Dhru Purohit Show - Everyone’s Talking About Creatine, But Is it Bad For Your Kidneys? And Can It Help with Sleep?

Episode Date: October 2, 2024

This episode is brought to you by Cozy Earth.  We know that a high-protein diet and creatine supplementation play a significant role in muscle composition and boosting overall energy levels. Yet, both are still often seen as things only "gym bros" need. In today’s short episode, Dhru explains why prioritizing protein and creatine is essential for health and longevity and can benefit most people.  Today on The Dhru Purohit Show, Dhru dives into the latest research from his Try This newsletter on high-protein diets and creatine. He shares insights from top experts on optimal intake and the benefits of both protein and creatine. Dhru also debunks common myths surrounding these topics and explains how he incorporates them into his own life. If you’re looking for a clear breakdown of the facts on protein and creatine, this episode is for you.  In this episode, Dhru shares the latest research from his Try This Newsletter: Do high-protein diets cause kidney damage? (2:17) Older case studies vs. new research (6:34) Myths about creatine and high-protein diets (8:48) Optimal protein intake (10:23) Factors that impact kidney health (12:00) Common uses for creatine (15:00) Creatine’s role in mitigating sleep deprivation effects (15:36) Benefits of creatine (17:40) Also mentioned in this episode: Try This Newsletter  Research showing creatine myths debunked  Creatine for sleep deprivation study  Momentous Creatine Promo Code DHRU for 20% off  This episode is brought to you by Cozy Earth. Right now, get 40% off your Cozy Earth sheets. Just head over to cozyearth.com/dhru and use code DHRUP. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hi, everyone, Drew Brode here. So I don't know if you know this, but every Friday for the last like three years, almost, I put out a weekly newsletter and it's completely free. It's called Try This. I call it Try This because each week I feature an evidence-based protocol that you can take on, that you can literally try. It's like a quick action item. It's a way that you could modify or make some swaps in your diet.

And I try to do my best to support it with the evidence and the individuals that I'm particularly learning from, meaning I always show my homework, and you can look at it and see if it's something that is worth you trying on. So today, actually, because so many of you, even though we have thousands of people on this newsletter, I did some stats and polling, and I see that so many of you are still not subscribed to this newsletter, even though many people say it's their favorite newsletter that they look forward to each week. So I thought today we do a little solo episode where I shared a few topics recently that we went into. Topics that I think. that many of you might have questions on and are interested in because I get your emails all the

time. And one of the first ones we're going to jump into, without further ado, is the topic of high protein diets. And can high protein diets, and in particular, creatine, a supplement that so many people are talking about today. And it's actually the most researched supplement in the history of nutraceuticals that are out there. And people are so gangbusters excited about all the benefits. Actually along with it, there's some old beliefs or myths that are associated around creatine. And there's questions that a lot of people have. So I went looking around to find some of the answers. And I consolidated it in today's newsletter that I'm going to read out for you.

By the way, every Friday, like clockwork. Me and my team, shout out to my sisters Kea and Herschel, who helped me with my newsletter. We put out, try this. It's totally free. The link is in the show notes. Or if you want to sign up directly and you're listening, just go to try this. Drew Perot.com. Try this.

dot D-H-R-U-P-R-O-H-I-T dot com or click on the link in the show notes. Let's go into our first topic today on the topic of do high protein diets and creatine cause kidney damage. So as you know, I've been pretty vocal that I've been on a higher protein diet since I turned 40. And we had Dr. Gabriel Lyon on the podcast and she really blew my mind. And many of you guys, too, the episode went gangbusters viral about how many of many of us, the main challenge that we have in life, and this is something that I was experiencing

as a skinny fat Indian, is not that we're over fat, is that we're under muscle. And that protein and resistance training, you can't have one without the other, but actually everybody out there talks about them both being important. So resistance training and a high protein diet are important things that we need to incorporate into our lives. And since really Dr. Gabriel Lyon has been on her message, you've seen so many people sort of shift their tune, change their tune. Obviously, other individuals that are out there have contributed to this as well, individuals like Dr. Peter Atia and many other researchers that have been on this podcast before. So I've been pretty vocal for a while now and many of the experts of my podcast

