If you are someone who has been in gyms or around gym buffs long enough, chances are that you will likely have heard the word "creatine" mentioned a few times. This is to be expected because it is one of the most common supplements among gym and fitness enthusiasts.
Just in case you are wondering what it is or you just want to know more about it, you're in luck. In this article, we shall be discussing this topic, explaining what it is, what it does and whether or not it is safe.
What is Creatine?
Creatine is a naturally occurring compound in the body. That is, it is produced by the body in your pancreas, liver and kidneys. This compound is mainly methionine, glycine and arginine. Aside from the ones produced by the body, we get additional supply from foods like fish and red meat. In fact, this supply accounts for about 50% of the creatine in the body.
Most of this compound is stored in the muscles where it combines with phosphate to become phosphocreatine, a compound that the body relies on heavily during short, high-energy activities. Aside from the creatine stored in the muscles, smaller amounts are stored in the brain as well as other parts of the body.
You can begin to see why it is popular in the gyms. You can visit Creatine Wiki for more information on it. Let’s go ahead to look at how it works.
How Does it Work?
Creatine provides your muscles with a jolt of energy that helps them sustain high-energy performances for longer than they would have been able to. Let's explain how it does this.
Your muscles require energy to perform these high-intensity activities. So it relies on the adenosine triphosphate or ATP, stored in it (the muscles) for these activities. Unfortunately, the muscles only store small amounts of this compound so they are quickly depleted, leaving the muscles with no energy to continue performing at high levels.
Where creatine is sufficiently available, there will be a good amount of phosphocreatine stored in the muscles. With the depletion of ATP, phosphate is immediately made available from the available phosphocreatine in the muscles to quickly produce more ATP. This happens quickly, making more ATP available so the muscles can continue performing at high levels for a bit longer.
With this quick supply, athletes, body-builders, and anyone engaged in other high-performance activities can go at it for longer. They will also experience quicker recovery times.
General Benefits of Creatine
More than just being a compound that meets the urgent energy needs of the muscles, creatine has other benefits. Some of these include the following:
1. Muscle Growth
This benefit can be regarded as an outcome of the benefit already discussed above. Because it enables the muscles to work harder for longer, the growth of the muscles becomes inevitable. This is another reason why body builders and other folks who engage in strenuous physical activities love it.
2. Muscle Recovery
Still staying on its benefits with regards to the muscles, every time you work the muscles out intensely, there are microtears that can lead to inflammation, delaying recovery. Some studies are beginning to show that creatine may actually be able to reduce inflammation and damage done to the muscles during the intense workout. This makes it easier for the muscles to recover quickly and be ready for another session of high-energy activities.
3. Brain Function
Remember that we stated above that creatine is also stored in the brain. Well, emerging studies are showing that, the same way it makes instant energy available to the muscles during high-energy demanding activities, it may also be doing the same for the brain.
This means that it releases energy to the brain when it is engaged in a demanding mental task. The same will also apply in cases where the brain's energy supply is depleted. An example will be during cases of sleep deprivation.
4. Managing Neurological Conditions
Though studies on this are still at the early stages, there are positive indications that creatine may be useful in the management of neurological conditions such as Huntington’s and Parkinson’s diseases. Further studies will however be required to confirm these.
Is Creatine Safe?
This is a valid question because when most people hear that body builders use a particular product – steroids immediately come to mind. This compound has undergone intense study over the years and it has been proven to be safe.
There are some fears that it may cause kidney damage or dehydration but this is unproven. Folks with healthy, well-functioning kidneys have no reason to fear. Once taken in recommended doses, creatine is safe.
There may however be a few mild side effects like:
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Some stomach discomfort which is often a result of taking more than the recommended dose at once
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Water retention in the muscles leading to weight gain.
Conclusion
Creatine has gained wide popularity among people engaged in high-energy activities and for good reason too. We’ve briefly explained some of these reasons so you can have a better understanding of why these folks rely on it. If you also engage in activities that place a lot of demand on your muscles, you may want to consider adding it to your supplements.
Be sure to talk to a health professional if you have any health issues. You should also stick with recommended doses to avoid any side effects.
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