There have been a plethora of misunderstandings surrounding creatine and creatine supplementation in the fitness and medical industries over the years.. in this blog we'll be covering what exactly creatine is and why it's not only been ruled safe but recommended for daily supplementation.
What is Creatine?
Creatine is an amino acid that is naturally occuring in our body and appears in the proteins that we consume, noteable in seafood and red meats. Creatine is responsible for something called Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) which is an organic chemical compound that allows the transfer of energy from one group of cells to another group of cells.
Real life example: Lets say you're training a specific body part such as chest. What happens then is that your chest signals to the rest of your body that you need energy from other parts of your body and the red blood cells in that area that you're training will increase. This is true for strength training, performance athletics, sprinters, etc. Whatever muscles or cluster of cells that you're using for your particular activity, creatine will help increase ATP delivery to that area, thus improving your performance.
Does Creatine Make You Bigger?
When you're talking about strength training, creatine does not directly make you bigger but when you're supplementing creatine, it allows your muscles to have room for new muscles to grow. It causes you to push past your limits more effectively, in turn making you stronger. It also causes muscle cells to be temporarily engorged with extra water for storing and facilitating the production and use of ATP. This causes the muscles to look and feel a little larger, but also significantly improves training volume and capacity.
Is Creatine bad for you?
It is believed by some that creatine is bad for you but your body naturally produces roughly 1 gram of creatine a day through the liver, pancreas and kidney. There have been a number of rumors that have circulated the medical literature fields, but at this point the evidence is somewhat overwhelming that creatine Monohydrate supplementation has a marked positive impact on overall health, athletic advantages aside. The only time you shouldn't take creatine is if you have kidney issues.
How To Use Creatine
The clinical dose of creatine is 5mg a day. Exceeding that amount daily may cause bloating. Because creatine assists the body with energy production, absorption and distribution best pre gym results can be achieved by consuming creatine with a high glucose content juice such as grape juice or apple juice, upon rising or 1- 2 hours prior to training, followed by drinking water at least equivalent to the volume of juice used DURING training or over the course of the next few hours. You can take creatine any time of the day as daily supplementation.
What Kind of Creatine Should I Take?
We recommend getting Micronized Monohydrate Creatine. It's the most water soluble, which means that it will have the most exposed surface area, which gives it the fastest absorption rate. It's also the most effective, most thoroughly studied and tested type of creatine on the market and conveniently it's also the cheapest of the creatine supplements on the market. There just really isn't a measurable benefit that beats monohydrate's cost-to-value ratio which is ultimately a pretty solid win for the consumer who is taking an interest in their health.
