Traditional physicians tend to cast scorn on supplements taken by weight lifters - or at least show great skepticism. (And we're not talking about anabolic steroids here). Now a study funded entirely by the Canadian institute of Health Research has produced results indicating that a combination of creatine and linoleic acid can boost the effects of resistance training in older adults. It's posted in the online journal PloS ONE.

Both these supplements have produced conflicting reports regarding their usefulness in weight training, so the researchers decided to study the two of them together. Thirty-nine men and women aged 65 to 85 were enrolled in a supervised program of group resistance exercise training twice a week, using weight machines. Half of them took creatine (5 grams Neotine with 2 gram dextrose/d) and conjugated linoleic acid (6 gram CLA-ONE ) for 6 months, while half took a matching placebo.

After 6 months those taking the supplements had increased their fat-free body mass by 2.1 kg on average, compared with a 0.9 kg gain in the placebo group. The fat mass decreased by 1.9 kg in the supplement takers, and by 0.4 kg in the placebo group. As expected, all measures of muscle strength increased in both groups, but more so in those taking the supplements.

The researchers interpret these results as showing that a combination of creatine and linoleic acid "enhance some of the beneficial effects of training". There were no apparent untoward effects. This seems a well-designed study which, although small, provides evidence of the supplements' effectiveness. But maybe they should have included "before-and-after" photos.