Creatine Monohydrate

Creatine or methyl guanidine – acetic acid is a natural energy providing protein which is found in the bodies of vertebrates. Methionine, Arginine and Glycine combine in the liver to form the metabolite we know as Creatine.  Ones diet also acts as a source of creatine. Health freaks, body builders and athletes take creatine as a dietary supplement to gain energy for workouts. Physicians warn that improper dosage of creatine can result in short term effects like weight gain, nausea, vomiting, muscle and stomach cramps to long term effects like Kidney and Gastro Intestinal problems.

Dosage has been a bone of contention among users. When using creatine, one should keep in mind that not everyone reacts to creatine in the same way. Users having less creatine in the body, like vegetarians, show a quicker and more perceptible reaction to creatine. Meat eaters, who have presence of creatine in their body in comparatively larger quantities, will have a slower reaction. This should not lead the latter group to take higher dosages of creatine.

Athletes using creatine take a “loading dose” of 20 to 25 grams a day for one week; then begin a “maintenance cycle” of 3 to 5 grams per day. The “loading” and “maintenance” dosage recommendations differ from manufacturer to manufacturer. Usually the “maintenance cycle” is continued for a month after which athletes “cycle off” from creatine for a week or so. This follows a resumption of creatine with the “loading dose”. Cycling creatine dosages help athletes to overcome any immunity which the body builds against it and take advantage of the extra water weight and strength which comes from reloading.

Creatine dosage has been in debate among physicians for a long time. Critics of creatine and physicians have spoken against excessive intake and blamed this for all side effects which have been reported by creatine users. It is recommended that creatine be taken in measured dosages of 3-5 gms to minimize loss of creatine due to excretion through urination. They also suggest that regular checks of creatine in the users must be made, to check levels of creatinine. Kidneys in the body maintain normal creatine levels. Blood tests to check creatine levels are a reliable indicator of whether the kidneys are functioning properly. High levels of creatine in the blood suggest an impending renal failure.

Through creatine cycling athletes try to replicate its results which were obtained when they started to take it. Creatine, through a process of loading and off-loading has been becomes the most effective health supplement. There may of course be disadvantages to ingesting creatine in high dosages frequently. Among these, the most apparent is that the body may stop its own creatine manufacturing process, when creatine is ingested in high dosages. Though studies have not confirmed this, trainers and physicians believe this to be true.

Users are advised to follow dosage specifications and schedules. Users are advised not to skip servings or attempt to make up for missed servings by taking more creatine in the next dose.

Creatine is nitrogenous organic acid occurring naturally in all vertebrates. Creatine helps to supply energy to muscle and nerve cells. The body manufactures, stores and uses creatine for pursuits which require bursts of energy – like running at a high speed.

Creatine Monohydrate is highly reputed diet supplement which improves athletic performance. Creatine is widely used by athletes and bodybuilders for anerobic exercises, such as weight training. Creatine increases energy reserves, thus by the virtue of its use more energy becomes available for high intensity exercises and recovery is faster after workouts. Creatine monohydrate affects nitrogen production within the body to delay fatigue. When used in a training program creatine allegedly also facilitates muscle repair, and stimulates muscle strength.

There is a lot of conflict on the issue of how creatine works – how it provides performance enhancing benefits and increases lean muscle mass. Research report on the subject has concluded that creatine is able to achieve this by two mechanisms:

1. Intra-cellular water retention.
2. Ability to enhance ATP production.

Creatine has been shown to absorb and retain water, once its stored inside the cell. This makes the cell expand. Muscles thus filled with water mass, seem larger and fuller. I addition to this, creatine provides the body the ability to recover faster from anaerobic exercises like weight lifting and running. It does this by facilitating production of ATP, which is the main fuel for the enzyme motors in initial high-intensity muscle activity, within the cell, which in turn provides energy by releasing phosphate molecules. Unfortunately this is short-lived, since ATP, after giving up phosphate ions becomes ADP. So the muscles start to burn glycogen for energy. Lactic acid is the byproduct of this process, and its this by product which causes muscle fatigue and cause muscles to stop contracting.

Creatine improves glycogen synthesis which enables muscles to work out for a longer period. In addition to this creatine assists lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels. The mechanism for this is still unknown. Due to its ability to provide instant energy, creatine has become very popular aming health freaks and especially among athletes who require sudden bursts of energy during their workout and because they have to recover quickly between workout sessions.

Most studies in this area have performed evaluations on muscular performance by gathering data from in high intensity exercises about creatine concentration in muscles, ability to re-synthesize ATP and increase of buffering of the acidic environment under which the muscles function. Athletes performing in the test reported a benefit from ingesting creatine. However the benefits only collate when a strict exercise regimen is followed.  Except for a few isolated cases, the study reported no evidence that creatine assists sporting activities which require endurance and energy supplies over a period of time, like long distance running.

Whatever may be the case, athletes using or aiming to use creatine should do so cautiously, and after consultation with their governing sporting body and a physician. creatine has received mixed reviews from athletes on how it helped them to enhance performance. While some including tennis professionals, claimed that they found no difference before and after creatine use, weightlifters and body builders gave creatine a full confidence rating. More research is imperative on creatine and its benefits.