# Anti-Aging Expert: Creatine Is The Fat Loss Secret Doctors Don’t Tell You - Dr. Darren Candow

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jk7RAkFN4vk

[00:00] A healthy brain likely doesn't need any
[00:02] creatine. But what if you're stressed?
[00:04] What about sleep deprivation? Night
[00:06] shift workers, university students
[00:08] cramming for a midterm, then all of a
[00:09] sudden the healthy brain becomes a
[00:11] metabolically stressed brain. And most
[00:13] people fall into the stressed
[00:15] environment, and that's where creatine
[00:16] comes to the rescue. And we'll talk
[00:18] about how much, but the more stressed it
[00:20] is, the higher the dose seems to come
[00:22] into play.
[00:23] >> And is there anyone that shouldn't take
[00:24] creatine?
[00:25] >> Well, I published over 120 papers just
[00:27] on creatine alone. We've done at least
[00:29] 30 to 40 studies in our lab, and I can't
[00:31] find anybody that can't or shouldn't
[00:34] take creatine. So, for example, at
[00:35] recommended dosages, creatine can not
[00:37] only have potential anti-cancer
[00:39] properties, it really speed up
[00:40] rehabilitation, and there's a lot of
[00:42] hope, especially around Alzheimer's.
[00:43] >> And what about kids?
[00:44] >> The current body of evidence suggests
[00:46] they want to get at least 1 g per day
[00:48] because in children they want to have
[00:49] optimization for bone health as well as
[00:51] muscle development. And so, I'm
[00:52] fascinated that this nutrient,
[00:54] discovered in 1832, like boring for the
[00:56] longest time as having these profound
[00:58] benefits we never even thought would
[00:59] happen. And [music] so, your viewers
[01:00] today will be surprised about some of
[01:02] the things I'm going to talk about,
[01:03] including microdosing.
[01:05] >> And we've got this thing here in front
[01:06] of us. This is the dosing dilemma. You
[01:08] know, I want to talk about how much I
[01:09] need to take for all these [music]
[01:10] things. And I want to talk about
[01:11] nutrition, protein, weight training,
[01:12] etc. But before that, you've got five
[01:14] myths in front of you. Can you reveal
[01:16] one by one what they are?
[01:17] >> So, this is Oh, I can't believe you did
[01:19] this one to me. Creatine causes hair
[01:21] loss. I was going bald before I started
[01:24] taking creatine. Myth number two. Oh, so
[01:26] this is by far the biggest myth, and
[01:29] that is
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[02:24] >> [music]
[02:26] >> Dr. Darren
[02:28] Candow.
[02:29] >> What is the mission that you're on in
[02:32] your life?
[02:33] >> I think right now would be to promote
[02:36] health and make people live longer free
[02:37] of disease. It's fascinating how we've
[02:40] transcended our understanding of weight
[02:41] training, and now weight training is
[02:43] seeming to have these profound effects
[02:45] that cardiovascular exercise has, and it
[02:47] gives you a bit more. So, really
[02:48] focusing now on the benefits of lifting
[02:50] things around the house and how exercise
[02:53] and then, of course, nutrition, we're
[02:54] going to talk about creatine, but also
[02:56] how other macronutrients, especially
[02:58] protein, come into play. And then when
[03:00] you combine those two, are we doing
[03:01] enough to optimize longevity? And we
[03:04] hope that we are. Yeah.
[03:06] >> And so, what are the reference points
[03:07] you're drawing on? How do you know the
[03:09] things you know? Are you doing your own
[03:10] research?
[03:11] >> Yeah. So, I did my graduate school in
[03:13] Canada, cell biology degree, and then I
[03:15] moved into my master's and PhD looking
[03:17] in kinesiology. So, it's interesting
[03:19] that I fell into creatine
[03:20] supplementation research by accident. I
[03:22] was doing my master's on an amino acid
[03:24] called glutamine, and at the time, about
[03:26] 20-30 years ago, glutamine was the
[03:28] biggest rage. Everybody was taking this
[03:30] non-essential amino acid and hoping that
[03:32] it would have body composition
[03:34] improvements. Uh and I sort of
[03:36] determined it was worthless in young
[03:38] healthy individuals from a body
[03:40] composition uh standpoint. And at the
[03:41] same time, a good colleague of mine was
[03:44] doing creatine.
[03:45] And I started to notice these young
[03:46] biological males were getting bigger,
[03:48] stronger, faster. And then another
[03:50] study, bigger, stronger, faster.
[03:53] And then when you go to the research on
[03:55] creatine, it was very stimulating in a
[03:56] sense that we're now improving things
[03:59] that we know with aging go down. So then
[04:02] I turn my focus completely to healthy
[04:04] aging and trying to get, you know,
[04:06] grandparents and great-grandparents and
[04:08] your parents to live longer free of
[04:09] disease. But wait, let's start young.
[04:12] Start as early as you can and move
[04:13] forward, yeah.
[04:14] >> And so you got really compelled by
[04:15] creatine. I want to talk about all these
[04:16] things, um nutrition, protein, weight
[04:18] training, etc. But on the subject of
[04:20] creatine, what was it that compelled you
[04:22] so much to start you did start doing
[04:24] your own research on creatine.
[04:25] >> I did and I started to take creatine.
[04:26] So, you know, it was this natural
[04:28] metabolite that we're synthesizing in
[04:30] the liver and brain. If you take a
[04:32] little bit more, not a lot, just a
[04:34] little bit more than what we're probably
[04:36] taking in from the food uh sources such
[04:38] as red meat and seafood, can it have
[04:40] benefits and sure enough it's now the
[04:42] most researched supplement out there.
[04:43] It's overtaken protein and caffeine uh
[04:45] from an ergogenic perspective. And it's
[04:48] gone global, not just for males, but of
[04:50] course uh females and centenarians and
[04:52] elderly. So, it's very fascinating the
[04:55] explosion in this research part.
[04:57] >> What is the sort of um I don't
[04:59] evolutionary backdrop, but I guess
[05:00] physiological backdrop of why humans
[05:03] need creatine, but also why they might
[05:04] not be getting optimal amounts.
[05:06] >> Yeah, that's a great question. So, uh
[05:08] adenosine triphosphate or ATP is the
[05:10] energy currency of all our cells and
[05:12] think of your muscle doing work or
[05:14] shoveling the driveway or walking,
[05:16] you're using your muscles and you need
[05:18] to maintain that level of energy to to
[05:20] maintain exercise. Well, creatine comes
[05:23] to the rescue to help maintain your
[05:25] energy currency. So, if Batman, which
[05:27] gets all the press, is ATP, Robin is
[05:31] creatine. Creatine comes to the rescue,
[05:33] it's his best friend to help maintain
[05:35] these levels. Now, when you exercise at
[05:37] a high intensity, you know, sprinting,
[05:39] weightlifting, those ATP stores do
[05:42] become jeopardized and that's why
[05:43] creatine sort of sacrifices itself uh to
[05:46] come to the rescue. So, that's why
[05:48] anaerobic sports The World Cup just
[05:49] started. These individuals will be using
[05:52] a lot of creatine stores in their
[05:53] muscle. The question is, do they have
[05:55] enough? And if they had more, could they
[05:57] play better?
[05:58] >> And so, do our body makes creatine
[05:59] naturally?
[06:00] >> That's correct. It is making about 1 to
[06:02] 3 g a day, but only in two areas. So,
[06:04] this will be quite shocking for people.
[06:06] We're only actually making it in the
[06:08] liver and the brain. We don't make it in
[06:10] skeletal muscle, but you store 95% in
[06:13] our muscle. So, when it's being made in
[06:15] the liver or brain, the brain will keep
[06:17] it there, but in the liver it will get
[06:19] transported in the blood up to your uh
[06:21] skeletal muscle. The question is, well,
[06:23] what if we need more? And that's where
[06:25] dietary creatine from red meat or
[06:27] seafood or supplementation comes into
[06:29] play.
[06:30] >> So, are we deficient in creatine?
[06:33] >> There are small populations with,
[06:36] unfortunately, they were born with the
[06:37] inability to synthesize creatine. Uh,
[06:40] they would have a deficiency, and they
[06:41] are required to take supplementation.
[06:44] The other unique population is vegans
[06:45] and vegetarians. So, vegan and
[06:47] vegetarian diet is extremely healthy.
[06:49] The downfall though is they're not
[06:51] getting any dietary creatine, cuz
[06:53] creatine is only found in animal-based
[06:54] flesh. So, red meat, seafood, and
[06:56] poultry. They're naturally synthesizing
[06:59] about 1 to 2, maybe even 3 g a day
[07:01] through amino acids in their food, but
[07:04] vegans and vegetarians respond literally
[07:07] the best on the planet, because now
[07:08] they're taking in a supplement to allow
[07:10] that in.
[07:11] >> And is it thought that historically we
[07:12] would naturally have consumed more
[07:13] creatine?
[07:14] >> That's a good point. So, back, you know,
[07:16] hunter and gatherer age, a lot of meat,
[07:17] they were consuming quite a bit through
[07:19] dietary products. Just say if you only
[07:21] wanted to get 3 g of creatine through
[07:23] food, you'd have to eat quite a bit of
[07:25] meat to do that. And then it comes into
[07:26] the dilemma of what if you don't eat
[07:28] meat, or you just can't afford it, you
[07:30] know.
[07:31] >> [clears throat]
[07:32] >> Creatine has exploded over the recent
[07:33] last couple of years. I I I saw a stat
[07:35] that said,
[07:36] I think in women it had gone up to about
[07:38] 3% of women take the creatine, and um,
[07:41] in men it's slightly higher.
[07:42] It's still a little bit lower in terms
[07:44] of consumption in women from the stats
[07:46] that I saw. And I think that in part is
[07:48] because there's still some prevailing
[07:50] myths about creatine. When I when I
[07:51] speak to some of my friend people know
[07:53] that I interview a lot of health experts
[07:55] and scientists and PhDs on that have
[07:57] done research on supplements. They ask
[07:59] me the first question I get asked a lot
[08:00] is what are the supplements should I
[08:01] definitely take?
[08:02] >> Yes.
[08:02] >> And when I mention creatine, it's always
[08:04] met with a certain set of rebuttals
[08:06] because there's some prevailing myths.
[08:08] You've got some myths.
[08:09] >> Yes.
[08:10] >> About creatine on the cards in front of
[08:12] you. Can you reveal one by one what they
[08:13] are?
[08:14] >> So, this is definitely the number one
[08:16] myth. Creatine damages your kidneys. So,
[08:19] when you take in creatine to the body,
[08:21] it gets stored as creatine, but when you
[08:22] metabolize it, sort of sort of thinking
[08:25] leaking from the muscle, it gets leaked
[08:27] out as creatinine. And most people
[08:29] watching is like, oh, that was on my
[08:30] blood requisition form. And right below
[08:32] creatinine was something called eGFR.
[08:35] So, glomerular filtration rate is an
[08:37] estimation of your kidney health. So,
[08:39] the problem is when individuals on
[08:41] creatine supplementation, they go to
[08:43] their doctor for their annual blood
[08:44] work, their creatinine might be a little
[08:46] bit elevated, and that's only from the
[08:48] breakdown of the the compound. And then,
[08:51] unfortunately, their filtration rate is
[08:53] lower. So, then their doctor gets really
[08:55] surprised, and they're like, stop taking
[08:57] creatine because it's hurting your
[08:58] kidneys.
[08:59] What typically happens they go back or
[09:01] stopping creatine, and then they check
[09:02] their kidneys again, and it's fine. So,
[09:04] I would say 99 [snorts]
[09:05] out of 100 times
[09:07] that it's a false positive. So, this is
[09:09] by far the biggest myth. And there's
[09:11] been randomized control trials for
[09:13] several years showing that creatine
[09:14] causes no detrimental effects to the
[09:15] kidneys.
[09:16] >> I had exactly that twice on my blood
[09:18] tests.
[09:18] >> Yes. And if you're also creatinine could
[09:20] be elevated if you're on a high meat
[09:21] diet, a little bit dehydrated. So, those
[09:23] that are exercising is very very
[09:25] elevated. So, always tell your doctor
[09:27] you're on creatine supplementation
[09:28] because your creatinine could be a
[09:30] little bit higher.
[09:30] >> Okay.
[09:31] >> Yep. Myth number two. Creatine makes you
[09:34] retain water. So, this is really
[09:36] important. And I think this is one of
[09:38] the main reasons females were really
[09:40] hesitant to take creatine. If you take
[09:43] too much too soon, it can lead to an
[09:45] increase in water retention.
[09:47] So, you've probably heard of the
[09:48] creatine loading phase. This is where
[09:50] supplement companies want you to take
[09:51] about 20 or 30 g a day for about 5 or 7
[09:53] days. That has been shown to increase
[09:56] water retention acutely. So, maybe it'll
[09:58] reside there for about 3 to 5 days, but
[10:01] after that, when you go on a maintenance
[10:02] phase of about 3 to 5 g a day, uh that
[10:05] water retention goes away. So,
[10:07] in the initial stages, if done
[10:09] improperly or too much, it can cause a
[10:11] little bit of water retention. The good
[10:13] news for everybody watching is after
[10:15] about the first week, that water's
[10:17] inside our muscle. So, now we're
[10:19] volumizing the size of our muscle, sort
[10:22] of like a balloon here is full of water.
