CREATINE I thought this is a very good topic. Because I get this question about creatine all the time. Good and bad views. Apart from my knowledge and what I learned about the supplement I thought to dig little deep to find out more from lots of recent research both medically and sports science resources related and came up with the following answers to few of the most common questions related to creatine!! So here we go, How does creatine work and what does it do? Creatine acts as a form of extra energy in your body. In your cells, creatine is stored as creatine phosphate. Normally your body uses glucose (sugar) as quick energy, but there is a slight delay before it can convert the glucose so that it’s usable by your cells. So when your body needs energy quickly (as in power for the first few reps), the creatine “donates” its phosphate to the ADP, which becomes ATP, and voila, your cells have a little bit of extra energy. Basically it is definitely extra energy for your cells, and it may have a host of other good benefits. Is it safe? Are there any negative side-effects? Let’s be very clear - creatine is basically a food supplement. It’s found in meat. Even the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has given it the all clear. Creatine is safe. There is a myth out there that says creatine is bad for your kidneys. This is because testing kidney health involves testing body levels of creatine. When people loading creatine came in to get a test, technicians would see the high levels of creatinine and incorrectly think the kidneys were failing. Actual tests on kidney function found that kidney function is not impaired. There is even a case study of an individual with only one kidney (which was also damaged) being fine after supplementing creatine. The one possible side effect you may experience is stomach cramps if you take too much at once (10 grams or more) and do not drink enough water. Some people get slightly nauseous when they first start supplementing. How much should I take? If you don’t lift weights, 2-3 grams per day is the way to go. If you do lift weights and/or are involved in athletics, then 5 grams per day is a good number to aim for. A higher intake such as 10 grams may be beneficial if you’re an athlete - try it out and see if it works for you. Do I need to load it? Not at all. Creatine works in your body by saturating your cells with them - loading just accelerates the saturation process. It’s always simplest to just take 5 grams a day and not worry about loading, cycling or anything similar. Do I have to cycle? Not at all. Cycling is used when long-term supplementation of a compound will cause your body to adapt in such a way that going off the supplement would cause withdrawal symptoms, so you would only ‘cycle’ it for a certain time to prevent this adverse adaptation. Does creatine benefit your brain? Creatine has been shown to increase focus and memory formation when supplemented by vegetarians, but these benefits do not extend to omnivores under normal conditions. Does it interact negatively with caffeine? The studies assessing creatine and its interactions with caffeine are all over the map, with some suggesting a synergistic relationship and another suggesting that caffeine blocks the benefits of creatine. This lack of consistency is met with a lack of reasoning as to why one would block the other (no hypotheses are formed), so academically this is still largely uncertain. Practically speaking, both caffeine and creatine boost strength. You can test if they negate one another in your body taking creatine for a while, before supplementing a dose of caffeine. If you suddenly got weaker, the two supplements are interacting negatively. Will it affect my fat loss? Not at all. Long term studies have found that creatine has no impact in your body in regards to actually burning fat for fat loss. It should be noted that creatine does cause your body to retain a bit of extra water. Some people believe it makes them look a bit bloated, whereas others think it makes their muscles look bigger. When should I take it? Whenever is most convenient. Breakfast, dinner, pre-workout, post-workout, it doesn’t matter. Creatine works through saturation, not through timing. We tend to recommend taking it with a meal just because it’s usually convenient and can decrease the chance of upsetting your stomach. Do I need to take it with carbs/spike my insulin? No. There was some evidence that suggested taking creatine with carbs (which would spike your insulin) meant your body faster accumulated creatine a bit faster, but this does not hold up when your cells are saturated and it seems to only be a good combination the first day of a loading protocol. What happens if I stop using it? It takes up to a month for the excess creatine to clear your body. Once creatine has cleared your system, there will be a slight loss in water, but no loss of muscle. Any muscle added while on creatine will remain (provided of course that you continue to at least maintain that mass by lifting weights).
Posted on: Tue, 16 Sep 2014 19:55:43 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015