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Creatine supplementation and glycemic control: a systematic review.
Camila Lemos Pinto1, Patrícia Borges Botelho1, Gustavo Duarte Pimentel1
1Clinical and Sports Nutrition Research Laboratory, Nutrition Faculty, Federal University of Goias, Goiania, GO, Brazil.
Amino Acids
|June 17, 2016
Summary
Creatine supplementation combined with exercise significantly improves glucose metabolism in humans. Supplementation alone shows limited benefits, and findings may not apply to all patient groups.
Area of Science:
- Exercise Physiology
- Nutritional Biochemistry
- Metabolic Health
Background:
- Glucose metabolism is crucial for overall health.
- Creatine is a popular supplement for athletic performance.
- Understanding creatine's impact on glucose regulation is important.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the effects of creatine supplementation on glucose metabolism.
- To assess the combined impact of creatine and exercise.
- To evaluate findings from animal and human studies.
Main Methods:
- Comprehensive literature review of studies over the past 16 years.
- Analysis of animal and human research on creatine and glucose metabolism.
- Synthesis of data regarding creatine supplementation with and without exercise.
Main Results:
- Creatine supplementation with exercise demonstrated significant benefits for glucose metabolism in both animal and human studies.
- Creatine supplementation alone yielded positive results in only a limited number of studies.
- Animal study findings on creatine's effects on glucose metabolism require cautious extrapolation to humans.
Conclusions:
- Creatine supplementation, especially when combined with exercise, shows potential as an adjunctive nutritional therapy for improving glucose metabolism.
- The hypoglycemic effects are most pronounced when creatine is used in conjunction with exercise.
- Findings should be interpreted cautiously regarding specific human populations, including those with poor glycemic control or specific medical conditions.