that we've been having higher protein diets and that also I've been supplementing with creatine daily. Now, both of these practices have had a huge impact on my muscle composition and overall energy levels. And when I'm not strict about having my protein and getting it in daily at the levels that I need based on my fitness levels, activity, etc. And when I slump on having my creatine daily, I notice that there's a shift. I don't put on muscle as quickly or I'll actually start to lose muscle mass, which I recently got a Dexas scan and I had lost a little muscle mass

from the peak because I've just not been as strict with things. It's actually a good thing. I got kind of excited because it just shows you that when you do it, it works, when you don't do it, it doesn't work. But you know, the question that so many people ask, right now is do high protein diets and creatine in particular cause kidney damage? I've even had experts that are on this podcast that are very sharp and knowledgeable about certain subjects. And they've straight up talked about the fact that they're worried about

being on a higher protein diet and they don't recommend people being on a higher protein diet because of possible kidney damage. So today we're going to at least try to set the record straight with some information from some of the trusted experts that I look up to and say, synthesizing some of the information here. And also talk a little bit about where did this myth come from or these myths come from. And what's the truth about creatine and higher protein diets? Let's jump into it. As I mentioned, I wrote about this in the newsletter, but I'm reading it out there for you guys

today because I know that a lot of you that are listening to the podcast are not on the newsletter. Trust me, you're going to want to be on the newsletter. Try this. Dot drewperoit.com to sign up for free today. Let's get back into it. Are your high protein diet and creatine supplements can, killing you? The short answer is no. So the idea that creatine causes kidney damage has come from a lot of different places, but one of the things that I've found is that there's a chunk of older case

studies that stated that creatine overburdened the kidneys by forcing them to push all this excess stuff out. But over the years, what experts have found is that this only seems problematic in those who have unhealthy kidneys. For people who have healthy kidneys, creatine can be hugely beneficial for muscle synthesis and repair, brain disorders, sleep, blood sugar regulation, and much, much more. So where people get tripped up is that creatinine, which is different than creatine, is a waste product, which is stored in our blood, is used to measure kidney function and can be created from creatine.

So creatine and creatine, two different things. So there's something that's called an estimated glomelior filtration rate, eGFR. It's another measurement of kidney function that can also become ultra-tlenectrine. when supplementing with creatine. But are these measurements alone useful? So recently I came across this really incredible video. We're going to link to it in the show notes. It's with Dr. Karen Rajan on Instagram.

And in this video, Dr. Rajan explains that both his creatinine and his EGFR were flagged despite being an overall healthy individual. He suspected that supplementing with creatine was creating a false positive on his bloodwork. So we stopped creatine for a few weeks only to find that both of these markers had returned to normal. And this isn't unique to Dr. Rajan. A lot of people have had this experience. And surprisingly, not all doctors are aware of the fact that creatine can create this false positive. So going back to Dr. Rajan, he also got, and he breaks this down in the video, which is fantastic,

a sastatin C test, which is a better indicator of kidney function. and that test turned out to be normal. So the bottom line is that his kidneys were totally healthy. It was just supplementing with creatine that created this false positive. His recommendation? Tell your doctor if you're supplementing with creatine to prevent the false alarm. And also, if you can, ask for the Cystatin C test too. Now, separate from these old case studies,

more of the up-to-date reviews of creatine have found no adverse effects on kidney health from supplementing with the recommended amount of creatine. Also, that idea that creatine causes balding, cramping, dehydration, and fat gain have also been pretty much debunked, and I have links for those in the show notes if you want to check them out. Similarly, the idea that high protein diets cause kidney disease has also largely been debunked. And some of my favorite experts like Dr. Gabriel Lyon, who I mentioned earlier, Dr. Peter Attia, have talked in detail about it. I'm going to summarize a little bit of the points they've made.

