They say creatine causes water retention. At the same time they say you have to drink more water if you take creatine in order to avoid dehydration and kidney problems. Doesn't it sound illogical? If your body stores more water why do you need to drink even more?
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If you increase the amount of water you need you need to drink more water. I fail to see the logical problem– Raditz_35Mar 18, 2018 at 13:47
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@Raditz_35 With creatine intake your body stores extra water in muscle cells. So when there is condition when your body loses more water (like workouts, sweating, etc) it may get water back in bloodstream from muscle cells, may it not? I don't increase amount of water my body needs. It is extra water in my body. So why do I need to drink more?– GreenMar 18, 2018 at 14:12
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1Are you talking about life threatening situations? The idea apparently is, I make no statement here if it is actually true but only on the consistent logic of it, that creatine doesn't make water out if thin air and increases your water needs because more water is needed in your muscles. That means if you drink the same amount and substract what creatine occupies, you end up with a net water loss for the rest of the organism. If this is in any way relevant, especially after the loading phase - I do not know, it is not illogical however.– Raditz_35Mar 18, 2018 at 19:36
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1@Raditz_35, Thanks, I see the difference now. Here another good comment with association fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/27901/…– GreenMar 19, 2018 at 10:23
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1 Answer
Creating draws more water into your muscle cells, which helps to increase muscle bulk and also increase protein synthesis (1)(2), although the total amount of water involved is relatively small. It may be this, or anecdotal evidence that creatine causes cramps - which does not appear to be backed up by evidence (3)(4), which has caused some articles to recommend increasing water consumption.
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Upvoted because of the sources, and also just a note that the amount of water to drink has always been a bit mystical. The "8 glasses per day" thing has been roundly rejected as anecdotal, as an example.– EricMar 19, 2018 at 15:38