[10:24] Now, after a while, the water's now
[10:26] going into our muscle, it's a lot bigger
[10:28] compared to a deflated balloon or muscle
[10:30] that didn't have any water. So, creatine
[10:32] is osmotic. Water likes to follow
[10:35] creatine, so by taking it into the
[10:37] muscle, it gets a lot bigger, and that's
[10:38] good because a swollen muscle stimulates
[10:41] protein synthesis to get bigger and
[10:43] stronger.
[10:44] >> Oh, really? A swollen muscle stimulates
[10:46] protein synthesis?
[10:47] >> Synthesis, yeah. So, when you have water
[10:48] coming in, that's a really good thing.
[10:51] And creatine does that, and that's one
[10:52] of the main mechanisms why it works.
[10:54] >> So, what does that mean? Does that mean
[10:55] that if I have creatine in my muscle,
[10:56] I'm more likely to gain muscle?
[10:58] >> That is potentially the the factor
[11:00] because when you're having or trapping
[11:01] water, it turns on all these signaling
[11:03] pathways that are involved in protein
[11:05] synthesis. And And one of the biggest
[11:07] robust evidence is that creatine
[11:09] increases lean tissue mass and regional
[11:10] muscle thickness with weight training
[11:12] over time.
[11:13] >> Oh, wow. Okay.
[11:13] >> Yeah.
[11:14] >> Yeah, cuz a lot of people are concerned
[11:15] that they're going to put on lots of
[11:16] weight and be bloated with creatine.
[11:18] >> The interesting there is if you take
[11:19] smaller more microdosing, there's hardly
[11:21] any effect. And this might come
[11:23] surprising, but if you did a 6-week
[11:24] study,
[11:26] pre and post after creatine, you only
[11:27] increase mass by 0.86 kg.
[11:30] >> Oh, wow.
[11:31] >> And the majority of that is lean mass.
[11:33] So, at the end of the day, you know, a
[11:34] pound and a half is not a lot.
[11:36] >> Lean mass.
[11:37] >> Lean mass, yeah.
[11:38] >> Which is
[11:39] >> We think of lean mass, most people think
[11:41] of it as muscle, but lean mass in our
[11:42] body that includes water, connective
[11:44] tissue, organs, as well as skeletal
[11:46] muscle. And about 50% of our lean mass
[11:48] is muscle.
[11:49] >> Okay.
[11:49] >> Yeah.
[11:50] >> Great.
[11:50] >> Okay, myth number three.
[11:52] Creatine is only for men. Uh this is
[11:54] 100% false. When you go through the
[11:58] totality of all the evidence, uh females
[12:01] respond extremely robustly to creatine
[12:03] supplementation. They get profound
[12:04] benefits in strength, endurance, and
[12:06] performance. They lose a little bit of
[12:08] body fat. So, there's another idea that
[12:11] people thought water retention was
[12:12] causing an increase in in fat mass.
[12:15] We've done some meta-analysis now
[12:16] showing that creatine reduces fat mass.
[12:18] Uh females [snorts] get an increase in
[12:19] lean mass as well. Uh and um happy this
[12:22] one came up because from our lab with
[12:25] bone health, females do respond very
[12:27] favorably with creatine and bone. And we
[12:29] can talk about that as well.
[12:32] Myth number four.
[12:33] Oh, I can't believe you did this one to
[12:35] me. Creatine causes hair loss.
[12:38] So, obviously looking at me and uh I'm a
[12:41] prolific uh creatine researcher and
[12:42] taking creatine religiously for like the
[12:44] last two and a half decades, people
[12:46] would look at me and say, "Well,
[12:48] obviously looking at him, creatine
[12:49] caused this." And I was going bald
[12:51] before I started taking creatine. This
[12:54] myth came from a study in rugby players
[12:56] decades ago uh where creatine about 20
[12:59] 25 g a day for 7 days increased a
[13:01] hormone called DHT. It's a precursor for
[13:03] testosterone, which unfortunately has
[13:06] been linked to hair follicle loss and
[13:07] thinning. Uh
[13:09] but the ironic thing is when creatine
[13:11] was given to these young males, the
[13:13] hormone went up, but it was still within
[13:15] the biological range, and no measure of
[13:17] hair follicle thinning or loss uh was
[13:20] done. The cool thing is just a few years
[13:22] ago, they decided to put this uh theory
[13:24] to the test, and 5 g in young males for
[13:26] about 6 to 8 weeks of training caused no
[13:28] uh detrimental effect from hair
[13:30] thinning, follicle loss. So, my
[13:32] appearance was probably based on
[13:34] something else. So, there's no evidence
[13:35] to that as well. Myth number five,
[13:38] creatine causes muscle cramps. No, I
[13:40] think this is so over played. When
[13:42] creatine is taken into the body and
[13:44] water will follow it, now you're super
[13:47] hydrating the muscle. So, one of the
[13:49] main issues with muscle cramps is it
[13:50] could be, you know, dehydration in the
[13:52] muscle. Some people have heard of sodium
[13:54] potassium, that's why Gatorade was
[13:56] invented. But if anything, sodium
[13:58] decreases muscle cramps and it super
[14:00] hydrates. So, in the hotter
[14:02] environments, June, July, August,
[14:03] creatine is going to be one of your best
[14:05] friends.
[14:06] >> So, those are the five myths we took
[14:08] there about weight training. What is
[14:09] this very curious graph? It seems to
[14:12] show that creatine
[14:15] helped gain muscle mass through
[14:18] a training regime?
[14:20] >> Oh, yes. So, this is actually showing
[14:22] now that when you take creatine
[14:23] supplementation, you're actually gaining
[14:25] an improvement in training volume. So,
[14:27] when you go in the weight room, you look
[14:29] at the load you're lifting by the reps
[14:31] by the sets. So, it actually goes up.
[14:33] And then when you don't, obviously it
[14:35] would go down over time as well. So, the
[14:37] cool thing here is that one of the main
[14:39] reasons you get an enhancement in
[14:40] performance is that creatine seems to
[14:43] enhance training capacity. So, a lot of
[14:45] people say I've taken creatine, now I
[14:46] got an increase in the number of reps or
[14:49] sets that I can perform. That probably
[14:51] leads to a stimulation over time.
[14:52] >> So, this is a 8-week study?
[14:54] >> That is an 8-week study, very short term
[14:56] as well. So, you can see that the number
[14:58] of weeks came down when they weren't
[15:00] taking creatine and then when they
[15:01] started to take it, it went up as well.
[15:03] And this leads to another important
[15:05] point. So, and it's often not talked
[15:07] about, when you take creatine for at
[15:09] least a month, people say, "Well, how
[15:11] long does it stay in my muscles if I go
[15:13] on vacation? What if I can't take
[15:15] creatine?" And in skeletal muscle, it
[15:17] takes about a month for those elevated
[15:18] levels to come back down.
[15:21] In the brain, we don't have a lot of
[15:23] evidence, but it's speculated it takes
[15:25] about anywhere between 5 weeks to about
[15:28] 3 months for those elevations to come
[15:29] back down.
[15:30] >> And this essentially means that if I
[15:31] take creatine, I will be able to train
[15:34] harder.
[15:34] >> Harder or longer or more frequent. So,
[15:38] one of the things with creatine it
[15:39] allows the muscle to recover quicker.
[15:40] So, you might be able to get back to the
[15:42] you know, if an athlete's trained twice
[15:44] a day.
[15:45] So, either one of those seems to be one
[15:46] of the most possible mechanisms.
[15:48] >> And why is there a big dip in the middle
[15:50] of this graph?
[15:50] >> So, that is actually showing where the
[15:51] individuals would train and then without
[15:54] creatine and then take it over time as
[15:55] well.
[15:56] >> Oh, okay. So, that's that's stopped.
[15:57] >> It's a de-training and then taking it
[15:59] again. Correct.
[16:00] >> Okay. So, they stopped taking it.
[16:01] >> Uh taking it at the at week four and
[16:03] then that's where the elevations go up.
[16:06] >> Oh. [snorts]
[16:06] >> Yeah. So, it goes to show that when you
[16:08] have creatine, everything is elevated.
[16:10] If you stop taking it, it takes about 4
[16:13] weeks to come back down, but you'll
[16:14] notice that it was at the same level as
[16:15] the placebo.
[16:17] And then when they take it again, they
[16:18] get a rebound effect. So, I think this
[16:20] has application for people who have
[16:21] injured themselves and they now need to
[16:23] go back and start training. If you take
[16:24] creatine, it can accelerate the
[16:26] rehabilitation program.
[16:28] >> Hm.
[16:29] And it does it I guess because it makes
[16:31] your training volume increase
[16:32] >> Correct.
[16:33] >> it makes your muscle mass gain increase?
[16:35] >> It can gain it gain increase in muscle
[16:37] mass. It's not great. That's probably
[16:39] going to be a bit surprising to a lot of
[16:40] people. A lot of people take creatine
[16:41] for huge increases in muscle. You get an
[16:44] increase in lean mass by about 1.2 kg.
[16:47] But as I I said previously, remember
[16:49] only half of that is skeletal muscle.
[16:51] So, creatine yes, can with weight
[16:53] training improve muscle mass, but it has
[16:55] more robust evidence for muscle
[16:56] performance.
[16:57] >> Is there anything else we need to know
[16:58] about creatine's link to muscle mass?
[17:00] >> I think one of the big things is that it
[17:02] decreases something called protein
[17:04] breakdown. So, that might allow the
[17:06] muscle to maintain its integrity or
[17:08] recover quicker.
[17:10] But overall, when you combine creatine
[17:12] with a standard weight training program,
[17:14] you should expect a greater increase
[17:15] than weight training alone, absolutely.
[17:17] And that is that's across all ages,
[17:19] which is really important.
[17:21] >> Okay. And the studies you've done in
[17:23] your own lab, what are those? How wide
[17:25] varying are those? And how many have you
[17:27] done?
[17:27] >> We've Oh god, we've done at least 30 to
[17:29] 40 studies
[17:31] um in our lab. I've published over 120
[17:32] papers just on creatine alone.
[17:34] >> Wow.
[17:34] >> And the interesting thing is that from
[17:36] young individuals to middle age to older
[17:39] adults, we see a very common uh theme
[17:41] that combined with weight training uh
[17:43] creatine about 5 g or more. Uh we use
[17:46] typically a little bit more. Seems to
[17:48] have uh beneficial effects on muscle
[17:49] mass, uh muscle strength, as well as
[17:52] performance, absolutely.
[17:53] >> Can you show me what 5 g looks like?
[17:55] >> absolutely. So, this would be a standard
[17:58] 5 g dose.
[17:59] >> Which is one scoop for you.
[18:00] >> One scoop. Now, keep in mind that can be
[18:03] found in in meat or seafood, but you're
[18:06] going to require a lot.
[18:07] >> Yeah, okay. So, 5 g is one scoop.
[18:10] >> And you're saying we don't necessarily
[18:12] need to do this loading phase that
[18:13] bodybuilders would
[18:15] >> Correct. So, the loading phase is the
[18:16] most rapid way to saturate your muscles.
[18:18] Now, that's very beneficial, but that
[18:20] would be four scoops. So, four scoops is
[18:23] a loading phase per day and is very
[18:25] effective, but the issue is can it cause
[18:28] some adverse GI tract irritation, things
[18:30] like that. That's where anecdotal people
[18:31] report that. But a lot of people from a
[18:33] muscle perspective will start with just
[18:35] 5 g a day and that's very beneficial.
[18:37] >> And at 5 g a day, what benefits am I
[18:38] getting?
[18:39] >> Five Oh, across from a skeletal muscle
[18:40] perspective, you get a whole plethora.
[18:42] So, you definitely get an increase in
[18:43] lean tissue mass or muscle size. Uh and
[18:46] then again, muscle performance, uh
[18:47] muscle strength, power, and endurance.
[18:49] And the other one that never gets a lot
[18:51] of press, which should, is functional
[18:52] ability. Uh an older adult to sit to
[18:54] stand. Uh this has applications getting
[18:56] off the toilet, out of the bed, out of a
[18:58] car. So, as we get older, we're losing
[19:00] muscle strength and performance, as well
[19:02] as functionality, and creatine and
[19:03] weight training seems to come to the
[19:05] rescue there.
[19:06] >> And is there anyone that shouldn't take
[19:07] creatine?
[19:08] >> You know,
[19:10] I can't find anybody that can't or
[19:12] shouldn't. The safety profile is
[19:14] exceptional. If they have pre-existing
[19:16] medical conditions, they definitely need
[19:17] to speak to their their doctor. Besides
[19:19] that, I'm not seeing any reason a
[19:21] healthy individual can't take or
[19:22] shouldn't take creatine.
[19:23] >> And pregnant women?
