Will creatine cause kidney stones?

Welcome back to the Kidney Stone Diet podcast, the show about reducing your kidney stone risk and living your best life. I'm your host and fellow student, Jeff Sarris.

And I am Jill Harris, your kidney stone prevention nurse. Jeff…

So, I saw a little reel that you posted that you got a little pushback on your tattoos recently,?

Oh, well, yes. I get a lot of crap about my tattoos because I think, you know, first of all, it's my age group, and so we weren't brought up with tattoos. So, people are like, you know, "I don't like them.

They're very… They're not professional." First of all, I don't know if I've ever worn a shirt that said "Professional!" Because, guys, it's why we have to work for ourselves. Well, Jeff's professional.

I'm less. I've got to be me, meaning, you know, I just, you know, I have to be comfortable. The tattoos have great meaning to me.

This one, this is the time of my son's birth at 8:43. And on that reel I said my tattoo guy was like, 'cause he does all my tattoos, he's like, "Jill, it would have been so much better if he was born at like, you know, 6:10, 'cause then you could see both hands." I said, "Ali, what do you want me to change the time of my kid's birth?

That defeats the tattoo! I'm sorry that the second hand and the hour hand or whatever are right on top of each other. It's when he was born." So, anyway, yeah, people are like, "I hate tattoos." First of all, I never asked your opinion.

That would be number one. And if you hate them, please don't get them. That would be advisable not to get them.

But, you know, it's funny. But if you are going to go on social media, and you are going to show your tattoos, people are going to have their opinion on them. That's That's just the nature of the beast when you're on social media, and I accept that.

But I'm just saying that I would never I just wouldn't you know, I was brought up where if you have nothing nice to say, you don't say anything at all. That's how I was brought up, so it doesn't hurt my feelings. Sometimes I get hurt feelings by what people say about me on social media, but only the things where it affects my integrity, meaning I would never do something to jeopardize my integrity, my values, my ethics.

So when somebody says something that is saying that I'm not those things–ethical, have high integrity, all that–then I get very upset. Otherwise, somebody not liking my tattoos, that's none of my business how they feel about tattoos. That's how I look at it, you know?

But it's it's comic.

Yeah, and professionalism Yeah, professionalism is such a nebulous thing, too, because like I mean, I'm only ever wearing a T-shirt and usually shorts, maybe socks and shoes. It's like, but, like, we do all of this, and it works because it works for us. It works within the sort of universe, our businesses, and everything that we've created.

This is built around who we are and who how we want to present to the world. And I think that's really important.

Yes, and I think it's funny, too, 'cause I'm a nurse. I spent my career in scrubs, so I don't know, are scrubs freaking professional? People in clogs?

You tell me! The other thing is, it's always I think I became a nurse 'cause I just did want to wear scrubs. I did.

I wanted to wear scrubs, 'cause they're comfortable. But I think, too, one After you've been ill for a long time, you do you I am not going to be in a pump. Can you see me in kitten heels doing this?

I mean, come on! I'm not going to wear heels. I'm not going to wear a button-up this and that.

I want to be comfortable. I've been sick for many years, many abdominal surgeries. I'm going to wear my pajamas if I want to wear my pajamas, or I'm going to wear my shorts if I'm going to wear I mean, I'll wear whatever I want.

And, yes, though, when you're when you are somebody on the internet, people will always have something to say. And, also, like I said, ev- all young people have tattoos. I think it's because I'm older and people who follow me tend to be a bit older and they're like, "We, you know, well, why?

Why do you have all those?" So, they weren't they were not cool when we were younger. That's That's the issue, too, so it's a demographic thing, right? So, but I don't mind.

I love my tattoos. They have a lot of meaning to me, obviously, if I'm willing to paint put them on my body. But I have several tattoos.

These are the ones you see. I have on I have on ankle, all kinds of things. But mostly, not that anyone's asked, but these can all be hidden.

All I'd have to do is wear short sleeves, you know what I mean? So, all my tattoos can be hidden, too, if needed, so it's not a big deal. I love my tattoos, and it's okay if you don't.

Yeah, I think they're awesome.

Thanks!

So, shall we dive into this week's question?

Sure. Let's do it.

Hi, my name is Matt and I'm near Nashville, Tennessee. I really appreciate your informative YouTube videos, and I thank you for them. My questions are about creatine.

I love the effects of it while working out, whether that's real or perceived. But since my first kidney stone diagnosis, I have stopped taking it. Is creatine a stone generator or a stone enabler, and can I go back to taking it?

Thank you.

What was his name, Jeff? I missed it. Do you know?

He's Matt from Nashville.

Matt. Okay. Good old Matt from Nashville.

Speaking of tattoos, that's where I got that one from, Matt, at Hart & Huntington's, Pink's Pink's husband's tattoo parlor. I got that because so far I've beaten my cancer, and I feel very lucky. So, anyway, Matt, it's all about you.

So, creatine, a lot of bodybuilders use it. It's one Just one of the supplements they use. Some use many.

A lot of bodybuilders use a lot of supplements. But as far as are they okay for kidney stoners, Matt, there's been no research to say that creatine is going to cause kidney stones. As a matter of fact, it's one of the most researched supplements as far as in the bodybuilding world, and is considered a safe supplement.

