Taking 20 grams of creatine a day for five days boosts the amount of creatine in young men's muscles, even if they don’t work out or eat a lot of carbs.

37

Pro

0

Against

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

37

Community contributions welcome

37

Creatine supplementation does not affect human skeletal muscle glycogen content in the absence of prior exercise.

Cross-Sectional Study

Human

2008 Feb

The study shows that taking creatine for five days increases the amount of creatine in muscles, even without exercising or eating lots of carbs, just like the claim says.

Contradicting (0)

0

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No contradicting evidence found

Gold Standard Evidence Needed

According to GRADE and EBM methodology, here is what ideal scientific evidence would look like to definitively prove or disprove this specific claim, ordered from strongest to weakest evidence.

Source Study

Creatine supplementation does not affect human skeletal muscle glycogen content in the absence of prior exercise.

Score: 37

DOI: 10.1152/JAPPLPHYSIOL.00787.2007

Similar Assertions

If young, healthy guys take a lot of creatine for 5 days straight, their muscles soak it up and end up with about 21% more creatine inside them.

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Taking creatine powder for about a week—first a lot, then a little—can boost the amount of creatine in your muscles by over 13%, which helps your muscles store more energy.

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If young, healthy guys take a lot of creatine with a high-carb diet after a tough workout, their muscles store more creatine within just a few days — and it keeps going up the longer they take it.

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Taking 21 grams of creatine a day for 5 days can boost the amount of creatine in your muscles by about 30%, but it doesn’t make your muscles build protein faster or break it down slower, whether you’ve eaten or not.

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Taking creatine supplements the way some athletes do—starting with a big dose, then switching to a smaller one—might temporarily boost the sugar stored in your muscles, but that boost fades once you switch to the smaller daily dose.

38

0

88%