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What is creatine ?
What is creatine: Naturally occurring in muscle tissue, crea*tine functions as a secondary reservoir for short-term energy to *be drawn upon when ATP (adenosine triphosphate) stores--the energy st*orage molecule that drives muscular contraction--are depleted. Sup*plemental creatine monohydrate added to the diet will increase the con*centration of creatine phosphate within muscle tissue which may increas*e one's ability to perform brief, high-intensity exercise.
How much one will benefit from creatine supplementation will* vary greatly from one individual to the next; at most, expect sma*ll but significant increases in the amount of weight or number of r*eps that one can handle. Increasing the creatine content of muscle ti*ssue also draws additional water into the muscle cells; this will caus*e an immediate increase in muscle size and weight, with anywhere *from two
to seven pounds of retained water being common.
Note that the immediate weight gain one experiences when beg*inning creatine supplementation is just water and not additional mu*scle tissue; if you stop taking creatine, this water weight will *slowly go away again, but any benefits you gain from increased exercis*e intensity while taking creatine will remain. It has also bee*n claimed that the increased size of individual muscle cells due to th*e greater water uptake while taking supplemental creatine is itself an* anabolic stimulus and can increase muscle growth, but this is merely *a hypothesis at this time and has not been studied sufficientl*y to draw any conclusions.
Because creatine phosphate, once in the muscle tissue, serve*s only as a small additional source of short-term energy, creatine supplementation will not aid one's performance in aerobic ac*tivities such as running or cycling, though it has been shown to impr*ove short-term bursts of anaerobic activity during endurance act*ivities. Because of the additional water weight carried while using c*reatine, it may actually hinder performance where weight is an issue.
Dosage: The optimal amount of creatine to take remains contr*oversial and, as with any other supplement, recommended doses vary considerably, particularly depending on whether the one maki*ng the recommendation is trying to sell you some. Many have recomme*nded a "loading phase" with doses ranging from 15-30 grams/day for *the first week followed by a "maintenance phase" with anywhere from 2-*15 grams/day consumed, while a few discount the "loading phase"* as unnecessary. The typical recommended dose falls about in the* middle of the above ranges; load with 20g/day for a week, then drop to* 5-8g/day for a while, then feel free to experiment with increasing or decreasing the dosage and see how it affects you. As with an*y supplement, start out slowly--consume the initial "loading" *dose in several portions throughout the day; some people have report*ed experiencing gastric upset when taking creatine, so you may *wish to make sure it doesn't cause you any problems in this regard b*efore taking very much at one time.
The "conventional wisdom" is that crea*tine uptake into muscle tissue is improved in the presence of ins*ulin and also when insulin sensitivity is increased. However, recent *studies have suggested that this may not be a significant factor at physiologically realistic insulin levels: "Insulin had no ef*fect on the rate of creatine uptake in vitro." (Creatine uptake in i*solated soleus muscle: kinetics and dependence on sodium, but not on* insulin. Eillott CA, Young ME, Leighton B, Kemp GJ, Boehm EA, Radda G*K, Clarke K.; Acta Physiol Scand 1999 Jun;166(2):99-104) "...insulin c*an enhance muscle creatine accumulation in humans but only when present* at physiologically high or supraphysiological concentrations."
(Stimulatory effect of insulin on creatine accumulation in h*uman skeletal muscle. Steenge GR, Lambourne J, Casey A, Macdonald* IA, Greenhaff PL.; Am J Physiol 1998 Dec;275(6 Pt 1):E974-9)
Types of creatine: Creatine is available in a variety of for*ms, the most common of which is creatine monohydrate; this is availa*ble in both bulk powder and in capsule form. Given the low cost of *creatine, its lack of flavor, and the quantities generally consumed, b*uying creatine in capsules offers no significant advantages, but i*s likely
to cost ten times as much for the same quantity. (Bulk creat*ine monohydrate is commonly available from numerous mail-order s*uppliers at about $30/kilogram.) Creatine citrate and creatine phosph*ate have also occasionally been sold, but the former offers no known *advantages over creatine monohydrate and generally costs more to use, g*iven that its creatine content is lower due to the weight of the citra*te ion.
