Facts On Creatine

[NiteHawk]

This is kind of a lengthy post but Im hoping it will answer people's questions about creatine. It deals mostly with creatine monohydrate which is the most widely used but it does mention some of the other forms.


Creatine first came in the picture back in 1992 when British Olympic Track & Field athletes used it with great success in the Barcelona Olympic Games. A little over a year later it was introduced in America for the first time as a creatine supplement.

Creatine is produced naturally in the body from 3 amino acids; glycine, methionine, and arginine. It regularly combines with phosphate to create creatine phosphate. It's used by your muscles to resupply high energy phosphates to regenerate ATP rapidly. ATP is your muscle's energy. By resupplying phosphates for ATP production, it allows you to do high intensity exercise for a longer period of time.

The benefits of creatine have been heavily studied. About 90% of the people who take creatine have acheived benefits from it.There is a 5-15% improvement in exercise performance. People with a high intake of red meat will probably notice less of an improvement since meat contains creatine in it as well.

About 95% of the research on creatine has been done with creatine monohydrate. It is the least expensive form, easy to take and is virtually tasteless. German creatine has the best reputation of making the purest creatine available where as some Asian countries have the lowest or worst reputation. US manufactures are now close to German standards.
The newer forms of creatine can be more effective, more expensive, but have the least amount of research behind them. So in long-term results, its hard to say whether they are superior. The latest one is CEE - creatine ethyl ester. It has an ethyl ester attached to the creatine that is supposed to permeate the cell walls of the intestines and muscle cells easier than regular monohydrate. It has been shown to show the same results but with lower doses than regular monohydrate. Loading is also not necessary. I have gotten results with taking 4 grams per day.

The average person holds about 110-130 grams of creatine in thier muscles naturally. However, you have the capability to hold something like 150-170 grams. So using creatine supplements is to boost this ability and saturate your muscles with it for a performance boost.

How To Take Creatine ( Creatine Monohydrate):

You can load or not load, its your preference. Loading is not necessary. The loading phase means taking 20 grams a day in 4 divided doses for 5 days then doing a maintenance phase of about 3-5 grams per day. You can however achieve the same results by not loading and only taking 5 grams a day and it will take about 21 days to achieve the same muscle saturation as the loading phase. The 5 day loading phase will just get you saturated quicker. Some say to cycle off creatine for 4 weeks once every 2-3 months. There is no data to support doing this. It does take about 21-28 days of being off creatine to get your body's creatine levels back to normal.

After you train is the ideal time to take creatine. Use a carb/protein beverage will spike insulin levels helping to drive creatine into the muscle. A juice with a high glycemic index carbs to spike insulin is a good choice to use with your creatine. This too will create an insulin spike and help absorb the creatine better. A method I like to use is taking a heaping teaspoon of creatine, just putting it in your mouth and chasing it with a glass of grape juice and then drink another 8 ounces of water. Its easy, fast, and no mixing required. I currently am taking Cell-Tech at this time.

Recent research has indicated that reports of long-term creatine use causing muscle cramps, short term and long term kidney problems are not accurate.The number of problems seen with creatine users were the same with those seen in the placebo groups. So far, long-term useage has shown not to be harmful so take your creatine and enjoy the benefits!!

Below are the forms of creatine available:

Creatine Monohydrate- The first creatine product to start them all. Its been proven for years and is the least expensive form.

Creatine Ethyl Ester - This form of creatine was discovred and patented at the University of Nebraska. It has an ester attached to it to increase its bioavailability, absorption, and ergogenic effects. The cost is more than regular monohydrate. It has been shown to give greater benefits at a lower dose than monohydrate. I have used 4 grams daily and got good results.

Creatine Phosphate - This is the form found inside muscles. This type of creatine was made obsolete due to its costly nature and lower concentration of creatine compared to monohydrate.

Creatine Citrate - This form of creatine is coupled with the Kreb's Cycle intermediate, citric acid. This gives it more water solubility with possibly better absorption. It has a sour, tart taste. Its more expensive than monohydrate and has a lower concentration of creatine. It is listed in formulas as Di-Creatine Citrate or Tri-Creatine Citrate.

