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Creatine is a naturally occurring substance found in muscle cells. It aids in the production of energy by your muscles during heavy lifting or high-intensity exercise.
Creatine is a popular supplement used by athletes and bodybuilders to gain muscle, increase strength, and improve exercise performance.
It has many similarities with amino acids in terms of chemistry. It is made by your body from the amino acids glycine and arginine.
Several factors influence your body's creatine stores, including meat consumption, exercise, muscle mass, and hormone levels such as testosterone and IGF-1.
Approximately 95 percent of your body's creatine is stored in muscles as phosphocreatine. The remaining 5% is found in your brain, kidneys, and liver.
When you supplement, you increase your phosphocreatine stores. This is a type of stored energy in the cells that aids your body in producing more of a high-energy molecule known as ATP.
ATP is frequently referred to as the body's energy currency. Your body can perform better during exercise if you have more ATP.
Creatine also affects several cellular processes, resulting in increased muscle mass, strength, and recovery.
HOW DOES CREATINE WORK?
Creatine can benefit your health and athletic performance in a variety of ways.
Its primary function in high-intensity exercise is to increase phosphocreatine stores in your muscles.
The extra stores can then be used to generate more ATP, which is the primary energy source for heavy lifting and high-intensity exercise.
Creatine also aids muscle growth in the following ways:
- Increased workload: Allows for more total work or volume in a single training session, which is important for long-term muscle growth.
- Improved cell signaling: Increases satellite cell signaling, which aids in muscle repair and muscle growth.
- Increased levels of anabolic hormones: Hormones such as IGF-1 have been shown in studies to increase after taking creatine.
- Increased hydration of cells: Increases the amount of water in your muscle cells, resulting in a cell volumization effect that may aid in muscle growth.
- Reduced protein breakdown: Reduced muscle breakdown may increase total muscle mass.
- Lower myostatin levels: Elevated levels of the protein myostatin can stifle or completely stop new muscle growth. Creatine supplementation can lower these levels, increasing growth potential.
Creatine supplements also increase phosphocreatine stores in the brain, which may improve brain health and help to prevent neurological disease.
WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS OF CREATINE ON STRENGTH AND EXERCISE PERFORMANCE?
Creatine can also boost strength, power, and endurance during high-intensity exercise.
When compared to training alone, adding creatine to a training program increased strength by 8%, weightlifting performance by 14%, and bench press one-rep max by up to 43%, according to one study.
28 days of supplementation increased bike-sprinting performance by 15% and bench-press performance by 6% in well-trained strength athletes.
Creatine also aids in the maintenance of strength and training performance while increasing muscle mass during periods of intense overtraining.
These noticeable enhancements are primarily due to your body's increased ability to produce ATP.
ATP is normally depleted after 8–10 seconds of high-intensity activity. However, because creatine supplements increase ATP production, you can maintain peak performance for a few seconds longer.
WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS OF CREATINE ON MUSCLE GAIN?
Creatine promotes both short- and long-term muscle growth.
It benefits a wide range of people, including the sedentary, the elderly, and elite athletes.
In one 14-week study of older adults, adding creatine to a weight-training program significantly increased leg strength and muscle mass.
Creatine increased muscle fiber growth 2–3 times more than training alone in a 12-week study of weightlifters. The increase in total body mass was accompanied by a doubling of the one-rep max for bench press, a common strength exercise.
Creatine was chosen as the single most beneficial supplement for increasing muscle mass in a large review of the most popular supplements.
WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS OF CREATINE ON YOUR BRAIN?
Your brain, like your muscles, stores phosphocreatine and requires a lot of ATP to function properly.
The following conditions may benefit from supplementation:
- Alzheimer's disease
- Parkinson's disease
- Huntington's disease
- Ischemic stroke
- Epilepsy
- Injuries to the brain or spine
- Motor neuron disease
- Memory and brain function in the elderly
Despite the potential benefits of creatine for neurological disease treatment, most current research has been conducted on animals.
One six-month study in children with traumatic brain injury, on the other hand, found a 70% reduction in fatigue and a 50% reduction in dizziness.
Creatine may also benefit older adults, vegetarians, and those at risk of neurological diseases, according to human research.
Vegetarians have low creatine stores because they do not consume meat, which is the main natural dietary source of creatine.
In one study, supplementing resulted in a 50% improvement in a memory test and a 20% improvement in intelligence test scores in vegetarians.
Creatine has no effect on brain function in healthy adults, despite the fact that it can benefit older adults and those with low stores.
WHAT ARE OTHER HEALTH BENEFITS OF CREATINE?
According to research, creatine may also:
- Reduce your blood sugar levels.
- Improve older adults' muscle function and quality of life
- Assist in the treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
More research in these areas, however, is required.
THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF SUPPLEMENTS
Creatine monohydrate is the most common and well-studied supplement form.
There are numerous other forms available, some of which are promoted as superior, though evidence to support this claim is lacking.
Creatine monohydrate is inexpensive and has been supported by hundreds of studies. Unless new research indicates otherwise, it appears to be the best option.
WHAT ARE THE DOSAGE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CREATINE?
Many people who supplement begin with a loading phase, which results in a rapid increase in creatine stores in the muscles.
Take 20 grams of creatine per day for 5–7 days to load. This should be divided into four 5-gram servings spread out throughout the day.
Because of the associated insulin release, absorption may be slightly improved with a carbohydrate or protein-based meal.
To maintain high levels in your muscles after the loading period, take 3–5 grams per day. Because there is no benefit to cycling creatine, you can use this dosage for an extended period of time.
If you do not wish to participate in the loading phase, you can simply consume 3–5 grams per day. However, it is possible that it will take 3–4 weeks to maximize your stock.
Because creatine draws water into your muscle cells, it is best to take it with a glass of water and stay hydrated throughout the day.
WHAT ARE THE SAFETY AND SIDE EFEFCTS OF CREATINE?
Creatine is one of the most thoroughly studied supplements on the market, with studies lasting up to four years revealing no negative effects.
One of the most comprehensive studies measured 52 blood markers and found no negative effects after 21 months of supplementation.
There is also no evidence that taking normal doses of creatine harms the liver or kidneys in healthy people. Those with pre-existing liver or kidney problems, however, should consult with a doctor before supplementing.
Although many people associate creatine with dehydration and cramping, research does not support this association. In fact, studies show that it can reduce cramps and dehydration during high-intensity endurance exercise.
According to one 2009 study, creatine supplementation is associated with an increase in DHT, a hormone that can contribute to hair loss. More research is needed, but people who are prone to hair loss should avoid taking this supplement.
CONCLUSION
At the end of the day, creatine is one of the most affordable, effective, and secure supplements available.
It improves older adults' quality of life, brain health, and exercise performance. Supplementing may be especially beneficial for vegetarians, who may not get enough creatine from their diet, and older adults.
Creatine monohydrate is most likely the most effective form. Try creatine right now to see if it works for you.