions.

1. Does creatine occur naturally? Yes
2. Are supplementation levels an order of magnitude above natural possibilities? No
3. Are there any performance benefits? Yes but only slight temporary ones
4. Are there any health benefits? No not really, although some studies point to benefit for specific medical issues
5. Does it address any specific deficiencies? Yes sort of but not truly
6. Is it something that someone could acclimate to causing other adverse effects?  Yes it's possible

I probably had a few more questions but this was all it took for me to have a clear answer.  No, there is currenlty not a place for creatine in the Brady Nutrition Philosophy.  With no tangible long term health or performance benefits and no real deficiency being addressed it doesn't make much sense to consider this supplement as part of our lifestyle, at this time.  Now what am I going to do with a kilo of this stuff???

Update: A good friend of mine forward me the following link on creatine.  While very pro creatine, it is also very informative and goes into some detail about the Krebs cycle.  I certainly think for some individuals creatine is a perfectly reasonable supplement based on their specific training needs and lifestyle.  I am going to keep my eye on the research and am very interested in seeing where it all goes.

http://athlete.io/3562/the-ultimate-guide-to-creatine-supplementation-part-1/