So there's a great Instagram post by Dr. Gabriel Lyon where she talks about how this myth that high-protein diets are bad for our kidneys, came from the idea that they elevate the glomelular filtration rate, the GFR. But updated evidence, including interventional studies, have found that high-protein diets have no effect on GFR. She also shares that if you have healthy kidneys, protein actually supports kidney function and kidney health. Now, the recommended dietary allowance, the RDA for protein, is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight. Most experts have you heard because it's come up on this podcast a lot, most experts that I interview and talk to say that this is pretty low.

Now, this is hardly debated, and a lot of the people that come from the world of plant-based eating, not all of them, but some of them feel that the dietary RDA, the recommended dietary allowance, is actually accurate. And there's a whole bunch of other people, including some of the people I mentioned, that actually think that it's low. And I believe that as well, after reading and hearing about it from all different sides, and I'm by no means the expert to be able to interpret all the data, but that's my own belief that it is really low.

So in order to support our muscle, metabolism, immunity, and more, Dr. Donald Lehman, who's a pioneer in establishing optimal protein intake, and he's been on this podcast before, he recommends 1.2 to 1.8 grams. Now, Dr. Peter Atia, who we have not had the pleasure of talking to, but I am excited to have him on the podcast one day if he wants to come on, he does talk about the fact that 3 to 4 grams of daily protein per kilogram of body weight is when there starts to become concern about straining the kidneys.

If you're under that amount, which is what most of the experts recommend on this podcast, most people talk about having a gram of protein for your target lean body weight that you're shooting for. That's well under the three to four grams of daily protein per kilogram of body weight. And so there's not really a lot of concern if you're staying in that category. So 0.8 grams is probably too low based on everything that we know that's out there. 1 gram to 1.2 grams is going to be good for your target lean mass, healthy body weight that you're shooting for. And not really anybody here is having 3 to 4 grams where there is some possible concern about straining the kidneys. And just to make sure we get this disclaimer out of the way, if someone has unhealthy kidneys or active kidney disease,

they definitely should watch their protein intake and work with their health care practitioner to make sure that they're dialing in their diet appropriately. You don't want to strain the kidneys if the kidneys are already strained because of active. active kidney disease or your kidneys are unhealthy. Now, this all begs the question, this idea of protein and creatine and how stressful they are for the kidneys, it begs the question of what is actually messing with our kidneys. And what's much more likely to be causing kidney disease than protein intake and creatine is poor metabolic health from insulin resistance, uncontrolled diabetes, and, of course, high blood pressure.

Those are the key culprits that we should watch out for. And maintaining a healthy weight and improving our body composition, watching our total level of calories and not eating too much, shifting to whole foods, moving away from processed foods, not living a sedentary lifestyle. Those are all the basics, sleep, working out, resistance training, all the things that you've heard people in the podcast talk about before. Those are the best ways to protect the kidneys in the long term.

So instead of being concerned about eating too much protein, most of us could benefit from improving our metabolic health, which includes getting the right amount of protein, fiber, healthy fats, each meal, sleeping well, and all the stuff that I mentioned. So don't let the headlines for you. Protein and creatine can be life-changing. They have been for me. I've added about eight pounds of muscle mass since I've been on my journey.

Listen, the process is slow and steady. Sometimes you make progress. Sometimes you take a step back. But I'm committed to improving my lean mass. And I'm committed to getting fit because I know that my lean mass is going to protect me, especially as I continue to age. And I wish that for you as well. And I hope this newsletter has been super duper helpful.

If you like this, you can sign up for Try This. Just go to try this. Dot Drew Perot.com. That's try this. That's try this. D-H-R-U-P-U-H-I-T dot com. You know what? Let's do another bonus one on Creatine.

