CREATINE 2/2  By Mark I. Goodman, Certified Sports Nutritionist, Certified Personal Trainer What Is The Best Creatine? There are number of creatine supplements out there, but the most common are creatine monohydrate and creatine ethyl ester (CEE). You can get it as a powder, or as a capsule or caplet. Of these, Creatine Monohydrate has been on the market for over 15 years. Perhaps the best choice is Micronized Creatine, which is actually plain Creatine Monohydrate micronized into particles that are 20 times smaller than normal Creatine Monohydrate particles, and smaller particle size means quicker digestion and faster utilization. Creatine and Side Effects? No matter if users were on cycle, or loading-maintenance, or very same daily intake for longer period, the common thing for all of them using creatine is that the majority of consumers do not report any adverse effects, but lean body mass increases. There was some concern that creatine supplementation could cause muscle cramping and diarrhea, or affect hydration status and heat tolerance, or even lead to renal dysfunction, but the majority of studies have shown these concerns to be unfounded. In fact too many studies indicate that supplementation with creatine for prolonged period of time even using large doses are safe. Short term (5 days), medium term (9 weeks) and long term (up to 5 years) oral creatine supplementation has been studied, and scientist did not find any adverse effects on renal function. Simply the majority of studies agree that there is no evidence for deleterious effects in healthy individuals. Extensive research over the last 10-15 years has shown that oral creatine supplementation at a rate of up to 25 grams per day appears to be very safe and largely devoid of adverse side-effects, while at the same time effectively improving the physiological performance of muscles in both men and women. In fact, there are few reports that creatine supplementation has protective effects in heart, muscle and neurological diseases. Creatine has been demonstrated to cause modest increases in strength in people with a variety of neuromuscular disorders. Creatine continues to be, investigated as a possible therapeutic approach for the treatment of muscular, neuromuscular, neurological and neurodegenerative diseases (arthritis, congestive heart failure, miscellaneous neuromuscular diseases, mitochondrial diseases, muscular dystrophy, neuroprotection, etc). Scientists treated a group with Creatine and the group showed higher overall IQ scores than the control group. The conclusion was that "supplementation with creatine significantly increased intelligence compared with placebo."(29) A later study found that creatine supplements improved cognitive ability in the elderly. Pregnancy and Breastfeeding Several recent studies have testing creatine supplementation in women of diverse fitness levels, and the conclusion was that creatine enhances exercise performance in women. But we need to emphasize that creatine cannot be recommended during pregnancy or breastfeeding due to a lack of scientific information. Is Loading Really Necessary? Creatine supplements are often consumed by athletes in amounts of up to 20-30 g/day for a few days or a week, followed by 1 to 10 g/day for weeks, months and even years. Studies have shown that after one moth on creatine there is no difference in physical performance, no matter if you took a loading phase or not. Therefore, a loading phase is not a must, but rather is completely up to a user. Of course, a loading phase will bring expected effects and benefits of creatine way faster, and that’s the only reason some people like it. Some users will go for a loading phase, and then simply stay on the maintenance for months, and some users will skip the loading and the wash-out phase, and just stay on 5-10gr of creatine on daily basis for as long as they like. No matter if users were on cycle, or loading-maintenance, or very same daily intake for longer period, the common thing for all of them using creatine is that the majority of consumers do not report any adverse effects, but lean body mass increases. For those of you thinking about a loading phase and cycling creatine; creatine supplementation is typically divided into three separate stages: loading, maintenance, and wash-out. LOADING: Typical doses of pure creatine monohydrate, during a loading phase, range from 5 to 25 grams per day for an average male. As a reference, go for up to 0.3 grams of creatine per kilogram (2.2 pounds) of body weight. Your body can absorb about 5-10 grams of creatine at one time, depending on your total amount of muscle mass; and half-life of Creatine is up to 3 hours, therefore, divide your creatine intake into equal parts and take one part every 3 - 4 hours. Normally it takes 5 – 10 days to saturated your muscular stores to their maximal capacity, so a loading phase shouldn’t last longer. After your muscles are saturated, any extra creatine you ingest will not have a dramatic effect or be absorbed by your muscles. It is not big surprise for Creatine users to gain up to 1-5kg of body weight during first 5-14 days of the supplementation. MAINTENANCE: During this phase you just need to replace the amount of creatine degraded on a daily basis. For most people about 5gr per day will be good enough. Maintenance should last about one month. WASH-OUT: The last phase supposes to use stored creatine in your muscles and give a brake of the supplement. This phase should last 2-4 weeks, and then you can go back on the cycle. Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) recommendation: Rapid Loading Protocol: -20 g daily, divided into 4 doses, for 5 days. -These doses should be taken with a meal or snack supplying a substantial amount of carbohydrate (50-100 g). -Weight gain of ~0.6-1.0 kg should be expected when using this protocol. -Maintenance dose: 3-5 g/day. Slow Loading Protocol: -3-5 g/day consumed with a substantial carbohydrate meal or snack. -Maintenance dose: 3-5 g/day. As a final word, Cratine is a rigorously tested supplement that has been proven again and again to help athletes improve muscle gain, power, and speed. Creatin works! Creatine is safe. Tips: - Probably the best choice is Micronized Creatine - Possibly the best way to take CM is with warm water - While taking creatine increase water intake. - You can take creatine with carbs + protein shake or meal - If you use creatin once per day, take it 30-60 minutes before your workout or immediately after your workout - On non-workout days take creatine at your convenience - Those users prone to CM problems reported way less or no bloat by using Cre – Alkalyn - Try creatine with Cranberry juice if you are prone to upset stomachs, it can help alleviate the upset. - If you don’t trust to simple sugar, just take creatine with whey protein or BCAA(they will spike insulin too). - Creatine is good for your muscle, for your heart, and for your brain. - It may help break plateaus, by providing more power and better recovery in very short time frame. References: - Spillane, M; Schoch, R; Cooke, M; Harvey, T; Greenwood, M; Kreider, R; Willoughby, DS. "The effects of creatine ethyl ester supplementation combined with heavy resistance training on body composition, muscle performance, and serum and muscle creatine levels". Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 6: 6. - Creatine: is it really safe for long-term use?. Pponline.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-08-16. - Creatine: Safety. MayoClinic.com. Retrieved 2010-08-16. - Poortmans JR, Francaux M (September 2000). "Adverse effects of creatine supplementation: fact or fiction?". Sports Medicine 30 (3): 155–70. - Francaux M, Poortmans JR (December 2006). "Side effects of creatine supplementation in athletes". International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance 1 (4): 311–23. - Bizzarini E, De Angelis L (December 2004). "Is the use of oral creatine supplementation safe?". The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness 44 (4): 411–6. - Bemben MG, Lamont HS (2005). "Creatine supplementation and exercise performance: recent findings". Sports Medicine 35 (2): 107–25. PMID 15707376. - Tarnopolsky M, Martin J (March 1999). "Creatine monohydrate increases strength in patients with neuromuscular disease". Neurology 52 (4): 854–7. PMID 10078740. - Rae C, Digney AL, McEwan SR, Bates TC (October 2003). "Oral creatine monohydrate supplementation improves brain performance: a double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over trial". Proceedings. Biological Sciences / the Royal Society 270 (1529): 2147–50. doi:10.1098/rspb.2003.2492. PMC 1691485. PMID 14561278. - McMorris T, Mielcarz G, Harris RC, Swain JP, Howard A (September 2007). "Creatine supplementation and cognitive performance in elderly individuals". Neuropsychology, Development, and Cognition. Section B, Aging, Neuropsychology and Cognition 14 (5): 517–28. doi:10.1080/13825580600788100. PMID 17828627. - Kreider, R.B.; Melton, C., Rasmussen, C.J., Greenwood, M., Lancaster, S., Cantler, E.C., Milnor, P. & Almada, A.L. (2004-11-01). "Long-term creatine supplementation does not significantly affect clinical markers of health in athletes". Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry (Springer Netherlands) 244 (1–2): 95–104. - Australian Institute of Sport: -Creatine

Disclaimer: ONnutrition.co.nz and Mark I. Goodman assume no liability for any injury, death, personal loss or illness caused by any information contained herein. All training information contained herein is provided for informational purposes and is not meant to substitute for the advice provided by your own physician, dietitian or other medical professional. Consult your physician with questions before starting this or any nutrition, exercise, diet or dietary supplement program.