Ive tried homous to avoid crisps as slightly healthier but I can destroy a whole pot with 2 breadsticks
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Creatine is one of the most studied supplements of all time. Its positive effects far outweigh any potential downsides.
The main downside is water retention leading to stomach discomfort.
Loads of talk about its positive effects on the brain in recent years - benefits discussed include…
depression
sleep deprivation
healthy ageing
cognition/memory
fatigue etc.
Loads of studies out there. I read the New Scientist one on depression last year and then I saw Dr Rachel Barr discussing it (positively).
Just get creatine monohydrate. The micronised form may help reduce stomach discomfort.
Gummies etc. is just marketing, i.e. fine, but unnecessary.
Look for ‘Informed Sport’ or NSF Certified (as cheaper brands may have impurities).
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Form protein is my favourite company for plant-based supplements. I buy their Performance Protein and their unflavoured protein, and sometimes their meal replacement. It seems like the best quality vegan option, although maybe that’s just good marketing too.
Anyway, they’ve recently started making creatine, so I’ve switched to them.
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Finally getting somewhere with my health it seems. Got diagnosed with colitis (ibd) two years ago after an incredibly stressful period of my life- so thought it was down to stress. So naturally focused on that which was a great learning curve in itself although it definitely ease my symptoms it wasn’t going away.
Ended up in hospital over new years as my kidneys were in a really bad way (nhs failed to pick up it up despite regular blood tests) cue 10 weeks on anti inflammatory steroids which was horrible. Kidney and gastro doctor had no clue why my kidneys were in such bad shape and couldn’t offer any dietary advice so went to a private nutritionist who has been amazing. After reviewing my bloods she was said- you shouldn’t be this ill- something else is going on…. Have you ever lived in a house with black mould? Errr yehhh every house I’ve lived in now I think about it! So she ordered a toxin and parasite test- basically and stool and urine sample. Which showed I was inflected with black mould toxins and a fairly common farm parasite. The black mould toxins attack the kidneys and parasite the guts so all my symptoms started to make sense!
The frustrating bit is that I’ve done so many urine samples in hospital I don’t know why they don’t test for toxins could have picked it up years ago! Saying that the NHS have been really good in every other way despite all the cut backs. Wish nutrition was taken more seriously by modern medicine.
So no more carbs or sugar for me as that’s the parasite’s favourite food! After 3 days of no carbs I was hit with dizziness and passed out on the sofa for 2 hours! Waiting for the post carbs energy to kick in now!
My wife is pressuring me to have therapy so I’ll use this as a soft launch into it haha
Throughout out this journey music has been my life line- feeling like shit and then getting up on stage to play for a few hours and coming off buzzing and pain free! Or been sober and dancing all day and night (we out here/musical fruits) the feeling is like no other!
So any other ibd/ colitis suffers out there there is hope- get a toxin/parasite test and find out what’s going on!
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Crumbs that sounds rough, glad there is some light at the end of the tunnel. Stay safe.
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I’m not sure I understood the financial power of social media/influencer culture until all these health trends started and I could see it on the supermarket shelves. Cottage cheese comes ‘on trend’ and all of a sudden there’s no cottage cheese available at the supermarket, sardines come “on trend”, prices soar and availability plummets. The benefits of creatine get discussed with a global audience outside of muscle building and I bet the creatine producers are making BANK at the moment. The speed and global market share of trends is truly insane.
Every producer of every food product must be scheming 24/7: “if we can just get our product to pop somehow/somewhere in the health sphere we can all retire”.
I wonder what happens to business when the trends die off like did the curcumin people overexpand when it was their time in the spotlight and then all have to scale down and sack people when the zeitgeist moved on?
(not knocking creatine by the way, have used it for years)
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So convinced we have a Guardian spy in here… 
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we’ve got a camping trip lined up in the Aragón Pyrenees in a couple of weeks. Praying weather cools in time. The aim is to cover some of the amazingly beautiful local hiking trails but not if insanely hot. As someone who is a bit out of shape, a case of striking the right balance between burning calories and not burning up
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So, out of absolutely nowhere, I’ve suddenly had the urge to take up running. I did 4k last Friday, 5k on Sunday, and today I went to do a 6k at lunch, but a torrential thunderstorm hit, so I stopped at 3k, but have just been out and run another 6k. All at a faster pace than I was running at 5 years ago when I did a bit during lockdown.
My goal now is to run 10k within 6 weeks and maybe look to train for a marathon next year.
I used to hate running. What is happening to me???
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@howler - the one thing everyone says is build up really slowly as otherwise its super easy to get injured and then you’re out of the game for ages so do a bit of reading on building up slowly no matter how great it feels. good on you though sir. it really is the best. I’m on the same thing… I was doing 10k’s here and then i had a week off so now building up slowly again from 3k to 6k and then up… The Murakami book on running is superb if you’re in the mood…
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Running is such a buzz when it clicks. I was the same as yourself - i just suddenly enjoyed it. But Paul’s bang on the money. - build up slow to avoid injury.
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Thanks mate. Yes, I’m only planning on increasing the distance by ½km per week from here on in.
Been meaning to check that book so I guess now is the right time 
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My advice (based on what was recommended to me - and it worked) is to forget about pace or distance as a beginner, and just focus on minutes. Time your runs and get used to running for longer periods of time. Increase by around a total of 5% per week.
I ended up sticking at this for a few months and my long run was past the 70 minute mark. After that, I felt really equipped to start following a more structured training plan.
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This one was a surprisingly good read too - basically why do human beings run anyway?
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There’s a bit when you get past 5 or 6 k when the thinking drops away and you’re just floating, there’s nothing like it. Doesn’t always happen but when it does…
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I enjoyed that one too. Who knows how scientific it is, maybe more pseudo in parts, but a good yarn all the same.
I was training for a soft sand race at the time, that book and this one helped drag me out of bed in the early mornings: How to Think About Exercise — Damon Young | philosopher & author
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Must be something in the air. I’ve recently started running too. At 5k rn with no plans to increase as of yet
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So true. It’s the same with swimming. You struggle and feel like you’re fighting it and then one day it feels effortless. But if you don’t keep it up you loose it. Bah! One thing that’s good is going from swimming in a pool to the sea. You’re so much more buoyant because of the salt that it feels easy. I once experienced that at sunrise in Spetses (near Hydra) and it was the most lovely swim ever. Now I can barely do a spluttery length! 
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Knees are too fudged for running, but started on the Creatine this morning. Let’s see…
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