This one was fascinating. I'll share another try this with you recently. If you're interested, keep on listening. If you're not, no worries. You can tune into the next episode. So here's another really cool thing about Creatine. And I'm going to read this newsletter for you. I've kind of spoiled the surprise, but let's just pretend that I didn't reveal that it was creatine. So the title of this newsletter was, didn't sleep too well,

maybe this supplement could help. So sleep deprivation is a serious problem for many folks. I've dealt with my fair share of sleepless nights, followed by less than optimal days, feeling foggy, unable to focus for long periods of time, and well, just plain old tired. Whether it be insomnia, parents whose kids are struggling to sleep, anxious and racist and racist, thoughts or people who have had to work and study all night, a sleepless night is something we've all encountered. Isn't that true? Amen to that. But there's some really fascinating news. There's a supplement that's out there that might be able to negate some of the negative impacts of sleep deprivation. And not just any supplement. It's the most research supplement in the history

of supplements. That sounds too good to be true, but maybe it isn't. Well, I'm going to jump into some of the mind-blowing research that I've come across recently from one of my favorite supplements that I take on a daily basis and how it can help counteract some of the effects of poor sleep. Well, you know what it is that I'm talking about. It's creatine. And recent research is shedding the light on the effects of creatine on sleep deprivation and how it can help combat some of the negative aspects that come with not sleeping well. Now, a little recap, creatine, which is literally the most research supplement in the history of supplements,

and was often associated as something that Jimbrose took to, build up their muscles, it actually has a lot more uses, and that's why you see a lot of functional medicine doctors and even brain researchers like Dr. Dale Bredesen, who have been talking about its multitude of benefits, not just for muscle recovery and muscle mass, but blood sugar, athletic performance, mood, including supporting symptoms of depression, brain and cognitive function. More and more people are becoming privy to the insane benefits of this extremely affordable and relatively crazy accessible supplement. So here's the study that I came across. posted recently in scientific reports and in this paper a single dose creatine improves cognitive

performance and induces changes in cerebral high-energy phosphates during sleep deprivation. So basically in this study, researchers aim to explore the benefits of creatine on those that were struggling with sleep deprivation. Previous studies have looked at creatine's impact over a long period of time, but in this study, the researchers looked at a single dose to help negate the impact of one night of sleep deprivation. And the question was, would it make a difference? And turns out the answer is yes. So in this randomized placebo-controlled double-blind study, 15 participants, yes, it was a little bit small. The study were divided into a creatine group and a placebo group to see what if any impact was had after 21 hours of sleep deprivation. The first group was given

0.35 grams of creatine per kilogram of body weight. So if you weigh about 150 pounds, that's about 23 grams of creatine, which by the way is a lot. These studies, we have to take them a little bit with a grain of salt because most people are not probably going to take 23 grams of creatine at once. The standard dose, which we'll get into in a little bit, is around 5 grams that most people take, but it's still nonetheless interesting. So that was the first group. They were taking about 0.35 grams of creatine per kilogram of body weight, about 203.3.5 grams of creatine per kilogram of body weight, about 203. grams if you weigh 150 pounds, and the second group was given the same amount as a placebo. So not actually creatine, just something that looked like creatine. Their brains were monitored at intervals after receiving the intervention or receiving the placebo. Of course, as you can imagine, there were significant and noticeable changes in the brain and performance after 21 hours without sleep, but the fascinating part is what creatine was able to do to the brain. Using MRI and brain-related tasks, creatine was shown to do. do the following in the study. And I have linked to the study in the show notes below. This was published

and Nature Scientific Reports and the link is in the show notes. So here's what creatine was shown to do. Number one, it improved overall cognitive performance and processing speed. Number two, it prevented a drop in pH levels, which is critical for learning, memory, mood, and more. Number three, it improved energy markers in the brain, ATP and phosphocreatine, showing that a single dose of creatine can support metabolic and fatigue-related changes in the brain that come from sleep deprivation. Here's the truth. When our bodies are struggling from sleep deprivation, poor diets, and a sedentary lifestyle, we experience a decrease in ATP and mitochondrial performance. The reason creatine is so amazing is because it increases the cerebral reservoir of phosphocreatine,

