Taking creatine for a short time might turn on genes in young men's muscles that help fix DNA, possibly because the cells are reacting to the stress from holding more water.

60

Pro

0

Against

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

60

Community contributions welcome

60

Global and targeted gene expression and protein content in skeletal muscle of young men following short-term creatine monohydrate supplementation.

Randomized Controlled Trial

Human

2008 Jan 17

The study gave men the same creatine dose as in the claim and found that genes involved in DNA repair and replication were turned up, which supports the idea that creatine helps cells maintain DNA by causing mild stress.

Contradicting (0)

0

Community contributions welcome

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

Global and targeted gene expression and protein content in skeletal muscle of young men following short-term creatine monohydrate supplementation.

Score: 60

DOI: 10.1152/PHYSIOLGENOMICS.00157.2007

Similar Assertions

Taking creatine for a week might change genes in young men's muscles that help reshape the muscle structure, possibly because the muscle cells are holding more water.

60

0

80%

Taking creatine for just a week can turn on important muscle cell signals that help with growth and energy use in young, healthy guys.

60

0

76%

In young, healthy guys recovering from intense workouts, taking creatine doesn’t seem to change muscle swelling or stress signals — which means the boost in muscle fuel recovery probably isn’t due to those factors.

37

0

73%

Taking creatine for 10 days might turn on a gene in young men's muscles that helps muscle cells grow and stay alive.

60

0

72%

Taking creatine supplements for about six weeks doesn’t seem to change the levels of a specific protein and its genetic instructions in your muscles, even if you’re healthy.

0

38

70%