Hey!

You know those posts that sound too good to be true?
Like “Take this supplement to burn fat and build muscle.”​
That was a real headline I saw on Friday.

I like this kind of content for me because it pushes me to go do research.

​
​I do not love this content for you though.

Because health is never just one or two things you do or take. It is everything you're doing in the context of your environment, biological sex, genes, and age.

So back to that post.

It was about creatine and said something like, “A meta analysis confirmed what bodybuilders have known for decades: creatine builds muscle and burns fat.”

That sounds amazing. Before you buy anything, pause and ask 5 questions:

1) Who was studied, and are they like me?

Humans or mice? Adults or athletes? Many people or a few? Men or women?

I read this meta-analysis. And guess what? The authors state: "The proportion of female subjects randomized in this review was only 13%. Although Delpino et al. (14) found significantly less hypertrophy in female subjects supplementing with creatine compared with male subjects, the proportion of female subjects randomized in their review was only 21%, which also limits the generalizability of their findings.

So if I'm a woman trying to lose weight and I go buy some creatine...I think I'd be pretty disappointed.

2) What exactly did they test?

What was the variable? In this meta analysis, people took creatine while doing resistance training. That matters. Creatine is not going to help if you are not putting enough resistance on your muscles.

3) How big was the effect?

Look for numbers and think about what they mean for you.

Creatine monohydrate supplementation combined with RT increases LBM by 1.1 kg, reduces body fat percentage by 0.88%, and reduces fat mass by 0.7 kg further when compared with RT alone."

So we're talking maybe two to three pounds. Is $20 per pack of creatine worth it considering you need to do resistance training for weeks up to months to see results?

4) How long did they study it?

Many diet and supplement studies are short. Like some keto studies show benefits up to about 25 weeks. What happens later is a mystery.

5) When was it published?

It is 2025. Some posts still cite older studies or cherry pick early 2000s data to sell a product.

Not everyone is out selling snake oil. But some people are.

So do yourself a favor--ask these 5 questions before you spend thousands of dollars on supplements and shit this year.

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Got any burning nutrition questions?

Hit reply with your burning nutrition question and I'll answer it next time I email you. Anything like ‘Is creatine worth it for women?’ ‘How do I stop 4pm snack attacks?’ or 'are seed oils really that bad?'

Talk soon,

Ame Proietti

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