which is used to produce adenosine-trophosphate ATP in the brain. Now, combine creatine with an overall healthy lifestyle and we give ourselves a greater shot at achieving optimal health. You know, the thing is that this study, while not exactly translatable to all of us, was still fascinating and it definitely made me even more motivated to stay on top of my daily creatine intake. Now, the amount of creatine used in the study was quite large, as I mentioned before. Now, experts that I've had on the podcast typically recommend two to five grams of creatine monohydrate daily, and that's what I take. I take five grams in the morning. I add it to my water with some electrolytes, and I make sure to consume it within about two hours of adding it to water

because I heard from Dr. Louisa Nicola, who's been on the podcast previously, that she heard from a researcher that creatine starts to degrade if you leave it in water too long. So as soon as I put into water, I try to have it within two hours. Now, another note, this is not a long-term solution for sleeplessness. If you struggle with ongoing sleep challenges, you want to work with an expert to get to the root cause. But if you have a night here and there, truly occasionally, where you didn't sleep well, maybe this could offer a solution to help boost your energy and help you be a little bit more sharper in the day. You know, people typically reach for coffee, nothing wrong with that when you haven't slept well, but maybe you get a little bit of

creatine monohydrate. There's a lot of great brands that are out there, including some sponsors of this podcast like Momentus, get some creatine monohydrate and put a five gram scoop in water and drink that. And that might help you out a little bit when it comes to boosting your brain a little bit and wading off some of the negative impacts of not sleeping well. If you're looking for more resources on sleeping better, I've done an incredible podcast with my friend, Sean Stevenson, on this topic of sleeping smarter, which is the topic of his book. Now, just a couple more notes about creatine.

If you're pregnant, breastfeeding, or working through a chronic condition, always consult your doctor before taking creatine, even though it's super well researched. You know, you just got to make sure that you're okay if you're in these categories. If you're also new to taking creatine, start slow because some folks, struggle with a little bit of loose stools or GI upset or an upset stomach when they take a full dose of creatine right away. So instead of starting with five grams, maybe you start with a gram, then you work up to two, then to three, then to four, and you get your body used to it.

Some people, I know, some friends, family, they cannot handle five grams of creatine at once, even though I do really well with it. So they'll just take one or two or three servings of creatine spread out in the day at a gram or two, just so that they don't overburden their GI system. I have no idea actually why creatine messes with the GI system. Maybe I need to research that a little bit more and write about it for next newsletter. I hope you enjoyed our topic today on creatine. And does creatine mess your kidneys up? No, unless your kidneys are already messed up and you've got to be a little bit mindful.

Does creatine or could creatine help manage you some of the negative impacts on the brain ATP production after a really bad night of not getting sleep? Possibly. It looks promising. And if anything, it should make you just double down on having the creatine that's good for your body anyway. You know, yeah, five grams dosage that you're having on a daily basis, which is what I take. And do high protein diets damage the kidneys. No, unless your kidneys are already damaged. If you like these topics and me getting into some of these nuances, I work with an incredible team, including my sister Kea Perot, who's a nutritionist and a researcher. I work also with my older sister. Herschel Perrault, shout out to her as well too, and a few others who help us come up with these incredible topics that are questions that you write in or things that I'm focused on or paying attention to. And you can get these delivered into your inbox for free every week. It's from my Try This newsletter. Try this.

Every week, I present evidence-based idea of some things that I'm thinking about that you can try on and you can literally try it and see if it makes a difference in your health. It's always a different topic each week. and it's literally the subscribers, which are now over 45,000, 50,000 people on the newsletter. So many of them say it's one of their favorite, if not their favorite newsletter that they look forward to. I'm Drew Perot. We're going to catch you next week. We're going to be back with all new interviews. Thanks for tuning in today. I appreciate you. Have a beautiful rest of your day.