Creatine Malate - This is another Kreb's cycle intermediate bound to creatine. It dissolves in water easily and has a decent taste. The malic acid in it might assist in Kreb's Cycle energy production. It costs more and has less concentration creatine than monohydrate. Its listed in formulas as Di-Creatine Malate or Tri-Creatine Malate.

Creatine Tartrate - This is creatine bound to tartaric acid and has a very tart taste. Isnt used much and has no research to support this form. It has a lower percentage of creatine than monohydrate and is more costly.

Magnesium Creatine Chelate - This is a mineral chelate of creatine which is designed to improve the delivery of creatine and magnesium to muscles. Research has been shown that this formula produces better results than creatine supplemented with magnesium as well. Its a promising creatine form.

Creatine Anhydrous - This is pure creatine and similiar to regular monohydrate. It absorbs water from the air and its hard to work with when making it into a supplement. Its not found in many formulations.

Creatine Betahydroxy Beta Methylbutyrate (CHMB) - This is creatine bound to HMB. Once ingested, the creatine and HMB molecule seperate, so you are getting the benefits of both. Its expensive and not found in many formulas as well.

Creatine Ester Oratate - This is an esterfied form of creatine. It's new. I dont have much information on it at this time.

[Deific]

Nice post nite, are these all your own studies?

[NiteHawk]

Hey, thanks for liking my post..


Well, how to take creatine came from my experience and knowledge, however some of the stats I did some research in some books I had. I put it all together in an easy to read format. I hope it gets some use.

[Poobah]

Plan and simple.. I like it. I'll be starting creatine up again in the near future. Not sure whether I want to go with CEE or Mono just yet.

[NiteHawk]

Thanks Poobah, I say start with some Cell-Tech.

[meera]

I like this ensemble as well. Lots of info in there that would be useful. Perhaps sticky this?

[Vplayer]

A much, much, MUCH needed thread. Thanks Nite, this was a superb idea. I hope people use it. Im going to direct any questions that this thread answers this way.

[NiteHawk]

Thanks V. I knew you would like it. Appreciate any info or help to this post as well.

[abear]

Ann Pharmacother. 2005 Jun;39(6):1093-6. Epub 2005 May 10.

The effect of creatine intake on renal function.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effect of creatine supplementation on renal function and estimates of creatinine clearance. DATA SOURCES: A MEDLINE search was conducted (1966-September 2004) using the key terms creatine, creatinine, kidney function tests, drug toxicity, and exercise. Relevant articles were cross-referenced to screen for additional information. DATA SYNTHESIS: Supplementation with creatine, an unregulated dietary substance, is increasingly common in young athletes. To date, few studies have evaluated the impact of creatine on renal function and estimates of creatinine clearance. Because creatine is converted to creatinine in the body, supplementation with large doses of creatine may falsely elevate creatinine concentrations. Five studies have reported measures of renal function after acute creatine ingestion and 4 after chronic ingestion. All of these studies were completed in young healthy populations. Following acute ingestion (4-5 days) of large amounts of creatine, creatinine concentrations increased slightly, but not to a clinically significant concentration. Creatinine is also only minimally affected by longer creatine supplementation (up to 5.6 y). CONCLUSIONS: Creatine supplementation minimally impacts creatinine concentrations and renal function in young healthy adults. Although creatinine concentrations may increase after long periods of creatine supplementation, the increase is extremely limited and unlikely to affect estimates of creatinine clearance and subsequent dosage adjustments. Further studies are required in the elderly and patients with renal insufficiency.

[abear]

Nutrition. 2004 Jul-Aug;20(7-8):609-14.

Scientific basis and practical aspects of creatine supplementation for athletes.

Volek JS, Rawson ES.

