Question:
A gym friend advisable taking creatine supplements. What is creatine? Are there any positive effects of creatine? Are Creatine Supplements Safe?
Reply: Creatine is sometimes called an amino acid. But technically it just isn’t one among the 20 amino acids which might be the constructing blocks of all proteins. Our bodies could make creatine from three other true amino acids: arginine, glycine and methionine.
Possible positive effects of creatine supplementation
Creatine can enhance athletic performance. It contributes to rapid energy production and might increase power or speed that require short-term anaerobic activity. This could also be attributable to the connection between creatine supplementation and increased muscle glycogen storage. Glycogen can quickly release glucose, which is the most effective sources of quick energy.
There can also be some evidence that creatine supplementation with adequate caloric and protein intake can speed up muscle recovery after intense exercise. Again, this will be related to creatine's boost to muscle glycogen, as energy from glucose is required to help within the healing process.
Creatine supplements don’t construct muscle. However, creatine supplementation with regular resistance training and a well-balanced weight loss program can reverse age-related sarcopenia. Sarcopenia is the lack of muscle mass and strength that happens as we age, but in addition occurs when muscles are insufficiently lively, akin to after an injury.
Creatine sources and dosage
Foods high in creatine include meat, fish, and cow's milk. However, it just isn’t clear that increasing the intake of those foods offers any additional athletic advantages in comparison with obtaining the identical amount of protein from other sources.
Creatine monohydrate is essentially the most commonly used form and essentially the most studied form. Other forms offer no additional advantages.
The general advice for individuals who take creatine supplements is 3 to five grams per day. Studies show that loading at high doses of creatine has no profit. You're just putting more stress in your kidneys.
Creatine Supplement Safety
Unlike over-the-counter and pharmaceuticals, the FDA doesn’t regulate the validity of complement ingredients. Therefore, there may be at all times the chance that a creatine complement may contain roughly than the label amount. Also, the complement may contain other ingredients that would potentially be harmful to you.
Otherwise, an adult dose of three to five grams of creatine per day is secure. However, individuals with kidney disease should seek the advice of their doctor before taking it.
Creatine just isn’t an anabolic steroid, nor does it increase testosterone levels.
Some people will retain as much as two kilos of fluid throughout the first week after they start creatine supplementation. But that is temporary, and long-term use studies don't show that excess water retention is a everlasting problem.