Creatine reduces blood lipid concentrations in men and women
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We recently demonstrated that creatine monohydrate (CR) improved muscular power output Some subjects also showed reductions in total serum cholesterol (TC) To evaluate these Undings we examined 34 men and women with TC > 200 mg/dL [age: 50.93 yrs. WT 74.164 kg, & BMI: 25.36l (Mean SEM)]. After obtaining duplicate baseline fasting lipid values, subjects were randomly assigned either CR ( Phosphaten1 : Exper.& Appl. Sciences, Golden. CO) or a glucose placebo in double blind fashion. CR administration was 20 g/d for 5 days and lo g/d for 51 days. Subjects were analy/ed again at 4 and 8 weeks of treatment, and 4 weeks after withdrawal (Wk 12) to determine blood lipid changes and washout effects. Analysis showed significant reductions in TC. triglycrides (TG). and VLDL within the CR group. TC was reduced from baseline (233 V mg/dL) by 6% and 5% at weeks 4 and X (P<0.05). respectively, before returning to baseline at lleek 12 TG and VLDL were reduced by 23% and 22% at weeks four and eight, respectively, and remained attenuated by 26% at vleek 12 (P<0.()1 ). More pronounced results were present in a "responder" subset (n=12) within the CR group. No significant differences were noted for LDL-C and HDL-C. TC/HDL ratio, creatinine. body weight, BMI, or physical activity within or between the groups. Male CR subjects displayed a trend for reduced fasting glucose concentrations (P=0.051 ). corroborating other studies pointing to acute g I uco regulatory effects of CR supplementation in diabetic humans. These preliminary data suggest that CR may modulate lipid metabolism in certain individuals, demonstrate practical efficacy in hyperhpidemic patients, and provide possible new mechanistic insights into the cellular regulation of blood lipids.