Creatine is the best supplement to improve your performance at the gym.
It can boost muscle mass, strength, endurance, and performance during exercise (1), according to studies.
It may also help lower blood sugar levels and improve brain function. However, more research is required in these areas (2-3-4, 5, 6).
Creatine is believed to be dangerous and can cause side effects. These claims are not supported by scientific evidence (1, 6).
Creatine is one of the most tried and tested supplements in the world, with a remarkable safety profile (1).
This article will cover everything you need about creatine.
Creatine can be found in muscle cells naturally. Creatine helps you produce energy when you lift heavy weights or engage in high-intensity exercise.
Creatine: Why?
A lot of athletes and bodybuilders take creatine as a supplement. It is used to build muscle, increase strength, and improve exercise performance (1).
The chemical structure of creatine is similar to that of amino acids, which are important compounds in the body for building protein. The amino acids glycine, arginine and arginine can be used to make creatine in the body (1).
Half of your body’s creatine comes from what you eat, especially red meats and seafood. The rest is produced in your liver and kidneys using amino acids (1).
Where can you find creatine phosphate in your body?
Around 95% of the body’s creatine is found in the muscles. This is mainly in form of phosphocreatine. The brain and tests (1) contain the remaining 5%.
Supplements increase your phosphocreatine stores. This is a form stored energy in your cells. This helps your body produce more ATP, a high-energy molecule.
ATP is sometimes called the body’s energy currency. Your body will perform better when you have more ATP (7).
Creatine can also affect cellular processes, leading to an increase in muscle mass, strength and recovery (1).
> Summary Creatine, a substance naturally found in the body, is especially found in muscle cells. It is often taken by athletes as a supplement.
Creatine has many benefits for your health and athletic performance.
Its primary function is to increase your muscles’ phosphocreatine levels during high-intensity exercise.
These additional stores can be used to make more ATP, which is the main energy source for high-intensity exercise and heavy lifting (8, 9).
Creatine can also help you gain muscle in these ways:
* Increased workload. This allows for more volume or total work in one training session, which is a crucial factor in long-term muscle development (10).
* Increased cell signaling. It can improve satellite cell signaling. This aids in muscle repair and new growth (11).
* Increased anabolic hormones. Research shows that creatine can cause a rise of hormones such as IGF-1 (12, 13, 14, 15).
* Improved cell hydration. Creatine increases water content in your muscles cells. This causes a cell volumization effect which may play a part in muscle growth (15-16).
* Reduced protein breakdown. It can increase total muscle mass and decrease muscle breakdown (17).
* Lower levels of myostatin. High levels of protein myostatin may slow down or inhibit muscle growth. These levels can be reduced by supplementing creatine (18).
Supplements containing creatine can also increase the phosphocreatine levels in your brain. This may improve brain health and symptoms of neurological diseases (2, 19, 20, 21, 22).
> Summary Creatine provides more energy to your muscles and causes changes in cell function which increase muscle growth.
Creatine can be used to stimulate muscle growth for both short-term and long-term (23).
It is beneficial for many people, including seniors, sedentary persons, and elite athletes (15-23-24-25).
A 14-week study of older adults found that adding creatine in a weight training program significantly increased leg strength (25).
Creatine increased muscle fiber growth by 2-3x in a 12-week study of weightlifters. Along with a one-rep max bench press (26), the increase in total mass was also doubled.
One of the most sought-after supplements was creatine, which was ranked as the best for increasing muscle mass (1).
Summary: Supplementing with creatine may result in significant gains in muscle mass. This is true for both elite athletes and untrained people.
Creatine can also increase strength, power and performance during high-intensity exercise.
One study found that adding creatine to a program to increase strength and weightlifting performance increased by 8%, 14%, and bench press one rep max by up 43%, as compared to training alone (27).
28 days of supplementation increased the performance of well-trained strength-athletes by 15% and 6% respectively in bike-sprinting (28).