Of course, I always say, because everybody has different medical conditions here, please talk to your healthcare provider if this is an okay supplement for you. But it really is one of the most researched bodybuilding supplements there are. It's It helps put energy into the muscle.

It's It's used to It can also put some extra water into your muscle, help your muscles contract a little bit better, make your muscles seem a little bit bigger, as well. So, so is it safe? Yes, it's safe.

I know a lot of people that use it. They use their 5 grams a day. You know, so, do I mind that you're using it?

I don't mind. Bodybuilders I've worked with for many years, because they tend to be eating the standard too much protein, way too much animal protein, meat protein, too much, too much, too much. You know, sweet potato, spinach, rice–rice is not a problem–but this is typically, bodybuilder meals are this: rice, sweet potato, broccoli, meat; rice, sweet potato, broccoli, meat.

That's what these guys and girls are eating, typically. But so much protein and many, many different supplements. So, let me just say this again.

Creatine, is it going to increase your risk for kidney stones? There has been no research to say this. It is one of the safest supplements to take in the body build- well, I'm going to say this.

It's not I'm not saying it's one of the safest. It's the most researched that says it's a safe supplement. Okay?

So, but always talk to your doctor, who knows your health history first, before you take any supplement. That's the deal with me. People will say, "Jill says no supplements!" No, I do not say that.

I say if a blood test says you need it, you should. The creatine, there has been a lot of research that says it will make your muscles look a little bit bigger there, and it will definitely help them contract easier, better, more energy goes into them. So, it seems to be a pretty effective It's not going to make you look like you're Popeye the Sailor Man, but there does give you a little boost in creating muscle mass.

So, you know, research it for yourself, people. I don't want people running out and getting creatine. But, Matt, if you want to bring it back into your regimen, go ahead.

Not a problem, as far as I'm concerned. But talk to your doctor.

Yeah, and I think it's good to bring up the protein side, too, because we might be thinking creatine is a supplement, but big jugs of protein every day, just making these smoothies, well, that's not a supp- I'm not even thinking about that, maybe. So, I think it's really good to have that juxtaposition, that it's easy to really be hitting protein hard, but pulling back maybe from creatine, which may be Maybe that's actually swinging the scale in the wrong direction.

Absolutely. So, people, you know, they don't realize. And so people will say, "Well, Jill, you said only meat protein." But I, but there is also a total protein.

Do you need 250 g of protein a day, people? No! At s- at a certain point for each of you, your muscle is only going to grow so much with a certain amount of protein, meaning, get your 150, but do you need the 200?

Is it growing any more ex- exponentially after the 150, 120, whatever you're doing? No! There's a lot of research that says that, too.

You're going to max out at some point, and more protein isn't better. And in the case of kidney stones, all that chicken and steak and all the extra meat you're eating, guys, can lead to uric acid stones and calcium oxalate stones. So, you've got to pay attention to that, okay?

So, and so some people will say they think it's the creatine or something else that did them a stone, but it was probably the spinach, the sweet potatoes, all the meat protein, and then, at some point, all the whey protein people are eating. You just don't need that much. You know, I became a personal trainer.

I don't do anything with it, but I got certified 'cause I love I'm a huge gym rat. So, and the amount of protein that they teach you to tell your clients to have there is it's just embarrassing. It's just needless.

You don't need all that protein. Get enough to fuel your body, maybe a little bit more if you're a bodybuilder, but you don't need as much as you think you do. And we have some great articles at kidneystonediet.com, "How Does Meat Fit Into the Kidney Stone Diet?" And then, something else about There's two articles.

If you read one, you're going to get to the other. So, I would suggest reading "How Does Meat Fit Into the Kidney Stone Diet?" and you'll get everything you need there to figure it out.

Yeah, along with the protein calculator, as well, that'll help you figure out exactly how much meat protein fits into your body, if you will, based on your yeah, your size and weight. So yeah, I think that was a wonderful question. If you're out there and you have a question, the phone number, again, is 773-789-8763.

Or if you want to send a voice memo, record it on your phone and email it to [email protected]. And to dive ever so deep, even beyond the podcast, you can go to kidneystonediet.com where you can find the weekly email that Jill sends out to keep you on track and sort of just to be in your corner in a way that's different than maybe the group calls or the Kidney Stone Prevention Facebook group or all the myriad ways where you can connect.

But this is direct to your inbox on your own time. You're able to read through it, sort of keep you on your journey and going down the best path possible. And then we have the Kidney Stone Prevention Course–

Very motivating. Go ahead..

Yeah, the Kidney Stone Prevention Course, which includes group calls with Jill, which are weekly calls where everyone comes together and talks about these topics. And then we have Kidney Stone Diet meal plans, so everything can be found at kidneystonediet.com and it's all just to help as best that we can.

Yes, and Matt, beautiful question. Go ahead, Jeff.

Yeah, I think with that, we'll wrap for this week. So, thanks again, and we'll see you all next time.

Thank you, Matt. Appreciate you. Subscribe, people!