The benefits of creatine for athletes
Health benefits
Research has examined the effectiveness of creatine for various purposes.
Athletic influence
Creatine is one of the few supplements that has undergone rigorous scientific testing and has been found to improve athletic performance. Over the past quarter-century, hundreds of well-controlled studies of creatine have been published in the scientific literature. A 2017 review study found that creatine can improve physical performance, play a role in preventing and / or reducing the severity of injuries, improve post-injury rehabilitation, and help athletes endure heavy training loads.
Creatine benefits athletes by increasing the production of ATP, a source of energy for muscles during short periods of activity, so it is recommended primarily for athletes who need to periodically run and recover during competitions (for example, football players, basketball players, tennis players). The idea behind supplements is to maximize the creatine stores in your muscles. When the stores are full, the excess creatine is broken down into creatinine, which is metabolized in the liver and excreted in the urine.
As noted in a 2017 review study, the majority of creatine studies were conducted on people who were actively exercising, so sedentary people are unlikely to get any benefit from creatine supplementation. It has also not been found to help in aerobic sports or endurance sports such as marathon running.
One of the problems with creatine is that it can cause dehydration. However, there is evidence that supplementation with creatine, which causes water to be diverted from other parts of the body to muscle tissue, may actually help reduce the risk of heat illness in athletes who perform intense exercise in hot and humid environments. This ability to retain water may explain why the only consistently reported side effect of taking creatine was weight gain.
Many athletes and bodybuilders who use creatine do so because it has the same effects as anabolic steroids without side effects. Because creatine is found in large amounts in food, it has not been banned by sports associations. However, some organizations question whether it is ethical to allow athletes to take supplements that can potentially improve results. Others expressed concern that the use of performance-enhancing supplements could lead to the use of other potentially dangerous supplements and medications.
Muscle mass
According to a 2017 review article, a large number of studies show that creatine supplementation leads to greater increases in strength and muscle mass.
Here's how it works: creatine supplementation increases the stores of a substance called phosphocreatine (FC) in the muscles, and during very short, high-intensity exercises (also known as anaerobic exercises), FC helps replenish the energy supply in the muscles. As a result, the increased amount of creatine in your muscles replenishes energy faster, so you can train at a higher intensity and with more weight without getting tired as quickly, and this can help you build more muscle.
Creatine benefits have been reported in both men and women, although most studies have been conducted on men, and some studies suggest that women may not see such a large increase in strength and / or muscle mass during exercise in response to creatine supplementation.
For muscle weakness
Since creatine can strengthen muscles, it has been suggested as an additional treatment for certain conditions that cause muscle weakness, such as muscular dystrophy, congestive heart failure, Huntington's disease, McArdle's disease (also called glycogen storage disease type V), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), myasthenia gravis, Parkinson's disease, and after injuries or operations.
Dosage and preparation
Most of the small amount of creatine contained in food is destroyed during cooking. It is also naturally produced in the body from L-arginine, L-glycine, and L-methionine, amino acids that are mainly found in animal protein.
Many different dosage regimens have been used, both for athletic performance and to increase muscle strength. Most of them use a short-term "loading dose" followed by a long-term maintenance dose. According to a 2017 study, the most effective way to increase muscle creatine stores is to take five grams of creatine monohydrate (or approximately 0.3 grams per kilogram of body weight) four times a day for five to seven days. When muscle creatine reserves are fully saturated, creatine reserves can usually be maintained by consuming three to five grams per day, although some studies suggest that larger athletes may need to consume five to 10 grams per day to maintain creatine reserves.
Insulin is necessary for creatine to enter the muscles, so consuming carbohydrates with creatine can increase the amount of creatine available to the muscles. Adding five grams of creatine to 93 grams of simple carbohydrates four times a day for five days can increase muscle creatine levels by 60 percent more than creatine alone.
Creatine supplements are available in capsules or as a powder in health food stores, sports nutrition departments, some pharmacies, and online.
Keep in mind that supplements have not been tested for safety, and due to the fact that dietary supplements are largely unregulated, the composition of supplements may differ from what is indicated on the product label. Also keep in mind that the safety of supplements for pregnant women, nursing mothers, children, and people with diseases or taking medications is not established. If you are thinking about using creatine supplements, talk to your doctor first. Independent treatment of diseases and refusal of standard treatment or its postponement can have serious consequences.
