Summary
The debut episode of the Stronger by Science podcast, where Eric Trexler and Greg Nuckols discuss whether creatine supplementation can cause hair loss, how genetic testing might influence training and physiology decisions, and interview natural bodybuilder and researcher Dr. Peter Fitschen about his work on HMB, blood flow restriction training, and his new bodybuilding book with Cliff Wilson.
Key Points
- The creatine-hair loss connection is based on a single study showing increased DHT; the evidence is too weak to avoid creatine supplementation.
- Genetic testing for training optimization is still in its infancy -- most gene variants explain tiny fractions of performance variation.
- Creatine at 3-5g daily remains one of the most well-supported supplements for strength, power, and potentially cognitive function.
- Dr. Peter Fitschen's research on HMB suggests it may help preserve muscle during caloric deficits but has limited benefit in a surplus.
- Blood flow restriction training can produce meaningful hypertrophy at low loads (20-30% 1RM), useful for rehab and deload periods.
- Natural bodybuilding genetic limits cluster around an FFMI of 25, though individual variation exists based on frame size and training history.
Key Moments
The one creatine topic everyone cares about — hair loss
Despite a comprehensive creatine guide covering many lesser-known benefits, 90% of reader feedback focused on a single 200-word section about the potential link between creatine and hair loss.
"a little segment in the paper in the article that was about linking creatine to hair loss. There's been one study that looked into it. And it feels like 90% of the feedback was focusing on that. We should have made the whole article about that. I mean, 6,000 words on that alone. But what do you think, Greg? Are you terrified at the prospect of going bald?"
The single DHT study behind creatine hair loss fears
The entire creatine-hair-loss concern traces to one crossover study in rugby players where DHT levels fluctuated between 1.0-1.5, well below the clinically high threshold of 3-3.5.
"hear creatine might be linked with hair loss. It's all based on one paper. There was a single paper in some young rugby players. And it was looking at a hormone called DHT by Hydro Testosterone."
Simple fixes for creatine stomach issues
For people who experience GI distress from creatine, especially during loading, splitting into smaller doses and dissolving powder well in hot liquid usually resolves the problem.
"a lot of people provide a feedback on the article and they said, when I take creatine, especially if I'm loading, it upsets my stomach. So if you only pay attention to 30 seconds of this podcast, the value here that I should have included in the article on the front end, if you have stomach issues with creatine, there's some very simple ways to get around it for most people splitting up into smaller doses."
Creatine non-responders are often already saturated
Non-response to creatine supplementation is largely explained by individuals who already have high muscle creatine stores, with vegetarians and vegans showing consistently lower non-response rates.
"So like the idea that non-response rate is a lot lower in vegetarians and vegans than omnivores? Right. Yeah. So I think what we see with non-responders more often than not is that we just didn't see a very meaningful change in muscle creatine saturation and storage."