[19:24] >> So, that's an interesting colleague of
[19:26] mine, Dr. Stacey Ellery out of
[19:27] Australia, is now finally looking at
[19:29] human trials with pregnancy, going into
[19:32] breast milk, into the fetus. So, it's
[19:35] still in its infancy. The jury's still
[19:36] open. As it currently stands, it seems
[19:38] to be relatively safe and well
[19:40] tolerated.
[19:41] >> Okay. So, not all creatine is made the
[19:44] same.
[19:44] >> That's right. Correct.
[19:45] >> There's lots of different types of
[19:45] creatine. People Some people take
[19:47] creatine gummies.
[19:48] I mean, I have some different types of
[19:50] creatine here. Creatine monohydrate,
[19:52] creatine hydrochloride.
[19:54] >> Okay.
[19:54] >> I remember looking when I was in a shelf
[19:56] a couple of months ago and seeing like
[19:58] five or six different types of creatine.
[20:00] What is the the optimal type of creatine
[20:03] to take and why?
[20:04] >> So, by far, creatine monohydrate.
[20:06] And that goes against all the new
[20:08] marketing forms. So, creatine
[20:10] monohydrate is simply creatine linked to
[20:12] one water molecule. When you take it
[20:14] into the body, the water molecule
[20:15] dissolves, is identical to what's being
[20:18] produced in the liver and the brain.
[20:20] All the evidence that you ever hear
[20:22] about the safety and efficacy of
[20:23] creatine is based on the old, boring,
[20:25] from 1832 creatine monohydrate. There's
[20:28] [snorts] new marketed forms of creatine
[20:29] such as hydrochloride, which does have
[20:31] evidence behind it. There's many other
[20:33] forms, but the only downfall with all
[20:36] these marketed forms is it's never been
[20:38] shown to be safer or more effective than
[20:40] creatine monohydrate. The other big
[20:43] thing for your viewers is make sure it
[20:44] has CreaPure or some form of creatine
[20:47] monohydrate on the label. And then and
[20:50] that is also third-party tested.
[20:52] >> CreaPure?
[20:52] >> CreaPure's from Germany. It has the
[20:54] highest standard of qualification and
[20:58] scrutiny. And then NSF certified or
[21:00] another third-party certified. So, those
[21:02] are the three things that I personally
[21:03] would look for. Monohydrate, CreaPure is
[21:06] the type, and then NSF certified or
[21:08] third-party certification.
[21:09] >> Which is that little logo at the bottom?
[21:10] >> That little logo here at the bottom,
[21:11] that's right.
[21:11] >> And what does that mean?
[21:12] >> So, NSF is the National Sanitation
[21:14] Foundation. It's a third-party
[21:15] organization that will independently
[21:17] take the the supplement and then
[21:19] third-party test and then you get a
[21:20] certificate of analysis to make so there
[21:22] there's no contaminants like lead or
[21:24] arsenic or things like that. So, that's
[21:26] something for the consumers watching to
[21:27] definitely be aware of when you go to
[21:29] the store.
[21:30] >> And we've got this thing here in front
[21:32] of us. This is the dosing dilemma. Um we
[21:34] talked about muscle there.
[21:36] Have we checked muscle off or is there
[21:37] anything else to cover?
[21:38] >> No. So, how many scoops do you think is
[21:40] optimal for skeletal muscle?
[21:42] >> [snorts]
[21:43] >> Oh,
[21:44] uh skeletal muscle.
[21:45] >> Yeah. Your bicep, your tricep, you know,
[21:48] Arnold Schwarzenegger.
[21:49] >> 5 g 5 g?
[21:51] >> 5 g? So, that's only going to be one
[21:52] little scoop.
[21:53] >> Okay.
[21:54] >> Okay. That's probably very viable and
[21:57] you're correct. Across the lifespan, 5 g
[21:59] has been shown to be effective, but
[22:01] here's a little bit of caveat. If you're
[22:03] over the age of 50, maybe you want to
[22:05] have a little bit more. Because as we
[22:07] get older, the creatine in our lower
[22:10] legs is more jeopardized, and therefore
[22:12] you might need a bit more.
[22:14] >> Okay.
[22:14] >> Okay. But, this is without the loading
[22:16] phase. So, this is if you just want to
[22:17] take a little bit per day.
[22:19] >> And you have to take it consistently.
[22:21] >> Good question. So, ideally, yes. There
[22:23] is evidence that you can just take it on
[22:24] the training days, but we haven't talked
[22:26] about the brain yet. And the reason why
[22:29] I think you should take it every day is
[22:30] it likes to go to other tissues on a
[22:32] daily basis.
[22:33] >> So, that's about 7 g? How much is that?
[22:35] >> So, 7 or 8 g, and that seems to be very
[22:37] safe and viable dose to be shown to be
[22:40] effective for improving muscle mass.
[22:41] >> Okay.
[22:42] >> And performance.
[22:43] >> I I do have an issue sometimes when I
[22:45] take a little bit more creatine, which
[22:47] is I feel
[22:48] I wouldn't say light-headed, but I get a
[22:50] little bit dizzy almost.
[22:52] >> 100%.
[22:52] >> What is that?
[22:53] >> So, there is a mechanism, so creatine is
[22:55] the biggest methyl scavenger in the body
[22:57] and without boring your viewers, but
[22:58] methyl groups are used for everything.
[23:00] They're also used to synthesize
[23:01] something called adrenaline and our
[23:03] neurotransmitters. You know, the things
[23:04] that we get excited about. So, when you
[23:06] take in too much creatine, typically on
[23:08] an empty stomach or in a dehydrated
[23:09] state,
[23:10] >> [snorts]
[23:10] >> that will spare methyl groups in the
[23:12] body to be used because you're taking so
[23:14] much in. And then it says, "Where can I
[23:15] go?" So, since creatine is now being
[23:17] taken in through a supplement, these
[23:19] methyl groups are available in your body
[23:21] to go elsewhere to do work and they like
[23:23] to synthesize adrenaline. And that's why
[23:25] you feel more uh um energetic, so to
[23:27] speak.
[23:27] >> When you say synthesize adrenaline, what
[23:29] does that mean?
[23:29] >> Yeah, that means you're creating more of
[23:31] the hormone called epinephrine. And
[23:33] that, you know, you hear about fight or
[23:34] flight or you're nervous or whichever it
[23:36] is, it gives you a little bit more of
[23:37] that. So, that's why sometimes you feel
[23:39] a little bit jittery or things like
[23:40] that.
[23:41] >> Hm. [clears throat] Yeah, sometimes I
[23:42] can feel a little bit sick as well if I
[23:43] do too much.
[23:44] >> Yeah, and so that's where it's sort of
[23:46] the new area of interest for me is this
[23:47] microdosing based on that. So, we're
[23:49] starting to see some evidence now that
[23:51] if you take smaller amounts all
[23:53] throughout the day, it does not have any
[23:55] adverse effects. If anything, it seems
[23:57] to be a little a little bit more
[23:58] tolerable. Um so, you could take a few
[24:00] grams in the morning, a few grams in the
[24:02] evening, or whichever. I think one of
[24:04] the best uh ways to take it that never
[24:06] gets any press is I put 5 g in my water
[24:09] bottle during my workout.
[24:11] >> Mhm.
[24:11] >> And so, now [clears throat] I'm
[24:12] consuming a little bit of creatine as I
[24:14] do my weightlifting or cardio and then
[24:16] I'll consume a little bit in the morning
[24:18] as well. So, I take about 10 g a day at
[24:20] minimum on on a daily basis. Other
[24:22] people will take more or less, but
[24:24] that's just how I get it in, you know.
[24:25] >> I find that if I do take a little bit in
[24:26] the morning and then a little bit later,
[24:28] it's much better.
[24:29] >> 100%
[24:30] >> And I don't get any weird feelings.
[24:32] >> And uh it seems to be more consistent
[24:34] and appreciated for individuals because
[24:37] if you do or are susceptible to any uh
[24:39] fluctuations in weight gain, water
[24:40] retention, or GI tract irritation, those
[24:42] things definitely go away. And we've got
[24:44] we've assessed over a thousand
[24:46] individuals in my lab and that seems to
[24:48] be a very viable approach.
[24:51] Not a lot of taste to it, is there?
[24:53] >> [laughter]
[24:53] >> It's not the best tasting thing in the
[24:54] world, is it?
[24:55] >> very bland, very boring. Um but there's
[24:58] other companies trying to make it more
[24:59] flavorful, things like that. The cool
[25:00] thing is with creatine, you can put it
[25:02] in anything. You can put it in yogurt,
[25:04] a juice, whichever it is. You can now
[25:06] put it in coffee. There's a little bit
[25:08] of controversy over the dose of
[25:10] caffeine. I think anywhere lower than
[25:12] 350 mg is fine, and that's going to be
[25:14] most standard coffees or teas as well.
[25:16] So, whichever allows you to become
[25:18] consistent is is a great way to do it,
[25:20] yeah.
[25:21] >> There should be a button just down below
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[25:39] Okay, so bone, tell me what I need to
[25:40] know about creatine.
[25:41] >> Okay, so now we talked about muscle, how
[25:42] many do you think for the skeleton here?
[25:45] >> Um, about the same.
[25:46] >> Okay.
[25:47] >> Seven.
[25:47] >> Unfortunately, the lowest dose ever has
[25:50] been shown to have bone benefits is 8 g
[25:53] all the way up to 12. So, now we're in a
[25:55] dosing dilemma already. We just started.
[25:57] We have a little bit disconnect between
[25:59] muscle and bone. 3 to 5 g seems to be
[26:01] really good for muscle, a little bit
[26:02] more is fine, but bone needs to be a
[26:05] little bit more, and that's primarily
[26:06] based on some of our work from our lab
[26:08] where we've shown that about 8 to 12 g a
[26:11] day with exercise, and that's crucial.
[26:13] If you do not exercise, there's never
[26:15] been a study ever uh shown to have bone
[26:17] benefits, but if you do perform weight
[26:19] lifting, one of the very cool things in
[26:21] postmenopausal females is that creatine
[26:23] seemed to reduce the rate of bone
[26:25] mineral density loss around the hip
[26:27] region.
[26:28] So, it didn't increase bone density, but
[26:30] it decreased bone density loss, and it
[26:33] also seemed to maintain or improve the
[26:36] structure of the bone a little bit more.
[26:38] So, that has profound beneficial
[26:39] effects, especially as we get older. If
[26:41] those individuals on creatine were to
[26:43] fall, maybe they might not fracture
[26:45] their hip. And as we both know it, if
[26:47] you fracture your hip, you're going to
[26:48] be placed in long-term care, or you're
[26:49] going to be inactive for at least 6
[26:51] months. So, creatine has some bone
[26:53] benefits. They're not great. They don't
[26:56] improve bone density, so they're not
[26:57] going to be an osteoporotic cure, but
[26:59] there is something there, especially if
[27:01] you're prone to osteoporosis or
[27:03] osteopenia.
[27:03] >> And what's the mechanism that's just
[27:05] stopping bone loss?
[27:06] >> Yeah, it's very interesting. So, if you
[27:09] understand a 24-hour cycle that creatine
[27:11] sort of stimulates these bone-building
[27:13] cells to become more energized. Think of
[27:15] Super Mario, the original Nintendo, when
[27:17] he got the mushroom maybe he came
[27:18] energized. Creatine does that as well.
[27:20] And then on the flip side, creatine
[27:22] seems to decrease the osteoclast or bone
[27:25] breakdown cells. So, by a synergistic
[27:28] mechanism, it seems to cause this
[27:30] turnover to go a little bit better,
[27:31] causing the bone to maintain its
[27:33] structure. It's very similar to a
[27:34] bisphosphonate that someone would be
[27:36] taking to maintain their bone health.
[27:38] >> A bisphosphonate?
[27:39] >> Yeah, it's a drug that a lot of
[27:40] individuals will take if they're prone
[27:42] to bone loss. Obviously, creatine's not
[27:44] a drug, but it has some of those similar
[27:46] properties.
[27:46] >> So, we've got muscle. I need to take
[27:48] about 7 or 8 g to get those benefits.
[27:50] >> Yeah. With bone, it's a little bit more.
[27:51] >> A little bit more. You don't mean
[27:53] additionally.
[27:54] >> No, in in total. So, now this is where
[27:55] we get into the daily dosing dilemma.
[27:57] We've gone from 3 to 5 g or a little bit
[27:59] more for muscle. Bone is maybe 8 to 10
[28:02] or a little bit more. So, what do you
[28:03] think on the brain, the hottest topic?
[28:06] >> 10?
[28:06] >> 10, okay. So, that would be, you know,
[28:08] two scoops.
[28:10] >> I'm just assuming this increases.
[28:11] >> Yeah. So, the interesting thing here is
[28:13] that the brain will naturally make its
[28:16] own creatine, very similar to the liver.