Breakdown of creatine: Creatine, once in solution, will slow*ly degrade into creatinine which does not have creatine's beneficial ef*fects; however, this process takes quite a few hours and, while thi*s is a good reason not to mix your creatine into a protein shake a *day ahead of time, it's completely unnecessary to worry at all about m*ixing it into a drink just before consuming it. Both heat and acidity* will
accelerate this process, but, again, we're still talking abo*ut several hours time before it's something to worry about. (The main p*urpose of the "creatine breaks down instantly when wet" rumor is to se*ll you various forms of "stabilized" creatine at a much higher cost*, but with no actual advantages.)
Much talk has been made recently abou*t a study that's usually described as showing that caffeine negates th*e usefulness of creatine supplementation. However, the study i*n question administered very large doses of caffeine to the subjects an*d then cut out all caffeine consumption 24 hours before the subjects we*re tested. While this does provide fairly strong evidence that major ca*ffeine withdrawal does not enhance athletic performance, it has ess*entially no relevance to anyone who uses caffeine as a pre-workout st*imulant or in the manner in which caffeine is normally used in the E/C/*A stack. Caffeine does have a diuretic effect and it is possible that* this could reduce the amount of water weight generally gained whe*n taking creatine, though even this is questionable, given that caffe*ine primarily increases the elimination of extracellular water a*nd not intracellular water, which is what is increased by creatine.
Creatine and health: creatine is one of the (if not the) mos*t widely-used and extensively studied of athletic supplements *and, despite the media's occasional urge to demonize athletic sup*plements, it is also one of the safest: The consumption of oral creatine monohydrate has become incr*easingly common among professional and amateur athletes. Despite nume*rous publications on the ergogenic effects of this naturally occu*rring substance, there is little information on the possible adver*se effects of this supplement. The objectives of this review are to ide*ntify the scientific facts and contrast them with reports in the news *media, which have repeatedly emphasised the health risks of creatin*e supplementation and do not hesitate to draw broad conclusion*s from individual case reports. Exogenous creatine supplements are *often consumed by athletes in amounts of up to 20 g/day for a few *days, followed by 1 to 10 g/day for weeks, months and even years. *Usually, consumers do not report any adverse effects, but body mass i*ncreases. There are few reports that creatine supplementation has prot*ective effects in heart, muscle and neurological diseases. Gastroin*testinal disturbances and muscle cramps have been reported occasional*ly in healthy individuals, but the effects are anecdotal. Liver an*d kidney dysfunction have also been suggested on the basis of small c*hanges in markers of organ function and of occasional case reports, bu*t well controlled studies on the adverse effects of exogenous creat*ine supplementation are almost nonexistent. We have investigated* liver changes during medium term (4 weeks) creatine supplementatio*n in young athletes. None showed any evidence of dysfunction on the bas*is of serum enzymes and urea production. Short term (5 days), medi*um term (9 weeks) and long term (up to 5 years) oral creatine supplemen*tation has been studied in small cohorts of athletes whose kidney funct*ion was monitored by clearance methods and urine protein excretion r*ate. We did not find any adverse effects on renal function. The pres*ent review is not intended to reach conclusions on the effect of creati*ne supplementation on sport performance, but we believe that th*ere is no evidence for deleterious effects in healthy individuals.
(Adverse effects of creatine supplementation: fact or fictio*n?
