Chamomile & Creatine Levels In The Body

The thousands of proteins in the human body are built by the same 20 amino acids. Some of those amino acids come from the foods you eat, while your body makes the rest of them. Creatine is one such amino acid that you get from food, but could chamomile affect creatine levels in the body?

Creatine

Creatine is an amino acid that is stored in the muscles of your body and converted into phosphocreatine during intense exercise. The natural source of creatine in our diets is in meat and fish, but it is often taken as a supplement due to its role in building muscle mass.

Chamomile

Chamomile is a flower commonly brewed as an herbal tea. It has been used to treat inflammation, insomnia, ulcers and other gastrointestinal problems as an alternative medicine. R. Avallone and colleagues showed in research published in "Biochemical Pharmacology" in 2000 that chamomile does have antioxidant and antimicrobial properties.

Chamomile's Effect on Creatine

A study published in the "Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry," performed by Yulan Wang, et al., at the Imperial College London in 2005, found that after people drank chamomile tea, they had decreased amounts of creatine in their urine. There could be many explanations as to why this happened, but the group hypothesized that it could be due to the antioxidant properties of chamomile. In a separate study published in the "Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition" in 2010, J. F. Young and colleagues found that antioxidants improved the efficiency of creatine in metabolism, which would support that hypothesis.

Other Theories

Alternatively, in studying other metabolites in rats, the findings of Anthony Fardet and his research team published in the "Journal of Nutrition" in 2007 could suggest that these effects are due to changes in gut microbiota, attributing to chamomile's antimicrobial properties.

Others such as Chris Streeter, a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist writing in "Muscle & Fitness" magazine, claim that chamomile is beneficial for athletes and bodybuilders because it helps muscles relax after training, speeds up the healing process and strengthens the immune system.

Conclusion

Although there has been some evidence that chamomile does something to the metabolism of creatine in the body, it is not clear whether chamomile increases creatine retention or decreases creatine secretion, and whether that is beneficial or not.

However, it has been proven that antioxidants help improve muscle performance and creatine metabolism. Perhaps then if you are interested in the benefits of creatine, just pay attention to antioxidants, which include blueberries, green tea or chamomile tea.