[28:19] So, since the brain is actually making
[28:21] its own creatine, it may not require as
[28:23] much or any on a daily basis. So, here's
[28:26] the brain, obviously, and in different
[28:28] regions, creatine is being synthesized
[28:30] and being used all throughout. So, this
[28:32] organ
[28:34] is about 2 kg, but uses 20% of our daily
[28:37] energy at rest. So, just think about
[28:40] that. 20% of the amount of energy we're
[28:42] consuming from food or using is being
[28:44] used by the brain. But what if you're
[28:45] stressed? Sleep deprivation, your dog
[28:48] got you up in the middle of the night to
[28:49] pee and you couldn't fall back to sleep.
[28:51] Uh university students cramming for a
[28:53] midterm. Um now all the countries look
[28:55] at the World Cup, they're going to be up
[28:57] stressed, you know, different time
[28:58] zones. Then all of a sudden the healthy
[29:00] brain becomes a metabolically stressed
[29:02] brain. So your guess about 10 g on
[29:05] average is fine because the brain on a
[29:08] non-stressed day is naturally making it
[29:10] is enough and [snorts] it's healthy. But
[29:12] now we get into a more difficult What
[29:15] about those metabolic stressors? So
[29:17] again, all the neurons in the brain are
[29:18] being used. So what about sleep
[29:20] deprivation?
[29:22] >> The 10 g?
[29:22] >> For sleep deprived?
[29:24] >> You tell
[29:24] >> When was the last time you slept 10
[29:26] straight hours?
[29:29] >> [laughter]
[29:30] >> It's been a while.
[29:31] >> a while for even you to pause there. You
[29:33] know, that's that's alarming cuz you're
[29:35] thinking
[29:36] when was the last time I got a really
[29:37] good night's sleep?
[29:38] >> Mhm.
[29:39] >> What if you were up for 24 hours?
[29:42] >> Gosh.
[29:42] >> An ER doctor.
[29:44] Traveling different time zones, all
[29:46] these come into play.
[29:47] >> Yeah.
[29:48] >> Remember on a healthy brain, you know,
[29:50] adequate sleep, uh prob the brain is
[29:52] actually making enough. But when you're
[29:54] stressed,
[29:55] night shift workers, uh military pilots,
[29:58] ER doctors, whichever it is, that's
[30:00] where the brain starts to rely on
[30:01] supplementation.
[30:03] So unfortunately for the brain, creatine
[30:05] really struggles to get through the
[30:07] blood-brain barrier.
[30:08] But if it does, now you might need
[30:10] longer or higher dosages. So what about
[30:13] sleep deprived?
[30:15] >> I have no idea.
[30:16] >> Okay, so let's say there's five.
[30:20] There's 10. What do you think?
[30:23] >> It's going to be more, isn't it?
[30:24] >> It's going to be a lot more.
[30:26] Here's 15.
[30:28] Couple studies showed some benefits.
[30:31] Now let's do 20. Remember that loading
[30:33] phase?
[30:33] >> Mhm.
[30:35] >> The best overall studies currently right
[30:37] now that use an MRI for the brain
[30:39] have showed about 20 g seems to have
[30:43] some effect acutely.
[30:45] But the two studies last year out of
[30:47] Germany even showed this.
[30:49] There's 25.
[30:52] And here's 30.
[30:54] So a classic study was done last year
[30:56] when they gave
[30:58] 30 g to a group of young individuals who
[31:01] volunteered to be sleep deprived for 21
[31:03] hours.
[31:04] And that level of creatine increased
[31:07] creatine levels in the brain and it
[31:08] offset some of the negative effects.
[31:10] Remember that was an acute episode of 21
[31:13] hours of sleep deprivation. They've done
[31:15] a subsequent study going down to about
[31:17] 0.2 g or about 14 g. It didn't have the
[31:19] same effect.
[31:21] So remember a healthy brain likely
[31:23] doesn't need any creatine, but a
[31:25] stressed brain likely does. And the more
[31:28] stressed it is, the higher the dose
[31:29] seems to come into play. There's a lot
[31:32] of nuances with the brain. Obviously we
[31:33] just showed different regions, which we
[31:35] don't have a lot of information, but
[31:36] overall it seems that 20 g seems to be
[31:40] the most viable dose when the brain is
[31:41] stressed. We basically need to start
[31:43] dumping out quite a bit more.
[31:46] So when you get from this area on, the
[31:49] brain healthy likely doesn't benefit
[31:51] from any type of supplementation cuz
[31:53] it's making its own. But in these areas
[31:55] when you're stressed, it likely does.
[31:58] The area of nuance or why it's become so
[32:00] popular is I think most people fall into
[32:03] the stressed environment.
[32:05] And if they're not getting enough
[32:07] creatine through their diet
[32:09] and or supplementation, that's why this
[32:11] big explosion on let's take more to sort
[32:14] of check off all the boxes. So I take 10
[32:18] g a day at minimum to check off muscle,
[32:20] right? That checks off bone for the most
[32:23] part. And I'm pretty sure over time 10 g
[32:25] would do the most part for stress. Now,
[32:29] since I just flown different time zones,
[32:31] today I'm taking 20 to 25 g based on
[32:34] this acutely.
[32:36] And then when I go back to a
[32:37] non-stressed environment, back to
[32:38] Canada, I'll go back to my regular 10.
[32:40] So, I look at the 10 g dose or a little
[32:42] bit more as kind of being like a safety
[32:46] net.
[32:47] If you're only taking three to five, you
[32:48] definitely will get muscle benefits.
[32:50] Will you eventually get brain benefits?
[32:53] There's a small chance, but taking a
[32:56] little bit more, and remember the cool
[32:57] thing for your viewers, we're not
[32:58] talking about protein. If we were
[32:59] talking about protein, the entire thing
[33:01] would be hundreds of grams. We're only
[33:02] talking about maybe 20 g. And that may
[33:05] only need to be done acutely. You know,
[33:07] when you're really going through
[33:08] metabolic stress. Look at university
[33:09] students.
[33:10] Five final exams, hardly any sleep for a
[33:12] week. This is where this would come into
[33:14] play. I look at flight attendants or
[33:16] pilots. They all fly from Canada to
[33:19] Europe, and then they go back home.
[33:21] Their circadian rhythms are all over the
[33:23] place. So, I think of all these
[33:25] scenarios. The area that I was
[33:27] surprised, I watched one of the episodes
[33:28] of The Eras Tour. And you know, [snorts]
[33:30] money can't stop circadian rhythms. So,
[33:32] as much as Taylor Swift would have, I
[33:34] was marveled by 3 hours of performance
[33:37] in 90 to 100,000 people of all her
[33:39] running around. And then when you see
[33:40] her, they're totally gassed. They
[33:42] finished the concert, they're totally
[33:43] mentally exhausted. That's a situation
[33:46] where this could come into enhanced
[33:47] performance. Then you think of
[33:50] celebrities, you think of
[33:52] athletes. These a lot of high-pressure
[33:54] things. Like, imagine being in the World
[33:56] Cup final. The pressure, the mental
[33:58] capacity. That's where creatine seems to
[34:00] come into play. There's a lot of
[34:02] nuances. We still don't know a lot. So,
[34:05] I think the big take home for people is
[34:07] that if you're going through periods of
[34:08] stress, a little bit more is okay.
[34:11] We don't know any adverse effects. We
[34:12] don't think there are any.
[34:14] But again, if you're just taking
[34:15] creatine for muscle, bone, and the
[34:17] brain, you're likely going to be
[34:18] checking off all those boxes.
[34:20] >> And when we start getting the the brain
[34:21] benefits up at this end,
[34:22] >> Right.
[34:23] >> what are those brain benefits that they
[34:24] were recorded in the studies? Is it I'm
[34:26] going to feel like I slept, or is it
[34:28] something more internal?
[34:29] >> You likely won't feel anything.
[34:31] >> Oh, okay.
[34:32] >> However, when you get to tasks the next
[34:35] day, so for example, you're up all
[34:36] night, you take a high dose creatine,
[34:38] then you have to go write the final or
[34:39] the midterm or you can't remember. It's
[34:41] those things when your memory and and
[34:44] and doing puzzles or basic tasks.
[34:46] Or what about a Stroop test?
[34:49] >> What's a Stroop test?
[34:50] >> So, I'm going to get you to do this. I
[34:51] apologize in advance.
[34:53] >> Uh-huh.
[34:53] >> It's one of the most fatiguing things
[34:55] that you can do and it was one of the
[34:58] most robust studies to show the efficacy
[35:00] behind creatine. So, all I simply want
[35:02] you to do is you can see that there's
[35:04] words and then corresponding letters,
[35:05] but you'll notice that the color is
[35:08] incorrect. So, up here you would see,
[35:10] you know, you have red, blue, green,
[35:12] blue, black. But the Stroop test is now
[35:15] looking at the bottom part.
[35:17] >> Okay.
[35:18] >> So, I've tried it. I can only get the
[35:20] line two without making a mistake.
[35:22] >> Okay.
[35:22] >> Okay. So, I want you to do this
[35:25] out loud but as fast as possible.
[35:28] >> And am I reading the words or the color?
[35:30] >> You're reading the color.
[35:31] >> Okay. So, the first one is green, yeah?
[35:33] >> Uh yes.
[35:34] >> Okay, fine.
[35:35] You want to do it as fast as possible?
[35:36] >> as possible.
[35:37] >> Okay.
[35:38] >> So, let's see how you do.
[35:39] >> Gosh, this is confusing already. I hit
[35:40] the second one and I got it wrong in my
[35:41] head. Depends how much creatine you're
[35:42] taking.
[35:43] I don't think I've had creatine today.
[35:44] >> Okay.
[35:45] >> Okay.
[35:46] Green, red, yellow, green, blue, black,
[35:49] orange, red,
[35:51] blue,
[35:53] green, blue, pink, black, gray, yellow,
[35:58] red, blue, green. Ah,
[36:01] >> There you go. See?
[36:02] >> I failed.
[36:02] >> The study that they did, get this, they
[36:04] had to do this for 90 straight minutes.
[36:07] >> Oh, wow.
[36:08] >> So, you can imagine how fatiguing that
[36:10] is for someone studying for the MCAT for
[36:12] medical school or, you know, midterms
[36:15] being sleep deprived. And you're not
[36:16] sleep deprived and you struggled and you
[36:18] got slower. Now you have to do this for
[36:20] 90 minutes.
[36:21] >> Wow.
[36:22] >> this classic study they gave 20 g of
[36:23] creatine before they did the test and
[36:25] then after and it really improved their
[36:27] ability with speed and cognition there.
[36:30] So, it's just a simple example to show,
[36:32] "Wow, our brain is seeing one thing. We
[36:34] got to maintain memory and cognition and
[36:37] creatine can help maintain some of those
[36:39] factors." So, you won't feel anything
[36:41] but performance of activities like that
[36:44] come into play.
[36:45] >> Do you know how much it improved the
[36:46] performance on the Stroop
[36:47] >> I would have to get the graph, but it
[36:49] did prove statistically significant,
[36:50] yeah.
[36:51] >> What else is there for me to know about
[36:53] the impact that creatine can have on the
[36:54] brain?
[36:55] >> Yeah.
[36:55] >> You know, I think as a as a podcaster
[36:57] who sometimes sits here for many, many
[36:59] hours interviewing people on a range of
[37:00] subjects. I'm always trying to find if
[37:02] there's any way that I can perform
[37:03] better mentally.
[37:04] >> Yeah. So, it doesn't boost the brain. It
[37:06] likely just brings those levels back up
[37:08] to normal levels before stress and it
[37:11] might give you a little bit more. So,
[37:13] there's been populations Alzheimer's
[37:14] disease, clinical depression,
[37:16] concussion.
[37:17] When those populations are evident, one
[37:20] of the biggest
[37:21] factors is that they have reduced
[37:23] creatine in their brain. So, maybe
[37:24] supplementation can get through the
[37:26] blood-brain barrier. The brain says, "I
[37:27] need help." And that's why you see some
[37:29] improvements there as well. So, I like
[37:30] to think of the brain that creatine can
[37:32] act as a safety net. Um and it certainly
[37:35] won't cause any detrimental effects, but
[37:37] it's always good to have that because
[37:38] you never know when I give you a Stroop
[37:40] test. Like I'm going to find you
[37:42] tomorrow, give you this and say, "You're
[37:43] going to be practicing all night. Will
[37:44] you perform better?" But that's just an
[37:46] example of something that we go through
[37:48] on a daily basis. If someone's working
[37:50] on Wall Street or whichever it is,
[37:51] they're really high-stress demand, you
[37:53] know, stuck in traffic for 2 hours.
[37:55] These all add up and it's a cascade of
[37:57] stressors that unfortunately most people
[37:59] go through. And now that we have a
[38:00] nutrient that is being made in the
[38:02] brain, but during times of stress, it
[38:04] likely needs a little bit of help.
[38:07] >> For the last couple of years, I've been
[38:08] working on something that I realized
[38:09] every podcaster listening to this, but
[38:11] actually probably every creator
[38:12] listening to this might just need.
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[38:31] most of us don't do it. That is the
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[38:35] you can find at flightcast.com and today
[38:38] Flight Cast is also one of our show
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[40:13] What about inflammation in the body? So
[40:15] what is inflammation and is there a link
[40:17] between creatine supplementation and
[40:18] inflammation?