Department of Kinesiology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut 06269, USA. jeff.volek@uconn.edu

A large number of studies have been published on creatine supplementation over the last decade. Many studies show that creatine supplementation in conjunction with resistance training augments gains in muscle strength and size. The underlying physiological mechanism(s) to explain this ergogenic effect remain unclear. Increases in muscle fiber hypertrophy and myosin heavy chain expression have been observed with creatine supplementation. Creatine supplementation increases acute weightlifting performance and training volume, which may allow for greater overload and adaptations to training. Creatine supplementation may also induce a cellular swelling in muscle cells, which in turn may affect carbohydrate and protein metabolism. Several studies point to the conclusion that elevated intramuscular creatine can enhance glycogen levels but an effect on protein synthesis/degradation has not been consistently detected. As expected there is a distribution of responses to creatine supplementation that can be largely explained by the degree of creatine uptake into muscle. Thus, there is wide interest in methods to maximize muscle creatine levels. A carbohydrate or carbohydrate/protein-induced insulin response appears to benefit creatine uptake. In summary, the predominance of research indicates that creatine supplementation represents a safe, effective, and legal method to enhance muscle size and strength responses to resistance training.

[abear]

J Sports Med Phys Fitness. 2004 Dec;44(4):411-6.

Is the use of oral creatine supplementation safe?

Bizzarini E, De Angelis L.

School of Sports Medicine, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy.

This review focuses on the potential side effects caused by oral creatine supplementation on gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, renal and liver functions. No strong evidence linking creatine supplementation to deterioration of these functions has been found. In fact, most reports on side effects, such as muscle cramping, gastrointestinal symptoms, changes in renal and hepatic laboratory values, remain anecdotal because the case studies do not represent well-controlled trials, so no causal relationship between creatine supplementation and these side-effects has yet been established. The only documented side effect is an increase in body mass. Furthermore, a possibly unexpected outcome related to creatine monohydrate ingestion is the amount of contaminants present that may be generated during the industrial production. Recently, controlled studies made to integrate the existing knowledge based on anecdotal reports on the side effects of creatine have indicated that, in healthy subjects, oral supplementation with creatine, even with long-term dosage, may be considered an effective and safe ergogenic aid. However, athletes should be educated as to proper dosing or to take creatine under medical supervision.

[vandyfan84]

very very good thread nite!! A much needed thread for all those who ask about creatine. But i have a question about loading?? are you essentially taking creatine 4 times a day in smaller doses? and how does this pan out better than other methods? Also, you said the best time to take creatine is after the workout...why is this? I think you said because it allows the extra creatine to work its way into the muscles right? but I was just a little confused about this. One last thing, you said you take creatine in the form of a heaping teaspoon with a glass of grape juice, could you take this with the form of a protein shake or what? just trying to gain more info on the "best" way to take a dosage. Thanks!!

[virus]

wow vplayer isnt the only person who can write articles that are good

lol jk

nice post nite

poobah - GO with some cee man! lol

[NiteHawk]

Yes, vandy, if you decide to do the loading phase, you would take about 5 grams 4 times a day which equals 20 grams.You can split those times like twice before noon and twice after noon. You would do this for 5 days. You then back it off to only 5 grams a day for your maintenance phase.

The reason I use grape juice when taking regular monohydrate is for the insulin spike. It helps to drive the creatine in the muscle.
I personally like to seperate my creatine and protein when taking them. I do this for absorption purposes. I believe taking the creatine alone will give better absorption for it.

Right now Im taking Cell-Tech. I take it right after I workout and then 20 minutes later I take my whey post workout shake.

Virus and vandy thanks for the kind words.

[vandyfan84]

Thanks Nite!!! I think I understand better now, but one more question, how does loading benfit you? and after you do this loading cycle, do you just go back to 5 grams a day in one serving post workout? and how often do you perform the loading cycle?

Thanks !!!!

[NiteHawk]

The loading phase is not necessary. It will fully saturate your muscles quicker, thats all. Doing just 5 grams a day will achieve the same result as loading, it will just take you a little longer. If you decide to do the loading phase,yes just take the 5 grams post workout.

The loading phase is done when you first start taking creatine. If you cycle off of creatine, then you can do the loading phase when you start taking it again. You only need to do the loading phase once when taking creatine.

[vandyfan84]

Thanks for all the help Nite!!!

[NiteHawk]

Anytime vandy.

[genna]

i have been hearing a few different theories on cycling the creatine, i recently began taking cell-tech in the powder form as well....since i usually lift for about 6-8 weeks before i take a week off form liftin