Poortmans JR, Francaux M.; Sports Med 2000 Sep;30(3):155-70)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Studies of the effect of creatine supplementation on things *other than athletic performance have yielded interesting results. Some *have suggested possible neuroprotective effects in the case of st*roke or hypoxia; studies have suggested that creatine may have antio*xidant properties (Direct antioxidant properties of creatine. Lawle*r JM, Barnes WS, Wu G, Song W, Demaree S.; Biochem Biophys Res Com*mun 2002 Jan 11;290(1):47-52); and creatine supplementation has even *been shown to reduce mental fatigue when performing repetitive mathemat*ical calculations: "Using double-blind placebo-controlled paradig*m, we demonstrated that dietary supplement of creatine (8 g/day fo*r 5 days) reduces mental fatigue when subjects repeatedly perform a si*mple mathematical calculation. After taking the creatine suppleme*nt, task-evoked increase of cerebral oxygenated hemoglobin in th*e brains of subjects measured by near infrared spectroscopy was signi*ficantly
reduced, which is compatible with increased oxygen utilizati*on in the brain." (Effects of creatine on mental fatigue and cerebral *hemoglobin oxygenation. Watanabe A, Kato N, Kato T.; Neurosci Res 2002 Apr;42(4):279-85)
In summary, if you wish to experiment with creatine suppleme*ntation, a typical approach would be as follows:
1. buy a tub of bulk creatine powder (you may as well get a *full kilo; smaller quantities tend to cost significantly more for how m*uch you'll get).
2. For the first week or so, take a level teaspoon (about fo*ur grams) of creatine powder 3-5 times throughout the day, with one of* the doses before breakfast and another following your workout on worko*ut days).
3. When taking creatine, you may mix it with the liquid of y*our choice or simply put the powder in your mouth (it's pretty near tas*teless) and wash it down with water, juice, or whatever. If you expe*rience gastric discomfort, either take less creatine at once, drink* more fluids at the same time, or make sure the creatine is fully *dissolved before drinking.
4. After the "loading phase," decrease your consumption to 1*-2 level teaspoons/day, preferably taken before breakfast and/or foll*owing workouts. Feel free to experiment with greater or lesser dos*ages and see what works best for you.
If creatine supplementation is effective for you (and, thoug*h most people report good results, not all do), you should expect 3*-10 pounds of weight gain by the end of the first week, larger and full*er-feeling muscles, and noticeable increases in the weight and/or reps *you can handle in the gym.
What is creatine: Naturally occurring in muscle tissue, crea*tine functions as a secondary reservoir for short-term energy to *be drawn upon when ATP (adenosine triphosphate) stores--the energy st*orage molecule that drives muscular contraction--are depleted. Sup*plemental creatine monohydrate added to the diet will increase the con*centration of creatine phosphate within muscle tissue which may increas*e one's ability to perform brief, high-intensity exercise.
How much one will benefit from creatine supplementation will* vary greatly from one individual to the next; at most, expect sma*ll but significant increases in the amount of weight or number of r*eps that one can handle. Increasing the creatine content of muscle ti*ssue also draws additional water into the muscle cells; this will caus*e an immediate increase in muscle size and weight, with anywhere *from two
to seven pounds of retained water being common.
Note that the immediate weight gain one experiences when beg*inning creatine supplementation is just water and not additional mu*scle tissue; if you stop taking creatine, this water weight will *slowly go away again, but any benefits you gain from increased exercis*e intensity while taking creatine will remain. It has also bee*n claimed that the increased size of individual muscle cells due to th*e greater water uptake while taking supplemental creatine is itself an* anabolic stimulus and can increase muscle growth, but this is merely *a hypothesis at this time and has not been studied sufficientl*y to draw any conclusions.
Because creatine phosphate, once in the muscle tissue, serve*s only as a small additional source of short-term energy, creatine supplementation will not aid one's performance in aerobic ac*tivities such as running or cycling, though it has been shown to impr*ove short-term bursts of anaerobic activity during endurance act*ivities. Because of the additional water weight carried while using c*reatine, it may actually hinder performance where weight is an issue.