[40:19] >> There is. So I unfortunately I'm 49. So
[40:22] at the age of 40 I have this systemic
[40:25] inflammation that went up. And we all
[40:27] know this because around the age of 30
[40:28] were you know you can work out and
[40:30] nothing hurts and then all of a sudden
[40:31] you wake up one day when you're in your
[40:32] 40s and 50s and things hurt. And so
[40:35] systemic inflammation is happening all
[40:37] the time and unfortunately it
[40:39] accelerates aging. We're more sore more
[40:41] often and it can lead to a lot of
[40:43] arthritis or or joint pain and things
[40:45] like that. Creatine does have
[40:47] anti-inflammatory effects but a big
[40:49] distinction. Creatine is not like
[40:51] acetaminophen or ibuprofen which
[40:52] directly as a drug effect blocks that
[40:55] but it has been shown to decrease
[40:56] markers of inflammation specifically
[40:59] during long duration exercise. So this
[41:02] is an important distinction. Weight
[41:03] training is too acute.
[41:05] But when you do Ironman triathlon things
[41:07] like that those individuals who took
[41:09] creatine 20 grams a day for 5 days
[41:11] beforehand they had reductions in
[41:13] inflammation markers. So that might
[41:15] allow that individual to recover quicker
[41:17] not get ill and then perform more
[41:19] optimally. From a weight training
[41:20] perspective we see that it decreases
[41:22] markers of muscle damage. So it has
[41:24] these anti-inflammatory and
[41:25] anti-catabolic effects as well.
[41:27] >> Interesting.
[41:28] >> Yeah.
[41:29] >> And what about people that have
[41:30] neurodegenerative disorders?
[41:32] >> Yes. So Alzheimer's is is the area we're
[41:34] really starting to focus on and a couple
[41:36] of single arm studies came out last year
[41:38] by Matt Taylor and Aaron Smith showing
[41:40] that 20 grams a day for 8 weeks did
[41:43] increase brain creatine levels in
[41:44] Alzheimer's patients and it seemed to
[41:46] improve measures of memory and cognition
[41:48] there as well. So again using the same
[41:50] mechanisms it decreases inflammation and
[41:52] maintains brain bioenergetics and it
[41:55] might actually have a neural protection
[41:57] effect as well. There's evidence in cell
[41:59] cultures and in rodents that there's
[42:01] some lines there but in humans we're
[42:02] still in the in the infancy. But if it
[42:05] can have any benefit to any neurological
[42:07] disease it's huge and there's a lot of
[42:08] hope especially around Alzheimer's.
[42:09] >> There was an 8-week trial in Alzheimer's
[42:11] patients that also showed modest muscle
[42:13] gains and a 1.9 kg increase in hand grip
[42:16] strength,
[42:17] which is a key predicator of survival in
[42:19] dementia patients.
[42:20] Um, which was a landmark study of 20
[42:22] Alzheimer's patients found that taking
[42:24] 20 g of creatine daily for 8 weeks
[42:26] increased brain creatine levels by 11%
[42:28] and significantly improved the cognitive
[42:30] test scores they showed. That's the
[42:32] Journal of Psychiatry and Brain Science.
[42:34] >> And that one's really exciting and I
[42:36] think more future uh studies will come
[42:37] out. The limitation with those is that
[42:39] there was no placebo to compare to, but
[42:41] again, it's just showing that yes,
[42:42] creatine can be used as an effective
[42:44] adjunct, yeah.
[42:45] >> And because there is impact on our
[42:48] brain, is there impact on our mental
[42:49] health with creatine?
[42:51] >> Excellent point. So, the best lines of
[42:52] evidence here come from clinical
[42:54] depression and anxiety. Uh, the group
[42:56] out of Utah in the United States have
[42:57] clearly shown that creatine in addition
[43:00] to other therapies, so this is
[43:01] important. Creatine by itself has never
[43:03] been shown to be a stand-alone, but with
[43:05] SSRIs or cognitive behavior therapy or
[43:07] methamphetamine use in populations under
[43:09] medical supervision, the addition of
[43:11] creatine seemed to improve symptoms and
[43:13] it's likely going back to all the ones
[43:15] we've already talked about where it
[43:17] improves uh bioenergetics, it improves
[43:19] uh neuro uh transmission or
[43:21] neuromodulation,
[43:22] uh but it also in animals has been shown
[43:25] to improve a protein called BDNF.
[43:27] Uh, so this protein is involved in brain
[43:29] plasticity. So, there's a whole bunch of
[43:32] emerging evidence and hope that creatine
[43:34] one day will be used uh as a treatment
[43:38] in the toolbox for a lot of these
[43:40] clinical uh issues. PTSD also comes to
[43:42] my mind.
[43:43] >> There was a study in Gatorade Sports
[43:44] Science Institute and Pub which Pub Med
[43:46] published that said a a study of over
[43:48] 200,000 adults found that those who
[43:50] consumed the least amount of creatine in
[43:52] their daily diet had the highest rates
[43:54] of depressive symptoms.
[43:55] >> Yes, that's correct. And the common
[43:57] denominators, those with clinical
[43:58] depression or anxiety, when you measure
[44:00] their baseline creatine stores, very
[44:01] similar to concussion or Alzheimer's,
[44:03] they're reduced. So, therefore,
[44:05] obviously, this
[44:06] condition or series of conditions is
[44:09] causing a disruption at the brain
[44:11] bioenergetic level and creating levels
[44:13] are decreasing.
[44:13] >> There's another input that said, "In a
[44:15] clinical trial of women with major
[44:17] depression, adding 5 g of creatine to
[44:19] their daily antidepressant
[44:20] >> Yes.
[44:21] >> doubled their remission rate over 8
[44:23] weeks."
[44:23] >> That's correct, yes. And that group is
[44:25] from uh Perik Renshaw's group out of
[44:27] Utah. Uh they do great work. Our hope,
[44:30] and I'm collaborating uh with some
[44:31] colleagues now to look at creatine as a
[44:32] standalone treatment versus placebo,
[44:35] could it have some beneficial effects
[44:37] there? So, that's very exciting to come
[44:39] out.
[44:39] >> If I really don't want to be
[44:40] supplementing with creatine, is there
[44:42] what are the foods that I can eat that
[44:44] are high in creatine naturally?
[44:45] >> They're primarily uh animal based, so
[44:47] seafood and red meat. Um you know,
[44:49] herring is going to have one of the
[44:50] highest concentrations, uh salmon, uh as
[44:53] well as beef. Uh very small amounts in
[44:56] milk and dairy, so you'd have to drink
[44:57] all the the milk in the Jersey cow to
[44:59] get a sufficient amount. So, uh it
[45:01] definitely comes down to animal-based
[45:02] flesh, yeah.
[45:03] >> There's some of the studies that I that
[45:04] I love that I've I think I've heard you
[45:06] talk about before. One of them was um
[45:07] young athletes who took 5 g of creatine
[45:09] daily slept an average of 1 hour longer
[45:11] >> Yes.
[45:11] >> on training days.
[45:12] >> Yeah, we did that study a few years ago
[45:14] in uh uh young biological females who
[45:16] were healthy. And on the days that they
[45:18] trained and took creatine,
[45:20] this is interesting because they
[45:21] actually slept an hour longer uh
[45:24] compared to the placebo. So, this is a
[45:26] very interesting fact. So, creatine, you
[45:29] know, we now know it has brain
[45:31] bioenergetics, and there's two
[45:32] arguments. If it's making the brain
[45:35] recover, wouldn't you need less sleep,
[45:37] right? Now, in this study, it showed
[45:39] that improved. So, maybe these
[45:41] individuals trained at a higher capacity
[45:43] and allowed the brain to have more
[45:45] homeostasis to come back. So, this is an
[45:47] area uh a study that needs to be
[45:48] replicated in males as well to see can
[45:50] creatine improve sleep quantity, and if
[45:52] it is, I think that's a game changer. I
[45:55] I think everybody on the planet would
[45:56] raise their hand and say, "Hey, I need
[45:58] more sleep."
[45:58] >> Is there anything else we haven't
[45:59] covered as it relates to creatine?
[46:01] >> You know, the expected gains versus the
[46:04] hype gains. I think there's evidence
[46:06] there that creatine can have a
[46:08] an effect. I I think it's getting
[46:10] overhyped especially around the brain
[46:12] for what it can do. It's one tool in the
[46:14] toolbox and I think it it's one of those
[46:16] things that I'd like to show or you
[46:17] know, talk about for sure, yeah.
[46:19] >> Well, what do you mean by that?
[46:21] >> So, if you think of the toolbox when it
[46:23] comes to a plan, whenever you need to go
[46:25] fix things, you simply say, "Where's my
[46:27] toolbox?" You can't do anything without
[46:28] a plan. And the way I like to preface
[46:30] this is the most popular tool in
[46:32] anybody's toolbox is the hammer.
[46:35] Now,
[46:36] from a lifestyle perspective, what do
[46:38] you think the hammer represents? What
[46:40] would you decide that the hammer
[46:41] represents?
[46:42] >> Um as in like a
[46:44] >> Is it weight training? Is it cardio? Is
[46:46] it creatine? Is it protein? Is it sleep?
[46:49] >> Sleep.
[46:50] >> Okay. So, I say weight training is going
[46:53] to be the hammer.
[46:54] >> Okay.
[46:54] >> Okay.
[46:56] Now, what about the screwdriver? Always
[46:59] need a screwdriver.
[47:00] >> C- creatine.
[47:02] >> No, I think aerobic training or sleep
[47:04] comes way before creatine.
[47:06] >> Okay.
[47:07] >> But [clears throat] most people say,
[47:07] "Hey, I can fix a lot of things with
[47:09] that." Now, remember, we have a nice big
[47:11] toolbox.
[47:12] I like to think of creatine as the
[47:14] multifactorial wrench or screwdriver.
[47:17] Because creatine has profound benefits
[47:19] for muscle, a little bit for bone, of
[47:22] course, brain and other areas of the
[47:23] body. So, you can hit something with
[47:25] this.
[47:26] You can open it up and fix something
[47:28] with this. It's heavy. You can also pull
[47:30] out the measuring tape. Your argument,
[47:32] sleep. This could be protein, whichever
[47:35] it is. So, when you put all these things
[47:37] in your toolbox, you're now having a
[47:39] greater comprehensive plan to improve
[47:42] health.
[47:43] >> So, you said weight training was the
[47:45] hammer.
[47:45] >> Hammer. I like to consider if you were
[47:47] to choose one modality of exercise,
[47:49] weight training is a little bit superior
[47:51] to cardio. You get pretty much all the
[47:53] same benefits of cardiovascular exercise
[47:55] and then you get more with obviously an
[47:57] increase in lean tissue mass and
[47:58] performance. Uh weight training if done
[48:00] effectively can actually improve
[48:01] mitochondrial health. You can actually
[48:03] improve VO2 max if done correctly uh and
[48:05] you don't need a lot of it. So, I think
[48:07] we've switched from just doing cardio to
[48:10] now incorporating weight training to be
[48:11] effective.
[48:12] >> So, weight training.
[48:13] >> Yes.
[48:14] >> What are the the sort of misconceptions
[48:15] about weight training and why are you so
[48:18] positive about it?
[48:19] >> Yeah, [clears throat] I think one of the
[48:20] biggest myths is that you always need to
[48:23] lift heavy to put on muscle mass.
[48:25] And well-renowned researchers in this
[48:27] area have clearly shown now that lighter
[48:28] weights if performed to a lot of effort,
[48:30] almost to fatigue, if done correctly,
[48:33] you can get as the same increases in
[48:34] muscle mass as then compared to lifting
[48:36] heavy weights. However, if your goal is
[48:38] just to get stronger, lifting heavy is
[48:39] always there. So, I think this is a cool
[48:41] thing for people. Some days if you have
[48:43] a little bit of soreness or you don't
[48:45] have a lot of energy, you can lift
[48:46] lighter weights but just to fatigue,
[48:48] whereas other days you come in Monday,
[48:49] you've had your coffee, whichever it is,
[48:51] you're ready to go, you can lift heavy.
[48:52] So, I think there's not one concrete
[48:55] way, there's a little bit of variety
[48:56] here as well.
[48:57] >> And why are you putting it above
[48:58] cardiovascular work?
[48:59] >> Yeah, I think the benefits there is that
[49:02] cardiovascular exercise will make you
[49:03] live longer and and healthier. But the
[49:06] downfall with cardiovascular exercise,
[49:08] it doesn't stimulate strength or the
[49:10] musculoskeletal system as much as we
[49:12] we'd hope. So, improving muscle mass and
[49:14] that is very difficult to do with
[49:15] cardio. Maybe sprint interval training
[49:16] will do that, but the cool thing with
[49:18] weight training is you get
[49:19] cardiovascular benefits, but you also
[49:21] get those profound musculoskeletal
[49:22] benefits. So, if I was to tell anybody
[49:25] if there's one form of exercise to do is
[49:26] weight training, but you got to do
[49:28] cardio as well. So, do both.
