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Creatine is one of the most popular dietary supplements used by strength athletes. Creatine supplementation can provide an increased reservoir of creatine phosphate. This supports the energy system that is heavily utilized during strength training. For many athletes, this can result in increased strength, more energy, faster recovery, and more muscle mass.
What is creatine?
Your body has various systems to provide you with energy. When we perform intensive activities for short durations, we primarily use the ATP-CP system.
ATP stands for adenosine triphosphate. ATP is the fuel used by muscle cells. The various energy systems aim to produce new ATP when you are active. For example, when you sprint or perform heavy weight lifting, you primarily use the ATP-CP system. This system utilizes available creatine phosphate to produce ATP. This is a very rapid way to generate ATP, but it is of limited scope.
Adenosine triphosphate, as the name partly suggests, is a molecule formed from adenosine and three creatine phosphates.
A small history
Creatine was discovered in 1835 by the chemist Michel-Eugene Chevreul, who extracted the substance from muscles. He named his discovery after the Greek word “kreas,” which means meat. Later, in 1847, the German scientist Justus von Liebig also found the substance in the flesh of many animals and observed that animals use nitrogen-containing molecules for energy supply. These nitrogen-containing molecules would later become known as amino acids.
How does creatine work?
The energy provided is accompanied by the splitting of one of the creatine phosphates. Adenosine triphosphate is thus transformed into adenosine diphosphate and can no longer provide energy. To convert back to ATP, a creatine phosphate is needed.
Using supplements increases your reservoir of creatine phosphates, allowing you to use this system for longer during high-intensity training.
Benefits of creatine
Creatine monohydrate is used as a supplement to enable the body to more quickly produce the fuel ATP, which is important for muscles and brains. ATP stands for adenosine triphosphate. The energy provided by ATP is released when one of its three phosphate groups is split off. Adenosine triphosphate thus changes into adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and one loose phosphate group.
The energy released can be used for muscle contraction, but only for a few seconds because the amount of ATP in the muscles is limited. Fortunately, new ATP can be rapidly produced due to the presence of creatine phosphate (CP), also known as phosphocreatine (PCr). Creatine phosphate “donates” (with the help of the enzyme Creatine Kinase) the phosphate group to ADP, thus turning it back into ATP with three phosphate groups instead of two, providing energy once again.
Disadvantages of creatine
In addition to the many benefits, you might also expect this dietary supplement to have some disadvantages. Creatine is known to have some negative side effects, although not many are supported by research. It is said to potentially lead to hair loss and baldness, but this would only occur with continuous use, and usage is often only for a few weeks. Additionally, this supplement could have a negative impact on the kidneys due to increased water excretion. This applies only to high-risk groups, people who already have poor or less functioning kidneys. Finally, the last negative side effect is one that is also visually noticeable, namely an increase in fluid and volume in the muscles, making you look flat and smooth. Not ideal when you’re training for a competition.
Also read the article: bald due to creatine?
Dosage
For creatine, a dosage of 5 grams per day is often recommended, possibly with the use of a so-called loading phase.
Only 2 to 3 grams per day are enough to maintain your current levels. Five grams per day ensures that you replenish more than you consume every day. However, to quickly fill your levels to the maximum, a loading phase can be used.
By taking 5 grams four times a day during the first week, the maximum can be reached a week earlier. You will then benefit from the effect more quickly.
Different types
Creatine is most commonly sold in the form of monohydrate. Here, creatine is linked to a water molecule, forming a stable crystal. As a result, creatine monohydrate consists of 88% creatine and 12% water. Monohydrate offers you the most value for your money.
Creatine monohydrate is relatively inexpensive. You need less of it compared to, for example, protein. Moreover, it is the most researched and proven form. Due to its proven effectiveness, it is offered by countless manufacturers.
To earn more from the sale of creatine and to differentiate themselves from others, manufacturers have developed various types. These variants are said to be better absorbed by the body or have a longer duration of action, among other claims. These are reasons for the manufacturer to charge a higher price for them.
What is the best creatine?
To the question: “What is the best type of creatine?”, the answer is:
“The cheapest one.”
Just monohydrate. Other, more expensive, forms have not proven their effectiveness or have been found to be unstable, losing their effectiveness on the shelf. In other cases, the conversion in the body to the waste product creatinine appears to occur faster.
An exception is creatine anhydrous. In this form, the water molecule is removed, resulting in more creatine. However, this has little added value if the price difference is greater, which is always the case. You’d better just take a little more creatine monohydrate if you’re worried about missing out on that 12% water.
Quality is something to consider, though. Some creatine from China is of lower quality and may have a higher risk of contamination.
Creapure is a Swiss manufacturer that supplies various brands worldwide with guaranteed high quality.
So, it’s recommended.
How safe is creatine?
Very safe. We can safely say this considering the numerous studies on safety. Both long-term use and much higher doses than necessary have been found to be safe.
Creatine produces the breakdown product creatinine. This must be removed via the kidneys. So, more creatine means more work for the kidneys. However, some people unjustifiably worry about the effect on the kidneys. This can only cause problems if there are existing kidney problems. If your kidney function is drastically reduced for any reason, you must be cautious with everything that burdens the kidneys. The same applies, for example, to protein.
How long can you use creatine?
Very long. At least in terms of safety. The studies on the safety of long-term use lasted longer than a year in some cases, and it was found to be safe.
However, it may only have limited benefit to use creatine for so long. The muscles seem unable to maintain that maximum level for long. Even if you continue to take creatine, your muscles will eventually show a decline. Research shows this happens after about 6 weeks. Since it takes about 4 weeks to excrete all the creatine ingested, this period is recommended as a break.
Creatine and water retention
Creatine causes the muscles to absorb more
water. This is one of the reasons why muscles can grow faster under the influence of creatine. They absorb water, are stretched, and stimulated to grow. You then have an increased need for fluids. You need to drink more water to fully benefit, but also to prevent possible cramps (low chance).
It’s not entirely clear whether the fluid is absorbed only by the muscles or also under the skin. Some studies show that all the extra fluid is absorbed by the muscle cell, while other studies show a distribution between inside the muscle cell and under the skin.
This can be a disadvantage if, for example, you are participating in a bodybuilding competition and need to look as dry as possible.