Dosage: The optimal amount of creatine to take remains contr*oversial and, as with any other supplement, recommended doses vary considerably, particularly depending on whether the one maki*ng the recommendation is trying to sell you some. Many have recomme*nded a "loading phase" with doses ranging from 15-30 grams/day for *the first week followed by a "maintenance phase" with anywhere from 2-*15 grams/day consumed, while a few discount the "loading phase"* as unnecessary. The typical recommended dose falls about in the* middle of the above ranges; load with 20g/day for a week, then drop to* 5-8g/day for a while, then feel free to experiment with increasing or decreasing the dosage and see how it affects you. As with an*y supplement, start out slowly--consume the initial "loading" *dose in several portions throughout the day; some people have report*ed experiencing gastric upset when taking creatine, so you may *wish to make sure it doesn't cause you any problems in this regard b*efore taking very much at one time.
The "conventional wisdom" is that crea*tine uptake into muscle tissue is improved in the presence of ins*ulin and also when insulin sensitivity is increased. However, recent *studies have suggested that this may not be a significant factor at physiologically realistic insulin levels: "Insulin had no ef*fect on the rate of creatine uptake in vitro." (Creatine uptake in i*solated soleus muscle: kinetics and dependence on sodium, but not on* insulin. Eillott CA, Young ME, Leighton B, Kemp GJ, Boehm EA, Radda G*K, Clarke K.; Acta Physiol Scand 1999 Jun;166(2):99-104) "...insulin c*an enhance muscle creatine accumulation in humans but only when present* at physiologically high or supraphysiological concentrations."
(Stimulatory effect of insulin on creatine accumulation in h*uman skeletal muscle. Steenge GR, Lambourne J, Casey A, Macdonald* IA, Greenhaff PL.; Am J Physiol 1998 Dec;275(6 Pt 1):E974-9)
Types of creatine: Creatine is available in a variety of for*ms, the most common of which is creatine monohydrate; this is availa*ble in both bulk powder and in capsule form. Given the low cost of *creatine, its lack of flavor, and the quantities generally consumed, b*uying creatine in capsules offers no significant advantages, but i*s likely
to cost ten times as much for the same quantity. (Bulk creat*ine monohydrate is commonly available from numerous mail-order s*uppliers at about $30/kilogram.) Creatine citrate and creatine phosph*ate have also occasionally been sold, but the former offers no known *advantages over creatine monohydrate and generally costs more to use, g*iven that its creatine content is lower due to the weight of the citra*te ion.
Breakdown of creatine: Creatine, once in solution, will slow*ly degrade into creatinine which does not have creatine's beneficial ef*fects; however, this process takes quite a few hours and, while thi*s is a good reason not to mix your creatine into a protein shake a *day ahead of time, it's completely unnecessary to worry at all about m*ixing it into a drink just before consuming it. Both heat and acidity* will
accelerate this process, but, again, we're still talking abo*ut several hours time before it's something to worry about. (The main p*urpose of the "creatine breaks down instantly when wet" rumor is to se*ll you various forms of "stabilized" creatine at a much higher cost*, but with no actual advantages.)
Much talk has been made recently abou*t a study that's usually described as showing that caffeine negates th*e usefulness of creatine supplementation. However, the study i*n question administered very large doses of caffeine to the subjects an*d then cut out all caffeine consumption 24 hours before the subjects we*re tested. While this does provide fairly strong evidence that major ca*ffeine withdrawal does not enhance athletic performance, it has ess*entially no relevance to anyone who uses caffeine as a pre-workout st*imulant or in the manner in which caffeine is normally used in the E/C/*A stack. Caffeine does have a diuretic effect and it is possible that* this could reduce the amount of water weight generally gained whe*n taking creatine, though even this is questionable, given that caffe*ine primarily increases the elimination of extracellular water a*nd not intracellular water, which is what is increased by creatine.
