I’m not convinced by creatine supplementation. I’ve tried it on and off with positive and less-positive results. I feel sharper and more athletic without it. Could be that I’m one of those people with a high level naturally and further supplementation doesn’t help.
On principle, I believe that taking individual supplements will not work as well with your body as if these nutrients were part of your normal diet, i.e, are ingested as meat, vegetables etc.
Wikipedia claims that creatine is synthesised from three amino acids: arginine, glycine, and methionine. These amino acids are readily available in everyday food. So, to attain a good level of naturally synthesised creatine, how much of these should one try to get from normal dietary sources?
I’m also a dairy-free person and noted that 100ml of soya milk contains the following levels:
I’ve read that soy contains a natural chemical that mimics estrogen. And apparently, 2 glasses of soy milk a day, over the course of one month, contain enough of the chemical to change the timing of a woman’s menstrual cycle.
If this is true soy milk is NOT good for an athlete.
more correctly: excessive soy on a day to day basis may be a problem
the studies on soy protein and ormones is very mixed. invariably low doses (40 mg phytoestrogens per day) has no impact, high doses (70 mg/day) has small effect; how much of a real impact on anything these effects have is debatable.
in my protein book, I recommend that soy protein be limited to one 24 gram serving per day. it’s important to note that a lot of processed/commercial foods use soy protein as a primary protein source, many athletes are already getting soy in their diet and adding more may be problematic
in any case there are far higher quality proteins than soy available. dairy protins have been shown to provide a better anabolic response than soy and better long term LBM gains
there are responders and non-responders to creatine. athletes who start out with high levels generally don’t respond well to it.
but if simply consuming sufficient amounts of the precursor aminos was suficient, no high protein eating athlete would respond. which they do. because the body is never going to reach supraphysiological levels of creatine simply from amino acids. you’d have to creatine load to get there.
Hi Lyle,
thanks for your response. I include soya milk in my diet purely as a milk replacement. I’m sensitive to dairy. So it’s possible that any benefits I’m feeling from it are purely down to anything I was previously lacking from milk, plus the fact that it helps keep me lean.
I’ll take a look at the two links you posted.
