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Creatine Questions
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Creatine Questions and Answers
The questions and answers to creatine are obviously endless so the best way to solve this problem is by selecting the top most asked questions online regarding creatine, its use and any side effects that you may need to be aware of. It should be said here that it is a good idea to consult a doctor before going on any creatine supplement.
Probably the most common question asked online about creatine is simply what is creatine. Creatine is an amino acid that it produced by your body as well as got by eating other foods rich in protein. It is normally produced in the body from arginine, glycine and methionine.
Creatine plays a vital role in cellular energy production as creatinephosphate (phosphocreatine) in regenerating adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in skeletal muscle. Without ATP, muscle contraction is not possible. Oral administration of creatine increases muscle stores and may increase muscle strength and improve exercise performance.
Creatine is available in many different forms and is currently sold as a powder, capsule, tablets, effervescent and even chewing gum, candy, bar or drink mix. A common question about creatine is to do with its discovery but we have known about creatine for decades and our bodies have been using it just as all carnivores use creatine to keep alive.
However, before consuming it in powder form, it was consumed in the form of meat. A pound of raw meat has about 2 grams of creatine and a pound of raw fish has up to 5 grams. Therefore, athletes who eat large amounts of meat, poultry and fish are ingesting more creatine than athletes who limit meat and strict vegetarians will probably have the lowest intake.
Creatine does not help everyone however and it should be known that it depends on your specific sport that you want to excel at. Studies on young adult males and females show creatine supplementation can improve high-intensity, repetitive performance in activities like rowing, sprinting, cycling, swimming and weight lifting (bench press, jump squats).
Not all studies show improvement and creatine supplementation caused a decline in the performance of wrestlers during rapid weight loss. Also, creatine supplementation has not been shown to help athletes improve in endurance events like distance running.
A common question often asked about creatine is how much creatine is needed. The ideal dose and timing of creatine supplementation is a question being researched. But one thing is clear is that supplementing cannot increase the muscle’s natural limit, so there comes a point where more is not better. Excess creatine is excreted in urine.
Doses commonly used in research are 20-30 grams per day, split into four or five doses, for about a week. After this "loading phase" muscle creatine can be maintained with about 2-3 grams of creatine/day. Creatine levels remain elevated for several weeks after supplementation stops.
The last question we are going to discuss on creatine that is the question of cost which is obviously something that is always going to increase. Currently the cost of creatine varies from about 4 to 25 cents per gram or about $11 to $70 per month.
Creatine Questions and Answers
This information presented is intended to be used for educational purposes only. The statements made have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (U.S.). This supplement is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any condition or disease.