[49:30] >> And if I just do weight training, what
[49:31] am I missing from not doing cardio
[49:33] training?
[49:34] >> Yeah, if you do weight training
[49:35] improperly where you're lifting heavy
[49:37] heavy weight with low repetitions all
[49:38] the time, you're likely going to
[49:39] jeopardize capillary density or
[49:41] mitochondrial health. These are things
[49:43] that sort of move blood flow to and from
[49:45] your muscles. You could decrease VO2 max
[49:48] or a fitness parameter for uh metabolic
[49:50] health fitness. So, at the end of the
[49:52] day, everybody should be doing both.
[49:54] But, if you only have time to do weight
[49:56] training or cardio, you still benefit
[49:58] cuz the majority of the population
[49:59] doesn't do any.
[50:00] >> And how how much how often do you think?
[50:03] >> Yeah, it's amazing that it's a small
[50:04] amount. So, let's just do cardio. Most
[50:06] countries will say 150 minutes of
[50:08] physical activity at a moderate level
[50:10] over a week. Uh I'm I'm okay with that.
[50:12] I'd like it to be higher. I'd also like
[50:14] the intensity to be a bit higher. So,
[50:17] when you tell an average individual 150
[50:18] minutes a week, most people will say,
[50:20] "Well, I'm going to do 70 or I'm going
[50:21] to do 30. I'm going to hold the couch
[50:23] down and watch Netflix." So, we give
[50:25] them 150 and we say, "You know, if you
[50:26] can do 21 minutes or two 22 minutes a
[50:29] day for 7 days a week, that's going to
[50:31] be a brisk walk or whichever." We'd like
[50:33] to be at a higher intensity if possible.
[50:35] Now, when it comes to weight training,
[50:37] this might be surprising, but 2 days a
[50:38] week or more is all you basically need
[50:41] and you can do a whole body routine. So,
[50:43] you don't need to go in there and just
[50:45] do chest and biceps Monday and then legs
[50:47] Tuesday. You can, but if you say, "I
[50:49] want to do whole body training Monday,
[50:50] Wednesday, Friday," that is great as
[50:52] well. So, a little bit of volume or
[50:54] frequency goes a long way, especially as
[50:57] we get older. That's the key.
[50:59] >> Why especially as we get older?
[51:00] >> Well, based on this graph here, it's
[51:01] clearly showing a detrimental effect.
[51:04] So, if you can see here, you know, you
[51:07] have muscle mass on the the x-axis or
[51:09] the y-axis and then you're having all
[51:11] the catastrophic effects as we get
[51:13] older. So, unfortunately, you know, 20
[51:16] and 30 looks great.
[51:17] >> When you're 20 and 40 years old.
[51:19] >> When you're 20 and 40 years old or all
[51:21] the way from 20 to 40, you can see,
[51:22] great. That's probably the area that
[51:24] you're going to have the most muscle.
[51:25] >> Yeah.
[51:26] >> But, look what happens 40, age 60, 80,
[51:30] and if you live to be 100.
[51:33] It's catastrophic. You're losing muscle
[51:35] mass at an accelerated rate. On average,
[51:38] it's about 1% per year after the age of
[51:41] 40.
[51:42] >> Even if you're training.
[51:43] >> So, if you're training, you're
[51:44] maintaining that. So, this is the
[51:46] average sedentary inactive population.
[51:48] You lose strength at about 1. or 1 to 3%
[51:51] even faster. Now,
[51:53] if we were to maintain resistance
[51:54] training, that muscle mass would
[51:56] plateau.
[51:57] So, I can't stress this enough. Although
[51:59] we focus on creatine, if you were to
[52:01] choose one thing to do today is
[52:03] exercise. And the only form of exercise
[52:05] that really maintains muscle is weight
[52:07] bearing or uh resistance training.
[52:10] And if that's the case, you're going to
[52:11] have way more muscle later on in life,
[52:13] so you can pick up the grandkids. You
[52:15] can walk those stairs. You can do more
[52:16] functionality things later on in life.
[52:18] >> Can you not just do I don't know, 60
[52:20] years old start training then?
[52:22] >> You can absolutely, and you get profound
[52:24] benefits. You can be 80 or 100 and you
[52:25] still get benefits. It's never too late
[52:27] to start.
[52:28] But one of the things we've already
[52:29] talked about is if you do weight
[52:31] training and add in a little bit of
[52:33] creatine,
[52:34] it gets a bit higher. If you added in
[52:36] protein, it gets even higher. So, again,
[52:38] nutrition, you know, if exercise is
[52:41] king, the queen is going to be
[52:43] nutrition. They go hand in hand all
[52:44] throughout lifespan. You got to have
[52:46] both.
[52:46] >> And on the subject of protein, you're
[52:47] saying that can when combined with
[52:49] creatine, it's a
[52:51] um force multiplier.
[52:52] >> It's It's a force multiplier when it
[52:53] comes to performance and lean tissue
[52:55] mass. So, there's been a few studies
[52:56] when you combine uh a high quality
[52:58] protein with creatine, they have been
[53:00] shown to increase lean tissue mass and
[53:01] muscle performance a little bit more
[53:02] than each alone, yeah.
[53:04] >> Does the average person get enough
[53:05] protein through their diet?
[53:06] >> You know, I think nowadays we do. And
[53:09] And I think this is over hyped as well.
[53:11] I think if you're getting about 1.2 to
[53:12] 1.6 g per kilogram. So, you know, if
[53:15] you're 70 kg, that's going to be on
[53:17] average about 84 to about 115 g of
[53:20] protein. I think we're so conscious now
[53:22] of the health benefits of protein uh
[53:24] that most people are. I think if you're
[53:26] training really intensely five, six days
[53:28] a week and you take a gram per pound,
[53:30] that's probably the max. But a lot of
[53:32] times when you take an excess protein,
[53:33] it doesn't go to your body area that
[53:36] you're probably hoping. It doesn't all
[53:37] go to your muscle. It's used for other
[53:38] things like hormones and uh blood cells,
[53:40] things like that. But I think nowadays
[53:42] most people are likely getting enough
[53:43] protein. The question is, are they
[53:45] getting enough high-quality protein? So,
[53:48] vegans and vegetarians can definitely
[53:49] get enough protein. They might just need
[53:51] to eat a little bit more to get all
[53:52] those essential amino acids, which we
[53:54] need.
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[54:57] >> Menopause.
[54:57] >> Yes.
[54:58] >> We talked a little bit briefly about
[55:00] menopause, bringing both together the
[55:02] subjects of muscle, but also of
[55:04] creatine.
[55:04] >> Yes.
[55:05] >> How How does those two things impact
[55:08] a woman's journey through menopause?
[55:09] >> Yeah. So, we know from animal cells that
[55:11] estrogen is highly involved in creatine
[55:13] metabolism. Estrogen seems to be
[55:15] implicated in the enzymes that are
[55:16] needed to make creatine. And then
[55:18] estrogen also has
[55:20] a huge impact on
[55:21] not only brain bioenergetics, but muscle
[55:23] metabolism, as well. So,
[55:25] as the the female goes from a
[55:26] premenopausal stage to perimenopausal
[55:29] stage to the postmenopausal transition,
[55:31] if estrogen is decreasing,
[55:34] and then independent of their diet, we
[55:35] think creatine has bone effects and
[55:38] muscle effects and of course we've
[55:39] talked about the cognitive effects
[55:40] there. So, from a whole skeleton
[55:42] perspective I think everybody should be,
[55:44] but of course the perimenopausal,
[55:46] postmenopausal transition is good. And
[55:48] then that brings up a question about
[55:50] what about really young premenopausal
[55:52] females, you know, optimal health? What
[55:54] if we built up their tissues more? Maybe
[55:56] that would offset the rate of this
[55:57] decline over time as well. So, that's
[55:59] what we're hoping to get to.
[56:00] >> Is creatine safe for kids?
[56:02] >> So, it's interesting you bring that up
[56:03] and the current body of evidence
[56:05] suggests yes at recommended dosages.
[56:07] Good researchers in the United States
[56:09] put out multiple reviews looking at
[56:11] creatine in adolescent children and
[56:14] teenagers. Improves balance, agility,
[56:16] body composition. If anything, they want
[56:18] to get at least 1 g per day because in
[56:20] children they want to have an
[56:21] optimization for bone health as well as
[56:23] muscle development. But again, if any
[56:26] parents are watching, obviously talk to
[56:27] their medical practitioner, but all the
[56:29] current reviews currently says suggest
[56:31] that it's safe.
[56:33] >> And we're talking about We're not
[56:34] talking about babies here. We're talking
[56:35] about
[56:35] >> Yeah, we're talking about adolescents
[56:37] all the way into teenage years. When it
[56:38] comes to baby or infancy, out of
[56:40] Australia Stacy Allison is starting to
[56:42] do that work there as well, but we don't
[56:44] have a lot of data in humans yet, but
[56:45] that is an area to to pay attention to
[56:47] for sure. Yeah.
[56:48] >> What is the most important thing we
[56:49] haven't talked about that we should have
[56:50] talked about, doctor?
[56:51] >> Yeah, I think one of the big things is
[56:53] the safety profile of creatine. There's
[56:55] been, you know, hundreds of randomized
[56:57] controlled trials now on creatine. The
[56:59] safety profile is is exceptional.
[57:01] >> [snorts]
[57:01] >> Last year they put out a study looking
[57:03] at over 25,000 cases and creatine even
[57:06] over 10 g a day for many years has been
[57:08] very, very safe and effective. One area
[57:10] that comes up is
[57:12] what about the timing? Does it matter
[57:14] when I take it? And And the cool thing
[57:16] is we just got a paper accepted two days
[57:18] ago putting the nail in the coffin on
[57:20] this. And at the end of the day you can
[57:22] take creatine at any time of the day.
[57:24] You can take it in the morning with
[57:25] breakfast. You can take it right before
[57:27] workout. I take some during. You can
[57:29] take it after go to bed. It doesn't
[57:31] matter when you take it as well.
[57:32] >> So, you can take it right before sleep.
[57:34] >> You can.
[57:34] >> And it won't impact your sleep.
[57:35] >> No, uh currently we haven't exactly
[57:38] assessed the effect on sleep, but uh
[57:40] another study looked at it in the
[57:41] evening and it had no detrimental effect
[57:43] there as well.
[57:43] >> And what else? What else is the other
[57:45] questions that you get messaged with or
[57:47] asked most often, doctor?
[57:48] >> Yeah, can I spread out creatine all
[57:50] throughout the day? So, for example, we
[57:52] have like if we were to take creatine in
[57:54] a gummy form or a candy, you can
[57:56] actually have, you know, one or two of
[57:58] these every hour all throughout the day.
[58:00] You can have it uh uh periodically. So,
[58:02] you don't have to take creatine all at
[58:03] once. You can take it in smaller amounts
[58:05] all throughout the day. And if anything,
[58:07] there's been a study uh a few years ago
[58:08] showing that 1 g every 30 minutes up to
[58:11] 20 g dose uh seemed to retain more in
[58:13] the body and that was beneficial as
[58:15] well.
[58:15] >> What do you think of these gummies?
[58:17] >> You know, there's only been a few
[58:18] companies that have actually shown some
[58:19] validity and reliability. Um as long
[58:21] [snorts] as they're third-party tested,
[58:22] they're very, very effective. You want
[58:23] to try one?
[58:24] >> Are they Are they third-party tested?
[58:26] >> They're third-party The green ones, yep.
[58:27] And the bottom ones, third-party tested,
[58:29] yep.
[58:30] >> What but you know, the stuff that makes
[58:31] it a gummy, is that stuff Is that stuff
[58:33] good for you?
[58:34] >> So, the issue there is does the
[58:35] manufacturing trying to keep the uh
[58:37] creatine together uh influence it? It
[58:39] can, and there's only been a few uh uh
[58:41] companies out there. The one you're
[58:42] eating is by Create from the United
[58:43] States.
[58:44] They have had uh multiple trials.
[58:46] They're the first uh company that
[58:48] actually look at uh randomized control
[58:49] trial to show improvements in volleyball
[58:51] players with the gummies.
[58:52] Children love them. Older adults, this
[58:54] has become an area of interest where uh
[58:56] chewing ability or taste sensation has
[58:58] gone down, uh they seem to be very
[59:00] convenient and effective. Uh you can
[59:02] have these at your desk, whichever. You
[59:03] don't need the white powder to mix. So,
[59:05] there The companies are coming up with
[59:07] more viable ways to get creatine in
[59:08] there. But to your point, you always
[59:10] want to make sure the company's
[59:11] third-party tested. It uses a
[59:13] high-quality creatine, and it actually
[59:15] has a source of creatine in there as
[59:16] well.
[59:17] >> Cuz I remember [snorts] watching a
[59:18] YouTube video by a guy called James
[59:19] Smith who's been on the show before.
[59:21] >> Yeah.
[59:21] >> And he did some testing on
[59:22] >> Yes.
[59:22] >> the off-the-shelf creatine um and found
[59:25] that a lot of them didn't contain any
[59:26] creatine.