Creatine can also be used to maintain strength and performance during training, as well as increasing muscle mass when there is intense overtraining (29).
These improvements are primarily due to your body’s increased ability to produce ATP.
ATP can be depleted in 10 seconds of intense activity. Creatine supplements can help you make more ATP so you can perform better for a few extra seconds (30).
> Summary Creatine is a great supplement for increasing strength and performance during high-intensity exercise. Creatine increases your ability to make ATP energy.
Your brain, like your muscles, stores phosphocreatine. For optimal function, you need a lot of ATP (19, 20).
Supplementing can improve the following conditions: 2, 22, 31, 32 and 33, 33, 34, 35 and 36
Creatine may be beneficial in treating neurological diseases, but most of the current research has been done on animals.
A 6-month study on children with traumatic brain injuries revealed a 70% decrease in fatigue (37).
Research has shown that creatine may also be beneficial for older adults, vegetarians and people at high risk of developing neurological diseases (38-39, 40).
Because vegetarians don’t eat meat as their main dietary source, they tend to have lower creatine stores (41).
One study showed that supplementation resulted in a 50% increase in memory scores and a 20% improvement in intelligence test scores for vegetarians (19).
Creatine supplementation can improve intelligence and short-term memory even in healthy adults. (42).
> Summary Creatine may be able to reduce symptoms and slow down the progression of certain neurological diseases. However, more research is needed in humans.
Research suggests that creatine could also (4, 25, 43.44, 44.45, 45.46):
These areas require more research.
> Summary Creatine can be used to reduce high blood sugar levels and fatty liver disease. It may also improve muscle function in elderly people.
Creatine monohydrate is the most well-studied and popular supplement.
There are many other forms, some of which may be superior to the others, but there is not enough evidence (1, 6, 47).
Creatine monohydrate costs very little and has been supported by many studies. It seems to be the best choice, at least until new research is done.
> Summary Creatine monohydrate is the best form of creatine, and it has been studied for many decades.
Supplementation often begins with a loading phase. This allows for a rapid increase of muscle creatine stores.
For 5-7 days, you can take 20g of creatine per day. This can be divided into four 5-gram portions throughout the day (1).
Due to insulin release (48), eating a carbohydrate- or protein-based meal can help your body absorb creatine.
To maintain your muscle mass, you can take 3-5g per day after the loading period. You can continue to take this dose for a long period of time, as there is no benefit from cycling creatine.
You can consume only 3-5 grams daily if you don’t want to go through the loading phase. It may take you 3-4 weeks to increase your stores (1).
Creatine pulls water into muscle cells so it is best to drink creatine with water. This will ensure that you stay hydrated all day.
> Summary Take 5 grams of creatine four times a day for 5-7 days. To maintain your levels, you should take 3-5 grams each day.
Creatine is one the most researched supplements on the market. Studies lasting up to four years have shown no adverse effects (1, 7, 49).
One of the largest studies measured 52 blood markers, and found no adverse effects after 21 months of supplementation (7).
In healthy individuals who consume standard doses of creatine, there is no evidence to suggest that it causes damage to the liver or kidneys. Supplementation should be discussed with your doctor if you have any concerns about your liver or kidneys (6, 7, 49 and 50).
Creatine is often associated with cramps and dehydration, but research does not support this association. Research suggests that creatine can help reduce cramps and dehydration in endurance exercise at high heat (51,52).
A 2009 study showed that creatine supplementation was associated with an increase of a hormone called DHT. This can lead to hair loss. Although more research is required, people with hair loss predispositions may want to avoid taking creatine supplementation (53, 54).
> Summary Creatine has no side effects. Although it is commonly believed that creatine causes cramps and dehydration, research has not supported this.
Creatine is one the most cost-effective, safest, and affordable supplements you can use.
It improves quality of life, brain health, exercise performance, and overall quality of life for older adults. Supplementing may be especially useful for vegetarians and older adults who don’t get enough creatine in their diets.
If you are interested in trying creatine monohydrate, it is the best option.
