The headline is broadly defensible, but the qualifications matter. Effect sizes vary by population, the strongest claims rest on shorter trials, and credible voices push back on how it's typically framed.
creatine can increase this hormone that we talked about in the testosterone episode, dihydrotestosterone which is testosterone converted by five alpha reductase into dihydrotestosterone. It's the more dominant androgen in humans. Leads to increases in strength and libido and so forth. It also can increase male pattern baldness.
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Native comments, Twitter mentions, and Reddit threads about this claim — surfaced together so the conversation isn't fragmented across platforms.
I've been recommending this to patients for 6 months now. The big shift is patients actually do it because the explanation is concrete.
Same in nutrition counseling. The before/after framing helps.
Tracking with a CGM on top of this for 3 months. Variability dropped quickly and stayed dropped.
Worth noting the 0.71 SMD in the Kreider meta is in trained athletes. Effect in untrained adults runs closer to 0.3 — still meaningful, but the panel should reflect that gradient.
Good catch. Could the brief surface the training-status interaction inline?
Some people experience accelerated beard growth because basically [mumbles] has the opposite effect on hair follicles on the face as it does on the scalp, some people don't. Women who ingest creatine there are essentially no data showing that it increases hair loss or facial hair growth, but of course, everyone is different.
There's some evidence that creatine can impact some of the hormonal pathways, that it might enhance levels of so-called dihydrotestosterone, DHT, and therefore, because DHT is involved in hair loss, there are these theories that creatine can cause hair loss.
Some people ask, does creatine make your hair fall out? No, it does not. Make your hair fall out, but some people do experience an increase in DHT with creatine monohydrate, and there can be a DHT hair loss link.
It was a small study and it showed a small increase in DHT, dihydrotestosterone, and study participants.
In the longer podcast, we directly address several common myths—from supposed DHT-mediated hair loss to other misconceptions.
This claim was based on a single study that reported an increase in dihydrotestosterone (DHT)—a metabolite of testosterone—in men who were supplemented with creatine. However, this study didn't show changes in other related hormones and importantly, didn't even measure hair loss.
The finding has never been replicated and most experts aren't worried, considering the risk to be negligible.
when they took 20 g a day um might have been even 25 gram a day for 7 Days um during the cre supplementation phase they increase the hormone dihydroxy testosterone or DHT
when they took 20 g a day might have been even 25 gram a day for 7 Days during the cre supplementation phase they increase the hormone dihydroxy testosterone or DHT and most people say oh I think I've seen commercials about this it's a surr of testosterone but it's been highly linked to hair follicle loss and thinning from a cellular
we can talk about hair follicle loss and thinning the same idea if you if the viewers were looking at me but that was the same idea maybe creatine was causing baldness so maybe it must be doing the same thing to sperm it must be killing off the cell and we just don't see any of that research you
they did not measure hair follicle loss thinning cross-sectional area no dermatologist was involved but a lot of people have run with this and to this day they cite this single study
I do know that there's been a paper submitted that have looked directly at hair follicle loss and thinning with creatine supplementation and I that was going to be my next question
5 g of creatine monohydrate daily improves muscle strength and lean mass in healthy adults at standard training loads.
Creatine improves cognitive performance, especially under sleep deprivation and high cognitive load.
Creatine improves cardiovascular health markers and reduces all-cause mortality risk.
Creatine supports bone-mineral density in post-menopausal women when paired with resistance training.
Women need higher creatine doses (8–10 g/day) than men to reach the same intramuscular saturation.