Where did this creatine myth start?!
Question: Alot of people on the net are saying you shouldn't mix creatine with orange juice because the acidity will break it down to Creatinine. If that were true then our stomach acids, which is far more acidic than orange juice would do so also. I understand that you don't want to let it sit in orange juice for hours but you will be fine if you drink it quickly. What idiot started this myth?
Answers: Alot of people on the net are saying you shouldn't mix creatine with orange juice because the acidity will break it down to Creatinine. If that were true then our stomach acids, which is far more acidic than orange juice would do so also. I understand that you don't want to let it sit in orange juice for hours but you will be fine if you drink it quickly. What idiot started this myth?
You're correct. The reason these myths begin is because people with limited science knowledge attempt to take complex biochemical processes and try to unilaterally apply them in places that are not necessarily appropriate.
Here's how this rumor probably started: Creatine monohydrate WILL degrade in the presence of an acid.
However, it requires extended contact between the acid and the creatine -- we're talking days, not a few minutes or hours.
Someone had half the picture, and tried to extrapolate it without also knowing that when ingested, creatine remains stable, even in the presence of gastric acid, for a minimum of six hours. This is plenty of time for the creatine to pass into the small intestine and be absorbed.
Most myths -- like this one -- start with a kernal for truth and then take on a life of their own.
Reference to a study on creatine digestion below.
Best of luck!
a general lack of knowledge about pH and the human digestive system. people still think that lifting weights stunts the growth and that crunches will get you a 6-pack, all are just as rediculous