Claims extracted
27
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
7%
2 of 27 hedged
("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
67/100
Evening Standard's corrections and
hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Health
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
To ingest 30 grams of creatine naturally would involve wolfing down six to seven kilograms of raw beef.
asserted
ingest → ingest → beef
Want it cooked?
asserted
it → want → ?
It’ll take up to 10kg: that’s either 30 steaks or 44 burgers in one sitting.
asserted
that → take → sitting
This made me wince as I struggled to consume all 24 of the radically large pills I’d bought, each containing 1.25 grams of the powdered supplement.
asserted
I → wince → supplement
Determined to feel better, I came across a hopeful study.
asserted
I → determine → study
In 2024, researchers at Forschungszentrum Jülich (FZJ) in Germany asked 15 adults aged 20 to 28 to stay awake for 21 hours.
asserted
researchers → ask → hours
They then gave them a large dose of creatine (about 25 to 30 grams) and tested their cognitive performance.
asserted
They → give → performance
Astonishingly, on some tests, including short-term memory and processing capacity, they scored higher than when well-rested.
asserted
they → include → memory
Dr Ali Gordji-Nejad, who ran the study, says: “The results suggest a single but high dose of creatine enhances thinking capacity and causes changes in the brain’s energy reserves during sleep deprivation.”
asserted
dose → run → deprivation
The findings indicated a potential game changer for those who have to keep sharp with little sleep: surgeons, soldiers, new parents and so on.
asserted
who → indicate → sleep
To most creatine users, the size of this dose would be considered ridiculous.
asserted
size → consider → dose
Bodybuilders usually draw the line at 20 to 25 grams for just a few days.
asserted
Bodybuilders → draw → days
They call this the “loading phase” — the period when their muscles swell dramatically due to creatine molecules pulling in water.
asserted
molecules → call → water
They can then maintain this bulk by taking five grams a day.
asserted
They → maintain → grams
The results of the sleep deprivation study make more sense once you understand how creatine works in the system.
asserted
creatine → make → system
Your body naturally produces one or two grams of creatine every day.
asserted
body → produce → creatine
This is responsible for helping to recycle ATP [adenosine triphosphate] — the molecule we use for fuel.
asserted
we → help → fuel
Our natural creatine stores sit at about 70 per cent, so by topping them up, we use our bodily fuel more effectively.
asserted
we → sit → fuel
While five grams per day is considered the optimal dose to saturate our muscles, studies such as this one in Germany have been exploring larger doses that are needed to pass the blood-brain barrier and saturate our brains.
asserted
that → consider → brains
According to the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN), creatine is the safest sports supplement ever tested, so it came as a happy shock when my fog suddenly lifted only a couple of hours after taking the pills.
uncertain
fog → accord → pills
Read More
I promise I am not being sponsored by a creatine brand, but it felt like I’d been given a “get out of jail free” card.
asserted
I → read → card
I had absolutely no sense of tiredness and felt far more mentally agile than usual.
asserted
I → have → tiredness
But before readers purchase barrels of creatine in preparation for weekday benders, be warned: there are unpleasant side effects for such large doses and it is unequivocally not a replacement for sleep.
Neither The Standard or I endorse its use in this way.
asserted
Standard → purchase → way
Although it might make you feel better as a one-off now and again, creatine does not prevent other negative effects of sleep deprivation, including a build-up of metabolic waste, impaired memory consolidation and hormone imbalances.
uncertain
creatine → make → waste
The powder also tastes how I imagine chalk does.
asserted
chalk → taste → ?
Yet if the price of occasionally buying a few hours of borrowed wakefulness is mega-dosing on creatine
asserted
price → buy → creatine
, I am glad to have the option — and gladder still to sleep when I can.
asserted
I → have → option
The Aporia
