Thursday, July 27, 2006

About Creatine

Here are some bits I found on creatine:

"Dietary creatine supplementation (20-30 g/day for 4-6 days) has been reported to increase muscle creatine concentration by as much as 50% and enhance muscle performance during intermittent high-intensity exercise bouts (2-4, 10, 12, 13, 15). The performance-enhancing effect of creatine may result from increased muscle creatine availability that sustains the initially rapid rate of PCr resynthesis further into recovery and increases available PCr during later exercise bouts (3, 12, 15). No studies have investigated the effects of creatine in older persons who, because of intrinsic deficits in muscle energy metabolism, may benefit from creatine supplementation." Journal of Applied Physiology

"Enhanced muscle mass / strength
"Multiple studies suggest that creatine may improve muscle mass and strength in men and women, particularly when accompanied by increased physical activity. However, studies of creatine in athletes have disagreed with each other. Although many experts believe that creatine may be useful for high-intensity, short-duration exercise, it has not been demonstrated effective in endurance sports. Benefit may be greatest when levels of creatine prior to supplementation are low, and in specific sub-populations such as older men. Creatine monohydrate supplementation did not improve body composition or muscle strength when given before knee surgery, nor did it enhance recovery in one study. Of the approximately 300 studies that have evaluated the potential ergogenic value of creatine supplementation, about 70% report statistically significant results while the remaining studies generally report non-significant gains in performance. Due to methodological problems with available studies, a firm conclusion cannot be reached.""

"Annual consumption of creatine products is estimated to exceed four million kilograms (8.82 million pounds). Use of creatine is particularly popular among adolescent athletes, who are reported to take doses that are not consistent with scientific evidence, and to frequently exceed recommended loading and maintenance doses." Mayoclinic.com

Although teens may be taking creatine to bulk up, what actually happens is that your muscles draw water away from the rest of your body. The bulking up you experience is often the result of the extra water stored in your muscles, not increased muscle mass. You don't gain extra strength from water. But you may get seriously dehydrated from the redirection of your body's water to your muscles."

Energy Effect
"A number of studies have examined the effect of creatine supplementation on performance. The consensus appears to be that, while not increasing peak force production, creatine can increase the amount of work done (8%) in the first few short duration, maximal effort trials. The mechanism of this enhancement is not yet clearly documented, but is most likely by increasing the available PCr pool."

Dosages for creatine, especially those from clinical trials

Toxicology reference

"Creatine modestly improves athletic performance and appears to be relatively safe."

"Side effects [of creatine] include stomach pain, nausea, diarrhea and muscle cramps. High doses of creatine may be associated with kidney, liver or heart problems, and even high blood pressure, although definitive links to severe illness haven't been established.

Some say it works, others don't. Regardless, there is no strong evidence that oral creatine supplementation improves performance that translates into growth (hypertrophy).

Stay hydrated
This one's almost too easy, but drinking plenty of water not only helps you burn fat, but also builds more muscle. "All creatine does is force fluid into the muscle," says Hays. "Your body will do that itself if there's enough water available."

1 comment:

Serenity said...

good blog, well written. (i don't have anything brilliant to comment, but i don't like just lurking when i see a good site.)
but i still hate drinking water.