Creatine and health: creatine is one of the (if not the) mos*t widely-used and extensively studied of athletic supplements *and, despite the media's occasional urge to demonize athletic sup*plements, it is also one of the safest: The consumption of oral creatine monohydrate has become incr*easingly common among professional and amateur athletes. Despite nume*rous publications on the ergogenic effects of this naturally occu*rring substance, there is little information on the possible adver*se effects of this supplement. The objectives of this review are to ide*ntify the scientific facts and contrast them with reports in the news *media, which have repeatedly emphasised the health risks of creatin*e supplementation and do not hesitate to draw broad conclusion*s from individual case reports. Exogenous creatine supplements are *often consumed by athletes in amounts of up to 20 g/day for a few *days, followed by 1 to 10 g/day for weeks, months and even years. *Usually, consumers do not report any adverse effects, but body mass i*ncreases. There are few reports that creatine supplementation has prot*ective effects in heart, muscle and neurological diseases. Gastroin*testinal disturbances and muscle cramps have been reported occasional*ly in healthy individuals, but the effects are anecdotal. Liver an*d kidney dysfunction have also been suggested on the basis of small c*hanges in markers of organ function and of occasional case reports, bu*t well controlled studies on the adverse effects of exogenous creat*ine supplementation are almost nonexistent. We have investigated* liver changes during medium term (4 weeks) creatine supplementatio*n in young athletes. None showed any evidence of dysfunction on the bas*is of serum enzymes and urea production. Short term (5 days), medi*um term (9 weeks) and long term (up to 5 years) oral creatine supplemen*tation has been studied in small cohorts of athletes whose kidney funct*ion was monitored by clearance methods and urine protein excretion r*ate. We did not find any adverse effects on renal function. The pres*ent review is not intended to reach conclusions on the effect of creati*ne supplementation on sport performance, but we believe that th*ere is no evidence for deleterious effects in healthy individuals.
(Adverse effects of creatine supplementation: fact or fictio*n?
Poortmans JR, Francaux M.; Sports Med 2000 Sep;30(3):155-70)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Studies of the effect of creatine supplementation on things *other than athletic performance have yielded interesting results. Some *have suggested possible neuroprotective effects in the case of st*roke or hypoxia; studies have suggested that creatine may have antio*xidant properties (Direct antioxidant properties of creatine. Lawle*r JM, Barnes WS, Wu G, Song W, Demaree S.; Biochem Biophys Res Com*mun 2002 Jan 11;290(1):47-52); and creatine supplementation has even *been shown to reduce mental fatigue when performing repetitive mathemat*ical calculations: "Using double-blind placebo-controlled paradig*m, we demonstrated that dietary supplement of creatine (8 g/day fo*r 5 days) reduces mental fatigue when subjects repeatedly perform a si*mple mathematical calculation. After taking the creatine suppleme*nt, task-evoked increase of cerebral oxygenated hemoglobin in th*e brains of subjects measured by near infrared spectroscopy was signi*ficantly
reduced, which is compatible with increased oxygen utilizati*on in the brain." (Effects of creatine on mental fatigue and cerebral *hemoglobin oxygenation. Watanabe A, Kato N, Kato T.; Neurosci Res 2002 Apr;42(4):279-85)
In summary, if you wish to experiment with creatine suppleme*ntation, a typical approach would be as follows:
1. buy a tub of bulk creatine powder (you may as well get a *full kilo; smaller quantities tend to cost significantly more for how m*uch you'll get).
2. For the first week or so, take a level teaspoon (about fo*ur grams) of creatine powder 3-5 times throughout the day, with one of* the doses before breakfast and another following your workout on worko*ut days).
3. When taking creatine, you may mix it with the liquid of y*our choice or simply put the powder in your mouth (it's pretty near tas*teless) and wash it down with water, juice, or whatever. If you expe*rience gastric discomfort, either take less creatine at once, drink* more fluids at the same time, or make sure the creatine is fully *dissolved before drinking.
4. After the "loading phase," decrease your consumption to 1*-2 level teaspoons/day, preferably taken before breakfast and/or foll*owing workouts. Feel free to experiment with greater or lesser dos*ages and see what works best for you.
If creatine supplementation is effective for you (and, thoug*h most people report good results, not all do), you should expect 3*-10 pounds of weight gain by the end of the first week, larger and full*er-feeling muscles, and noticeable increases in the weight and/or reps *you can handle in the gym.
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