There’s a new competitor in town, and it’s being dubbed a “super creatine”; it’s called GAA, or guanidinoacetic acid, but does it really work, and what are the benefits and risks?
Below, we dive into some of the research on how GAA and creatine work. Before you switch out your creatine supplements, let’s see what the fuss is about first.
What is creatine?
Before we talk about GAA, it’s important to understand what creatine is first and the role it plays in the body.
Your body naturally produces the creatine compound from amino acids, and it’s stored in your muscle cells and brain as phosphocreatine. Its primary role is to contribute toward energy production.
People take creatine powders to boost performance and muscular endurance during exercise, and it is also linked to increasing muscle mass over time. Increasing your phosphocreatine stores replenishes ATP (your body’s energy currency), which also tops up the supply of energy to muscles. People report increased output and better endurance during workouts.
What is GAA?
According to Nutrients, GAA is essentially an energy-boosting supplement. It’s a natural compound and a “direct metabolic precursor to creatine,” which is vital for cellular energy metabolism and regeneration of ATP stores.
Like creatine, GAA could boost energy, endurance, and performance by increasing low levels of tissue creatine in the muscles and brain. GAA plays a role in the biosynthesis of creatine, making it a precursor to its creation.
However, GAA works slightly differently because it converts to creatine once in the body rather than entering that way, and enters via different means. It has been dubbed a “super creatine,” with the potential for being more effective than creatine itself.
But before you jump on it as a supplement for improving your physical performance in the gym, there are a few considerations that matter.
What is the study?
A randomized controlled trial published in Nutrition assessed 14 healthy young men using a GAA-creatine mixture (one gram of GAA and three grams of creatine per day) or four grams of pure creatine alone and looked at what happened over four weeks.
They found the creatine-GAA mixture to be superior to pure creatine in increasing creatine levels in muscles and the brain. The combination also resulted in less weight gain, but no differences were observed in cardiorespiratory endurance.
Although the research is limited, the creatine-GAA mixture was marked as more effective for up-swinging tissue creatine content, increasing upper-body strength (when measuring the bench press), and lowering the risk of weight gain in healthy men. Obvious limitations include the size of the study, the short-term assessment period, and the lack of diversity of participants.
Is GAA safe?
This study deemed GAA safe; however, it's worth noting a potential link between raised homocysteine levels and cardiovascular risks. Homocysteine is an amino acid broken down by the B vitamins and folate for other chemicals needed by the body; sustained high levels have been associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, like stroke.
What's the link? It's more of an association, rather than a direct outcome. GAA converts to creatine via methylation, which may lead to increases in homocysteine levels as a byproduct of this process. Sustained high levels have been associated with cardiovascular events, and higher doses of GAA may increase levels.
However, high homocysteine levels can also be caused by deficiencies in B vitamins and folate, poor diet, alcohol intake, and other lifestyle factors. And despite all of this, GAA's primary role is with creatine metabolism rather than a direct indicator of your cardio risk or sustained levels of homocysteine.
Bottom line
Full transparency: I found the research confusing to navigate, and I believe a lot more long-term research needs to be done in the space overall. On the flipside, there’s plenty of evidence to support creatine monohydrate (pure creatine) as a safe and effective supplementation method.
GAA may well be effective, but is the juice worth the squeeze? It could be worth waiting until there’s more definitive science on the table to support the safe and long-term use of GAA. Until then, taking 5-10g creatine daily, using a trusted brand with clean ingredients, may be your best bet for supporting muscle growth, performance, and endurance during and after workouts.
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