Creatine and Hair Loss

If you are taking creatine supplements, you may start losing your hair.

The Mayo Clinic explains that creatine, or creatine monohydrate, is a very popular supplement among athletes who want to enhance their performance. The Mayo Clinic says creatine aids muscles in releasing energy and can result in brief bursts of power. Other benefits may include delay of muscle fatigue and assisting the circulation of ATP, or adenosine triphosphate, in the body, which houses and then transports energy in cells. The liver naturally produces creatine, approximately 2 g per day. We also derive creatine from eating meat. Creatine is housed in the muscles. Excess creatine is removed by the kidneys. There are potential side-effects when taking creatine, however.

Effects

Creatine may result in hair loss. The September 2009 issue of Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine reports that after seven days of taking creatine, DHT or dihydrotestosterone levels increased by 56 percent among participants in the study. DHT is an androgen, like testosterone, and is the culprit behind hair loss.

Identification

Creatine is organic acid. It provides energy to muscles. When creatine supplements are taken, DHT increases. When DHT reaches the hair follicles, it prevents vitamins, nutrients and minerals from getting into the follicles, which makes your hair weak and brittle and can result in hair loss, explains Hairloss.ygoy.com. Hair loss results when you are losing more hair than you are growing, which may be the outcome if you take creatine supplements.

Not Fully Understood

Hairloss-research.org also maintains that creatine supplement may very well exacerbate high loss because creatine raises DHT levels. Some creatine users who experience hair loss take anti-androgenic and anti-inflammatory products to counteract the hair loss, which may or may not be exacerbated by using creatine supplements. Creatine and its effects are not yet completely understood, especially in relation to DHT, so proceed with caution.

Risks

The risks of taking creatine supplements include weight gain, nausea, diarrhea and stomach and muscle cramps, explains the Mayo Clinic. Weight gain results from water retention and not from an increase in muscle mass. When water is drawn into your body tissues and away from other parts of your body this can make you become dehydrated.

Potential

Creatine supplements have the potential to damage your liver and kidneys, although the effects of long-term use of this supplement are not yet known.

References

• Mayo Clinic: Performane Enhancing Drugs
• Hair Loss Research: Creatine
• HairLoss.ygoy.com: Hair Loss Causes
• Hair Loss Learning Center: Hair Loss