[59:26] >> 90% and there was only a few and the one
[59:28] that you did uh consume it did. Yeah,
[59:30] 1.5.
[59:31] >> How isn't that crazy that you can go buy
[59:33] creatine and it has no creatine in it?
[59:34] >> Yeah, so that's why I think for the
[59:35] consumers watching you got to do a
[59:37] little bit of homework and look at those
[59:39] three things. Make sure third-party
[59:40] tested it has a logo clearly on the
[59:42] packaging. If it doesn't, I would
[59:44] strongly advise you not to consume it.
[59:46] >> Of all the of all the studies that
[59:48] you've encountered on all the subjects
[59:50] we've talked about muscle, protein,
[59:51] creatine, are there studies that were
[59:53] pivotal in how you think about these
[59:55] subjects?
[59:55] >> Yeah, there was. So the the landmark
[59:57] study came out in 1992
[59:59] uh and it clearly showed that 5 g
[01:00:01] elevated creatine in the blood. But if
[01:00:03] you took multiple 5 g dosages it
[01:00:05] maintained that throughout the day. So
[01:00:07] this is where the dose of 5 g seems to
[01:00:09] be very very viable. And the other one
[01:00:11] showed that "Hey, I don't want to take
[01:00:13] five. What if I only want to take 3 g?"
[01:00:16] So 3 g seems to be the lowest most
[01:00:17] effective dose and you just need to take
[01:00:19] that for 1 month and you'll saturate
[01:00:21] your muscles. So again, you have options
[01:00:23] to take as little amount or high amount
[01:00:25] as as as you want over time. But I think
[01:00:27] one of the biggest studies is that we
[01:00:29] did was the 2-year trial in
[01:00:30] postmenopausal women where we gave 0.14
[01:00:33] g of creatine and it really seemed to
[01:00:35] improve or have an effect on bone
[01:00:36] preservation as well as muscle
[01:00:38] performance. So these are the the
[01:00:39] studies that seem to come to my mind.
[01:00:41] We've done quite a few but they seem to
[01:00:43] be the landmark ones, yeah.
[01:00:44] >> And what are the supplements that you
[01:00:46] take outside of creatine?
[01:00:47] >> Yes, for sure. So on a daily basis it's
[01:00:49] a probiotic with food in the morning and
[01:00:51] evening and that's something I just
[01:00:52] recently learned. I was taking it on an
[01:00:53] empty stomach. My probiotic I take two
[01:00:56] to four forms of magnesium, one before
[01:00:58] bed and then one in the day 38 for
[01:01:00] cognition and function. I take
[01:01:03] 2,000 international units of vitamin D.
[01:01:06] >> [snorts]
[01:01:06] >> I always take protein on a sufficient
[01:01:07] basis as well. And then I take about 4 g
[01:01:10] of omega-3 fatty acids and I always take
[01:01:12] one of the omega-3 fatty acids post
[01:01:14] exercise cuz that seems to be the best
[01:01:16] time to take it.
[01:01:17] >> So omega-3, magnesium, vitamin D.
[01:01:19] >> Vitamin D, probiotics, of course
[01:01:21] creatine and protein I take powder and
[01:01:24] or through dietary food. Every now and
[01:01:26] then I don't eat a lot of red meat, so
[01:01:28] I'll take iron, but not on a consistent
[01:01:30] basis.
[01:01:31] >> And you know
[01:01:31] >> And I'm hoping the new one
[01:01:34] is this is an area of controversy, NAD.
[01:01:36] This is the you know, it's a precursor
[01:01:38] for a main enzyme that's highly involved
[01:01:40] in metabolism. There's been evidence to
[01:01:42] suggest it goes down with aging, so my
[01:01:44] eye is closely on that to see if that's
[01:01:47] going to be something to come up in the
[01:01:48] play.
[01:01:49] And a multivitamin, you know, started
[01:01:50] with Flintstones vitamins as a kid and I
[01:01:52] take a multivitamin daily as a safety
[01:01:54] net.
[01:01:55] >> I noticed that when I looked at your
[01:01:56] video in the interview you did with Dr.
[01:01:58] Rhonda Patrick, a lot of the comments
[01:02:00] were from [clears throat] people in
[01:02:01] their 60s, 70s, and 80s. And I wondered
[01:02:04] why that was. If you just I was just
[01:02:05] looking at the top three or four
[01:02:06] comments and it's a 71-year-old, it's an
[01:02:09] 82-year-old, it's a 53-year-old who's
[01:02:12] contending with Alzheimer's.
[01:02:14] Why is that?
[01:02:15] >> Yeah, I think it's the awareness and
[01:02:17] education now and social media's really
[01:02:19] helped with this getting our
[01:02:21] evidence-based research out to the
[01:02:22] public and the awareness that creatine
[01:02:24] is just not for young males to get
[01:02:26] bigger, stronger, faster. If anything,
[01:02:28] when you go to an aging body and they're
[01:02:30] predisposed to age-related muscle loss,
[01:02:32] strength loss, functionality, bone loss,
[01:02:34] and atrophy in the brain, creatine has
[01:02:36] been shown to have effects there as
[01:02:37] well. So, I think a lot of older
[01:02:39] individual populations are becoming more
[01:02:41] aware of the effects of creatine and of
[01:02:43] course as we produce more research, it
[01:02:45] gets out to the public more often. So,
[01:02:46] I'm really excited and encouraged that
[01:02:48] creatine has sort of taken on a life of
[01:02:50] its own in the last decade.
[01:02:52] >> And are there direct weight benefits if
[01:02:55] I'm trying to cut fat by taking creatine
[01:02:57] or is it indirect?
[01:02:58] >> It's indirect. So, it seems that if you
[01:02:59] increase lean mass, it might stimulate
[01:03:01] energy expenditure or turnover. And then
[01:03:04] in animal models, it has been shown to
[01:03:05] have some beneficial effects from a
[01:03:07] cellular perspective on fat, but at the
[01:03:09] end of the day if you are seeing a
[01:03:10] reduction in fat, it's likely that
[01:03:12] you're improving your metabolic health
[01:03:13] with lean tissue mass.
[01:03:14] >> Do Do think much about how to get these
[01:03:16] habits to stick? Because I imagine
[01:03:18] there's lots of people that are aware by
[01:03:19] now that creatine is a useful thing to
[01:03:21] take, but for whatever reason they still
[01:03:24] don't take it.
[01:03:25] >> Exactly, and I think that's one of the
[01:03:26] biggest reasons people don't. So, we got
[01:03:28] to come up with ways to maintain
[01:03:30] consistency, and I think whatever
[01:03:32] vehicle you want to choose to maintain
[01:03:34] that in the in the run of the day is the
[01:03:36] best. So, if it's putting in your coffee
[01:03:37] in the morning, cuz you won't forget it,
[01:03:38] great. If it's putting a little bit in
[01:03:40] Greek yogurt, if it's using the gummies,
[01:03:41] whichever it is, as long as it's a
[01:03:43] viable source of creatine that makes it
[01:03:45] very practical and consistent for you,
[01:03:47] that's the best way.
[01:03:48] >> Yeah, I found that having it en route to
[01:03:51] where I'm going
[01:03:51] >> Yes.
[01:03:52] >> being really, really important. So, when
[01:03:53] I come to my office in the morning, it's
[01:03:54] all on my desk.
[01:03:55] >> Yes.
[01:03:56] >> Um so, I have the supplements just on my
[01:03:57] desk, and actually even before I walked
[01:03:59] into the studio today, in the green room
[01:04:01] that I have, it's on the green room.
[01:04:02] >> Right.
[01:04:02] >> When I'm at home, it is [clears throat]
[01:04:04] where the coffee machine is.
[01:04:05] >> Correct, yeah.
[01:04:06] >> And that has radically helped me. Um
[01:04:08] otherwise, if it wasn't within my my
[01:04:10] routine, it would wouldn't happen.
[01:04:12] >> have a jar on the counter with all our
[01:04:13] other supplements. It's in the pantry,
[01:04:15] it's close by, because if it's in the
[01:04:16] garage, you're like, I forgot about it.
[01:04:18] >> I think the other thing is, with some
[01:04:20] things like creatine, it's hard to
[01:04:21] really notice the difference sometimes.
[01:04:24] >> Uh excellent point, yeah. This is not
[01:04:25] like caffeine, you know, with some
[01:04:26] immediate effect. So, unlike uh
[01:04:29] caffeine, creatine takes a while to
[01:04:30] notice the effects, and they come
[01:04:31] indirectly. You don't
[01:04:33] immediately notice a massive increase in
[01:04:35] energy or alertness. It's like after a
[01:04:37] week of weight training, or even two,
[01:04:38] you're like, "Wow, I did more
[01:04:39] repetitions. I could do more weight. Uh
[01:04:41] I recover quickly." is one that we hear
[01:04:44] uh quite often. You'll never notice with
[01:04:46] with your bone, but we have uh heard
[01:04:48] anecdotally with cognition, especially
[01:04:50] sleep deprivation, people do notice the
[01:04:51] effects. And I'm an N of 1, but I notice
[01:04:54] jet lag goes down quite a bit uh when I
[01:04:56] take a high dose of creatine.
[01:04:58] >> And you know, when you start taking it,
[01:05:00] if you start taking it today,
[01:05:01] >> Yes.
[01:05:01] >> if I start taking, say, 3 to 5 g of
[01:05:03] creatine today, am I going to notice the
[01:05:04] differences today?
[01:05:06] >> No, it'll probably With 3 to 5 g, you'll
[01:05:08] probably notice it in a few weeks, if
[01:05:10] not to a month, from a muscle
[01:05:11] perspective. From a brain perspective,
[01:05:13] that low, you're likely not going to
[01:05:15] notice any effect because the brain is
[01:05:17] probably making enough, but if you're
[01:05:18] really metabolically stressed, then you
[01:05:21] might notice some memory or cognitive
[01:05:23] benefits after a few days, but at such a
[01:05:25] low dose, you need to be a little bit
[01:05:27] patient. But again, 3 g could saturate
[01:05:29] your skeletal muscle in 30 days, so it's
[01:05:31] not that long of a wait.
[01:05:32] >> And on the cognitive side, the cognitive
[01:05:34] benefits that were observed when doing
[01:05:35] these strict tests,
[01:05:37] had they been taking it previously, or
[01:05:39] was it just administered on that
[01:05:40] particular day when the test happened?
[01:05:42] >> one was in a week in advance with a
[01:05:43] loading phase, so they really saturated
[01:05:45] the body to try to get the effects.
[01:05:47] >> Okay, so they were taking it for some
[01:05:48] time.
[01:05:49] >> But on the sleep deprivation study from
[01:05:50] Germany, they just gave it one bolus
[01:05:52] mega dose for 21 hours of sleep
[01:05:54] deprivation, and those individuals did
[01:05:56] perform better from a a number of tests
[01:05:58] like this the next day. So, if you're
[01:05:59] like, "Wow, I got something coming up
[01:06:01] Friday. Unfortunately, I'm not going to
[01:06:03] get any sleep at best one or two hours,"
[01:06:05] then a high dose might come into play,
[01:06:07] and then you can go back to your more
[01:06:08] consistent routine. I think what
[01:06:10] happened or is happening is a lot of
[01:06:12] individuals versus now thinking I need
[01:06:14] to take 20 or 30 g on a daily basis
[01:06:16] based on those studies, and I'm like,
[01:06:18] "Wait a minute, are you getting enough
[01:06:19] sleep the next day?" Because at that
[01:06:21] dose, we don't know if the neuron will
[01:06:24] swell with water, and if that's the
[01:06:27] case, is that potentially causing any
[01:06:29] detrimental effects in the long term?
[01:06:31] So, again, I would not
[01:06:34] recommend taking a mega dose for
[01:06:35] consistently over time. Could that
[01:06:37] down-regulate your natural synthesis?
[01:06:39] These are all questions that we need to
[01:06:40] look at, yeah.
[01:06:41] >> So, outside of the realm of creatine,
[01:06:43] outside of the realm of muscle, outside
[01:06:45] of the realm of, I guess, nutrition
[01:06:46] generally, what are you doing to keep
[01:06:48] yourself healthy? What is what is your
[01:06:50] routine?
[01:06:50] >> Yeah, so I'm religious with exercise, so
[01:06:52] I try to exercise at least three to four
[01:06:54] days a week with weight training, and
[01:06:56] add in at least 20 or 30 minutes of
[01:06:58] either moderate intensity cardio or like
[01:07:01] a spin class. I personally like to do
[01:07:03] alternating days. So, I'll do weight
[01:07:05] training like maybe Monday, Wednesday,
[01:07:06] Friday, and then cardio Tuesday,
[01:07:07] Thursday, and then on the weekends
[01:07:09] hiking, things like that.
[01:07:11] Um pretty religious with nutrients as
[01:07:13] well. Try to eat a really balanced diet.
[01:07:15] And my god, my failure is getting enough
[01:07:18] sleep. So, I've had to cut caffeine out
[01:07:20] quite a bit by past noon to allow me.
