New research reveals that a higher intake of creatine from meat sources may ease constipation, especially in men and younger adults. This offers a potential dietary fix for a widespread digestive issue.
Study: Association of dietary creatine intake from meat protein sources with different types of intestinal problems: insights from NHANES 2005–2010. Image credit: xm4thx/Shutterstock.com
A study published in Frontiers in Nutrition reports that a higher dietary intake of creatine from meat protein sources may help reduce the risk of chronic constipation.
Background
Chronic diarrhea and constipation are the most common forms of gastrointestinal disorders that significantly affect the quality of life. Several factors potentially contribute to these conditions, including diet, physical activity, age, gender, and existing health conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, and metabolic disorders.
Creatine is an endogenous organic compound primarily found in muscles. It is synthesized from three amino acids inside the body and plays a crucial role in muscle energy metabolism. Creatine can also be obtained from dietary sources, such as red meat and fish.
Emerging evidence highlights the potential therapeutic efficacy of creatine in various diseases, including neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases. Limited evidence also suggests that creatine supplementation may influence gastrointestinal motility and function and the gut microbiota composition.
Given the potential impact of creatine on gut health, the current study was designed to explore the association between dietary creatine intake and risk of chronic diarrhea and constipation in U.S. adults aged 20 years or above.
The study
The study conducted secondary analyses of 10,721 participants’ data from the 2005-2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), an ongoing survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) to assess the health and nutritional status of children and adults in the United States.
The information on dietary creatine intake from animal sources and the incidence of chronic diarrhea and constipation was collected from the NHANES database.
The association between creatine intake and the risk of chronic diarrhea and constipation was assessed using appropriate statistical analyses. The potential influence of several demographic factors (age, gender, and physical activity) and health conditions (diabetes and hypertension) on the analyzed association was also examined.
Key findings
The study found that dietary intake of creatine from animal sources was associated with a significantly lower risk of chronic constipation. Specifically, a 10-fold increase in absolute creatine intake was associated with a 19% lower risk of constipation. However, the study could not find any significant impact of creatine intake on chronic diarrhea.
The subgroup analysis findings revealed that dietary creatine's observed benefits were more profound in male participants, participants younger than 48 years, and participants without hypertension, diabetes, or cardiovascular disease.
Study significance
The study findings reveal that consuming creatine from animal-based foods may reduce the risk of chronic constipation. However, dietary creatine does not significantly alter the risk of diarrhea.
The study also suggests that the beneficial impact of dietary creatine on chronic constipation is more profound in males, younger individuals, smokers, drinkers, physically active individuals, and those without specific comorbidities, such as hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. The authors note that these associations were significant in some subgroups, but caution that the findings are observational and do not establish cause-and-effect relationships.
Several preclinical animal studies have indicated that creatine can improve constipation by altering gut microbiota composition, intestinal barrier integrity, and stool bile acid composition. Moreover, creatine can increase material exchange and intestinal motility by improving gut cell hydration.
According to the study findings, dietary creatine appears to have a more protective effect on constipation in men than women, possibly due to the differences in hormonal and metabolic pathways. In this context, evidence suggests that testosterone, a male reproductive hormone, mediates gender-specific differences in gut microbiota composition through the bile acid signaling pathway. Moreover, testosterone promotes creatine uptake and improves intestinal barrier integrity.
The study could not find any impact of dietary creatine on constipation in individuals with pre-existing health conditions, including hypertension and diabetes. This lack of benefits might be due to hypertension-related vascular dysfunction, which affects gastrointestinal blood flow and gut microbiota. Similarly, diabetes patients often experience gastrointestinal complications, such as gastroparesis and constipation, which may restrict creatine’s ability to improve gastrointestinal function.
The researchers conducted interaction tests and found that gender significantly modified the relationships between creatine intake and constipation risk. No such interaction effects were seen for diarrhea. The study findings suggest that animal-derived creatine could be explored as a potential dietary intervention for managing chronic constipation.
The cross-sectional study design prevented the study from determining the causality of the observed association. Further experimental studies are needed to explore biological mechanisms associated with creatine-mediated gut health improvement in different subgroups.
The study used the NHANES database, which collects self-reported dietary data. This approach is frequently associated with recall bias and inaccuracies. Moreover, this database does not contain information on the duration and dosage of creatine intake. Future studies should address these factors to understand creatine’s impact on gut health more conclusively.
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