Creatine's Benefits and Drawbacks

Creatine's Benefits and Drawbacks:

What exactly is creatine?

Creatine is an amino acid (amino acids are the building blocks of protein) that is formed by the liver and kidneys in the body and obtained from meat and animal products in the diet. Creatine (creatine monohydrate) is a colorless, crystalline material that is used in muscle tissue to manufacture phosphocreatine, which is a key component in the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the energy source for muscle contraction and many other bodily functions.

What is the role of creatine in the human body?

Creatine is converted in the body to a molecule called "phosphocreatine," which acts as a simple energy storage reservoir. Phosphocreatine is particularly important in tissues that consume significant quantities of energy on a regular basis, such as the voluntary muscles and the nervous system.

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Creatine is used by athletes for a variety of reasons.

Creatine has been shown in studies to improve athletes' performance in sports that involve short bursts of energy, such as sprinting and to aid athletes' recovery after expending bursts of energy. Creatine is the perfect supplement for serious bodybuilders. It promotes muscle mass rather than muscle endurance, so it's not recommended for athletes who participate in endurance sports. The increase in muscle mass, on the other hand, maybe due to water retention rather than an increase in muscle tissue.

What's with all the talk about creatine and neuromuscular disorders?

Creatine appears to be positive for neuromuscular conditions, according to two clinical reports. First, MDA-funded Cornell University Medical Center researcher M. Flint Beal found that creatine was twice as effective as the prescription drug riluzole in extending the lives of mice with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease). Second, Canadian researchers Mark Tarnopolsky and Joan Martin of McMaster University Medical Center in Ontario discovered that creatine can help people with a variety of neuromuscular disorders achieve moderate strength gains. Beal's thesis was published in Nature Neuroscience in March 1999, and the second paper was published in Neurology in March 1999.

I'd like to start taking creatine, but I'm not sure if it's secure.

Athletes haven't reported any harmful side effects from taking creatine, but there have been a few cases of kidney damage related to creatine use recently. In studies of creatine supplementation, no clear toxicity has been identified. Dehydration has also been identified as a side effect of creatine use.

Athletes typically take a "loading dose" of 20 grams of creatine per day for five to six days, then a "maintenance dose" of 2 to 5 grams a day after that.

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What are the negative consequences?

Long-term side effects of creatine are unknown, but no clear toxicity has been identified in creatine supplementation studies. In an analysis of creatine supplementation side effects, diarrhea was the most widely recorded ailment, followed by muscle cramping. 18 Short-term higher doses or long-term lower doses of creatine supplementation had no impact on kidney, liver, or blood functions in healthy young adults, according to some research. After up to five years of supplementation, no improvement in kidney function was found in a small study of people taking 5-30 grams per day. Muscle cramping has been identified anecdotally in some studies after creatine supplementation.