[01:07:22] I'm probably a slower metabolizer
[01:07:24] um with caffeine. So,
[01:07:26] uh I try to really optimize
[01:07:28] evidence-based research, take it into my
[01:07:30] daily life, and then try to promote it
[01:07:31] that way, yeah.
[01:07:32] >> And is there anything you're
[01:07:33] particularly excited about in the work
[01:07:34] and research that you do?
[01:07:35] >> I'm super fascinated with the movement
[01:07:37] from the neck up. I think we know a lot
[01:07:39] about the neck down with creatine and
[01:07:41] exercise or other nutrients. I'm
[01:07:43] fascinated with the ability What about
[01:07:44] concussion?
[01:07:46] You know, can an uh the UFC fighter take
[01:07:48] creatine before they get hit? Could that
[01:07:51] decrease CTE or concussion or brain
[01:07:53] trauma later on in life? I think of
[01:07:55] boxing, Muhammad Ali, uh things like
[01:07:57] that. So,
[01:07:58] there's evidence in in and rodents that
[01:08:00] if you take creatine before head trauma,
[01:08:02] it really speeds up concussion recovery.
[01:08:04] So, I'm fascinated with that as well,
[01:08:05] like almost a prophylactic. Anybody
[01:08:07] involved in head trauma, I think you
[01:08:08] should definitely look at creatine as
[01:08:10] something to be taken just in case you
[01:08:12] get hit. And then, of course, everything
[01:08:13] with Alzheimer's or other areas of
[01:08:16] depression. So, I'm fascinated that this
[01:08:18] nutrient, which was, you know, 1832 it
[01:08:21] was discovered, boring for the longest
[01:08:24] time because we thought we knew
[01:08:25] everything, and now it's taken a life of
[01:08:26] its own and it's having these profound
[01:08:28] benefits we never even thought would
[01:08:29] happen, yeah.
[01:08:31] >> A lot of [snorts] people consider you to
[01:08:32] be the sort of leading expert on this
[01:08:33] subject for many reasons.
[01:08:35] Do you think there'll be a time where
[01:08:36] you you stop researching creatine and
[01:08:38] you move on to something else?
[01:08:39] >> You know, that's interesting. I would
[01:08:40] have said yes about 5 years ago, but now
[01:08:43] No, there's too much to do even with
[01:08:45] skeletal muscle. If you were to say,
[01:08:47] "What's the best dose Darren to take?"
[01:08:48] I'd say, "I have no clue."
[01:08:50] Every creatine researcher said, "I don't
[01:08:52] know." We still don't know the best dose
[01:08:54] that every person can take that will
[01:08:57] check off all the boxes, especially in
[01:08:58] the brain. We're just giving an estimate
[01:09:00] that I take 10, maybe you take 12, some
[01:09:03] of you might take 15, but at the end of
[01:09:05] the day we still don't know the best
[01:09:07] supplementation protocol, the best dose.
[01:09:10] Uh so there's so many areas. So for the
[01:09:11] next 20 years I bet you'll still be
[01:09:13] focusing on creatine with other things
[01:09:14] as well, yeah.
[01:09:15] >> And on that doses, is that
[01:09:17] different for different people?
[01:09:19] >> Excellent question. So the thought was
[01:09:21] that the larger you are, yeah, you have
[01:09:23] more storing capacity in your muscle for
[01:09:25] creatine. So it makes sense if you're 50
[01:09:27] kg and 150 kg, you're going to have
[01:09:30] greater storing capacity. So the dose on
[01:09:32] a relative basis is likely higher there
[01:09:34] as well. The more stressed the person
[01:09:36] is, it's likely they're going to require
[01:09:37] more because their natural machinery in
[01:09:39] the brain can't keep up. So it is very
[01:09:42] individualistic.
[01:09:43] I think we give a general
[01:09:45] recommendations to make it easy, but
[01:09:47] again, some people can take it very
[01:09:48] scientifically and base it on body
[01:09:50] weight and you can't go wrong with both,
[01:09:51] yeah.
[01:09:52] >> I bet there's a lot of people that are
[01:09:53] this far into the conversation and their
[01:09:55] their central question is, right, I've
[01:09:56] got loved ones
[01:09:57] >> Mhm.
[01:09:58] >> that I really really want to start um
[01:10:00] considering
[01:10:01] >> Right.
[01:10:01] >> creatine supplementation for whatever
[01:10:02] reason. It could be cognitive benefits,
[01:10:04] muscular benefits, whatever, all the
[01:10:05] things we've talked about.
[01:10:07] They might end up sending this
[01:10:08] conversation to their loved ones.
[01:10:10] >> Right.
[01:10:10] >> Something that I do sometimes when I
[01:10:11] when I have episodes that are
[01:10:12] particularly moving for me.
[01:10:14] If their loved ones are now listening,
[01:10:15] >> Yeah. Yeah.
[01:10:16] >> and you had to make a case to their
[01:10:17] loved ones about why they should take
[01:10:20] >> creatine,
[01:10:21] >> Yeah.
[01:10:22] >> what would you say?
[01:10:23] >> I would say creatine is one tool in that
[01:10:25] health promotion um toolbox that might
[01:10:28] help you live longer and better and
[01:10:31] allow you to maintain activities later
[01:10:32] on in life which you wouldn't have been
[01:10:34] able to do and unfortunately that leads
[01:10:36] us accelerated aging in a poor way to
[01:10:38] go. It's like it's like saying I'm going
[01:10:39] to save everything for retirement. My
[01:10:41] question is why? You might not make it
[01:10:43] to retirement. So that's one of the
[01:10:45] things, yeah.
[01:10:45] >> Aging.
[01:10:46] >> Yes.
[01:10:47] >> What is aging in your definition of the
[01:10:49] word?
[01:10:49] >> It's catastrophic. Unfortunately, I'm
[01:10:51] going through it. You know, I've noticed
[01:10:53] ever ever since I hit the fourth decade,
[01:10:54] things hurt a lot more and muscle mass
[01:10:56] to retain a little bit harder.
[01:10:58] Um so unfortunately think of the body's
[01:11:01] ability to withstand stress is not as
[01:11:03] high and things start to break down
[01:11:05] quite fast. So, we all know, you know,
[01:11:08] things hurt more, we've lost muscle
[01:11:09] mass, I can't run as fast. So,
[01:11:11] biological aging is kind of the
[01:11:13] deterioration of the human body. We need
[01:11:16] to, with this conversation and others,
[01:11:18] come up with ways to stop the
[01:11:20] deterioration and if anything come up
[01:11:23] with ways to maintain that ability to
[01:11:25] live longer free of disease, young.
[01:11:27] >> We have a closing tradition on this
[01:11:29] podcast where the last guest leaves a
[01:11:30] question for the next not knowing who
[01:11:31] they're leaving it for. This one's quite
[01:11:32] a tricky question.
[01:11:33] >> Okay.
[01:11:34] >> What is
[01:11:36] reality? What do you think all of this
[01:11:37] is? All this stuff that we can see and
[01:11:39] all we experience. What do you think it
[01:11:41] is? Do you think it's a simulation? Do
[01:11:42] you think it's
[01:11:43] >> This is all real for sure because I
[01:11:45] think we can feel it. It's not a a big
[01:11:47] brother or anything that's a game show.
[01:11:49] We all go through different emotions and
[01:11:51] things like that. So, I think you can
[01:11:52] feel it, yeah.
[01:11:53] >> Are you religious?
[01:11:54] >> Yes, Catholic.
[01:11:54] >> Okay.
[01:11:56] And you're a family man, you've got got
[01:11:58] some
[01:11:58] >> I a French bulldog and a cat as we
[01:12:00] talked about and a wife at home, yeah.
[01:12:02] And really close to my family and stuff
[01:12:03] like that, yeah.
[01:12:03] >> And what is your goal? If we get to the
[01:12:04] end of your career and this was your
[01:12:05] last day and you had been successful
[01:12:07] >> Yeah, I think it would be a lasting
[01:12:10] impression on my students that wow, he
[01:12:12] changed my life in some way. And if I
[01:12:15] can make one person live longer free of
[01:12:17] disease and happier, I'm all for it. You
[01:12:19] know, when you start to see the human
[01:12:21] body as people get older, you're like,
[01:12:23] oh, that person used to be young and
[01:12:25] vibrant. And then when you hear other
[01:12:27] people that can't do activities they
[01:12:29] live in or they can't travel or they're
[01:12:30] afraid to, I'm like, you need to embrace
[01:12:32] today. I I love that quote from Morgan
[01:12:34] Freeman Shawshank, get busy living or
[01:12:36] get busy dying honestly, we have the
[01:12:38] ability with lifestyle choices to
[01:12:41] improve optimization and I want to see
[01:12:43] people live to be 120, 130, still
[01:12:46] active, still going and I think we're on
[01:12:48] the cusp with technology and I think
[01:12:50] awareness around nutrition, exercise,
[01:12:52] sleep, uh laughter. Oh, jeez, if I could
[01:12:55] ask anybody to do one more thing, it'd
[01:12:57] be just laugh more often. For me to be
[01:12:59] just a small piece of the the puzzle
[01:13:01] promoting it, I think it's if anything
[01:13:04] it's it's just beyond my belief, yeah.
[01:13:05] >> Why did this pull you in? I I I ask that
[01:13:09] in part because it tends to be the case
[01:13:10] that the things that draw us in or pull
[01:13:12] on our make us curious, there tends to
[01:13:14] always be a bit of a personal reason.
[01:13:16] >> Right, yeah.
[01:13:17] It was It was more that, you know, am I
[01:13:19] scared to death 100%? Yeah. I can't I
[01:13:21] can't think of it, yeah.
[01:13:22] >> Why not?
[01:13:23] >> I just think it's weird for me. I get to
[01:13:25] a point, uh maybe being religious, and
[01:13:27] then you think about it, and then I my
[01:13:29] brain stops. I can't think about it.
[01:13:30] >> Really?
[01:13:31] >> Yeah. And it's it's become it's almost
[01:13:32] like I want to live forever, and if I
[01:13:34] can think of ways to make me live and
[01:13:36] partially get there, obviously it's not
[01:13:38] reality. But yeah, I'm uh scared to
[01:13:40] death of dying, yeah.
[01:13:41] >> Have you always been?
[01:13:42] >> Yep, 100%. Scared to death of heights,
[01:13:44] and I can't even talk about the the
[01:13:46] death experience, yeah. Cuz I think it
[01:13:47] it sort of brings into perspective
[01:13:49] things that
[01:13:51] it it you just don't know.
[01:13:53] >> Did you ever lose anybody?
[01:13:54] >> Uh just uh uh friends and things like
[01:13:56] that, but nothing um specific like
[01:13:57] parents or anything like that yet. But
[01:13:59] it's always been there. I don't know if
[01:14:00] it's the Roman Catholic in me or not,
[01:14:02] but it's like, "Whoa, I don't want that
[01:14:04] at all, yeah."
[01:14:05] >> You can't even talk about it.
[01:14:06] >> Can't even talk about it, no. No, yeah.
[01:14:08] >> Really?
[01:14:09] >> Yeah. It's kind of like I can talk about
[01:14:11] it in a sense I understand and then it's
[01:14:12] realistic, but it's it's more um
[01:14:16] that for some reason I don't even want
[01:14:17] to think about it cuz I have so much
[01:14:19] passion for life that I don't even want
[01:14:21] to think about, "Oh, this could
[01:14:22] happen, yeah."
[01:14:23] >> And you believe you go somewhere after
[01:14:24] death?
[01:14:25] >> sure, heaven, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah,
[01:14:27] yeah.
[01:14:27] >> But if you do believe you're going to
[01:14:28] heaven, that sounds like a good place,
[01:14:29] no?
[01:14:29] >> Great place, yeah. I just want to spend
[01:14:31] more time here.
[01:14:32] There's still a lot of things to do,
[01:14:33] yeah, for sure.
[01:14:34] >> Makes sense.
[01:14:35] >> Yeah.
[01:14:36] >> Well, thank you. Thank you for doing
[01:14:37] this with me.
[01:14:37] >> This was great. Thank you. Yes.
[01:14:38] >> I have to say, you know, you've done so
[01:14:40] so much research on the subject that so
[01:14:41] many of my previous guests cite and talk
[01:14:43] about, and it's so it's it's great to
[01:14:45] have the source here himself, and I I
[01:14:47] applaud you for the work you've done
[01:14:48] because at the end of the day I think I
[01:14:49] think a lot of people do want to extend
[01:14:51] their health span, right? Which is to
[01:14:53] live healthier for longer. There's a
[01:14:55] real sort of epidemic of people having
[01:14:57] short health spans, being medicated from
[01:14:59] the age of 40, 50 years old and then
[01:15:01] having that sort of last couple of
[01:15:02] decades of our life being in you know,
[01:15:04] incapable of doing the things we care
[01:15:05] about.
[01:15:06] I think a lot of this research gives us
[01:15:08] an option if we choose to take it
[01:15:10] to live a to live a better life.
[01:15:13] Thank you so much. We're done. YouTube
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