Creatine Monohydrate

When you exercise you obviously burn energy. There are many things involved in this process. The energy that you burn is called Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP). This molecule has very high-energy bonds between the phosphates and the rest of the molecule. Your body breaks these bonds releasing the energy for use and changing the molecule to ADP (di-phosphate). Since the body has a relatively low supply of ATP, it needs to convert the ADP back into ATP. Creatine helps to speed this process along. Creatine is made up of three amino acids, Glycine, Arginine, and Methionine, and is synthesized in the liver and kidneys naturally. In the diet it is found in milk, steak, and some fish. Five grams of creatine are found in 2.2 pounds of red meat. Although scientists have known about it for about 160 years, studies on it have have just started to be done.

After the publication of test results in 1990, the area of creatine supplementation has exploded. Now almost everyone knows what it is and someone who is using it. As was stated earlier, creatine helps speed up the process of converting ADP back into ATP. So it is logical that if you increase the amount of creatine you should increase the conversion rate. The daily requirement of creatine is about two grams. Most of the creatine supplement products recommend taking ten times that amount for the first week or so to saturate your muscles and five grams a day to maintain it. In most published studies the logic is correct; if you increase dietary creatine you increase stored creatine.

However, studies have shown the typical loading phase is unnecessary. The study demonstrated that merely ingesting creatine at the same continuous supposed maintenance phase allowed for the same amount of intramuscular creatine storage. Meaning that it is possible that taking the excess dosages initially are unnecessary. Of course that information is left out all too often by the marketers of creatine for two reasons. First, by taking that loading dose initially, you ensure you have absorbed as much creatine in your system as is possible thus aiding in better results, and second, to keep the amount needed higher thereby increasing the amount needed in turn increasing amount sold.

With the increase of stored creatine there should be an increase in conversion time. In most of the studies, this is true. There is also a relationship between the amount of hydration in a muscle cell and the amount of work it can do. Creatine makes the cell retain water and therefore should increase the amount of work individual cells can do. But this is not all that it does. In many studies, along with increased recovery time, creatine showed to increase muscle mass, explosive power and strength. In one study groups of athletes put on five to seven pounds of lean muscle mass in a month. These results were far better than athletes receiving a placebo in the same study were. Some critics state that the increase in muscle mass is mostly water, but there are studies that say there is an increase in the size of Type II muscle fibers. With the increase in mass there should be an increase in power. In the same study the athletes saw a thirty percent increase in bench-press. With an increase in strength and recovery time there is an increase in overall explosive power.

Although creatine supplementation has shown results in particular areas, it doesn't help everyone. Athletes that perform short burst sprints with little recovery time will benefit from creatine-basketball and football players in particular. But if you are an endurance athlete such as a marathoner or a long distance swimmer there are studies that show that creatine supplementation may slow you down. Some think it is from the weight gained. There are also people who are immune to its effects. They are officially called "nonresponders". These people are studied little and it is not known why they are immune or who these people are. There have been many studies showing creatine to be ineffective in thirty percent of the population. Many times, the amount of naturally occurring creatine phosphate in an athlete’s body is all that the body can handle. The rest if excreted through the urine in the form of creatinine. It is harmless mostly unless an extreme overdose has occurred. People often have intestinal distress as a result of creatine usage. Also, upon cessation of using creatine monohydrate, many people exhibit signs of severe diarrhea due to the loss of typically 5 pounds of water from the body.

Since studies on creatine loading have only been going on for less than a decade, it is still unknown what long term effects the extra creatine will have. Some researchers fear that, with the amount of extra creatine contrived through the diet, the body might stop producing it. The only way we will find out the negative effects of long term use is time. The sales of creatine supplements are very strong, so a lot of people are using it. After a decade goes by we might find out the hard way that it is dangerous. The good money says that creatine is not dangerous to the vast majority of people, but that it is not the supplemental key to athletic success. The bottom line is this: If you have the money and means, taking creatine is not a bad idea. It is not the next coming of anabolic steroids by any means, and it is not going to make or break your training. The worse thing that can happen is that you prove to yourself it does not work for you. More than likely, the amount of success reported from athletes is due to a psychological effect. In other words, you think you should be doing better, i.e., you do better. It may have a placebo effect on many people.

A great resource for anything in Exercise Physiology is the American Society of Exercise Physiologists. They do have an exceptional article on creatine which can further your understanding with some real studies and results you can use.