Creatine
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Creatine is a very misunderstood supplement due to it's association with bodybuilding and even rumours of it's potential dangers, although this is only an issue when creatine is misused or overdosed, which has been known to cause some nutrient imbalances and dehydration.
General Info
Creatine is a nonessential dietary component which when supplemented in the diet has shown physiological benefits in athletes, and more recently in patients with various muscle, neurological, and neuromuscular diseases, including heart disease, dementia, chronic fatigue, sarcophagi, cachexia and cancer.
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Creatine has been used as a supplement for muscle growth and is very popular in the field of sport nutrition. It often gets supplemented by body builders for increasing the appearance of muscle mass and for promoting recovery. 'Creatine exerts its influence by increasing muscle creatine and phosphocreatine concentrations, creating a higher rate of ATP resynthesis.' which results in a delay in the onset of muscle fatigue while also facilitating more rapid recovery during repeated rounds of high intensity exercise.
warnings
Creatine as 'Creatine MP' taken within the recommended dosage (usually 2 - 5 grams daily), has no known side effects, toxicity, or negative interactions.
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Generally speaking, creatine, as creatine monohydrate, has been blamed for all sorts of negative effects including but not limited to muscle cramps, dehydration, boldness, increased injuries in athletes, etc but these effects have been looked at by researchers without a single study (from the date of this article) reporting negative side effects among several groups that took creatine over a five year period for various medical reasons.
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Hair loss:
Many people ask about creatine supplementation causing hair loss but there is currently no proof of this.
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Weight Gain:
Weight gain is an almost universal observation in all studies but it is worth mentioning that this is 'water weight' and is in fact water retention, many body builders consider this to be a bonus (see below).
uses
Strength & Endurance:
Creatine supplementation is popular with those involved in strength training, with greater 'gains' seen during resistance training. Recently a number of studies have corroborated the benefits of creatine showing it enhances both strength and endurance in athletes (These studies focused on supplementation with creatine monohydrate.)
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Other recent studies have found that creatine supplementation improved both energy and muscle function in the older population. 'supplemental intake of creatine can effectively increase the available pool of creatine stored in muscles and can enhance the capacity of older subjects to produce phosphocreatine.' The phosphocreatine resynthesis rate of the older people was 'restored to that of youthful adults'.
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Muscle Mass/Bulk:
Creatine often increases water retention in muscle, it is therefore often used by body builders who want to make their muscles appear bigger (they often looked more pumped up and muscular when in reality the increase in muscle size is due to water retention in the muscle), 'It will take seven to 28 days to see energy effects depending on how much creatine you already have in your body.' Please note that while taking creatine you should avoid dehydration.
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Rehabilitation:
Creatine can significantly improve muscle during immobilisation and rehabilitative weight training.
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Chronic Heart Failure:
A study carried out in Italy noted a reduction in heart size, reduced vascular resistance, and increased ejection fraction (a test which measures percentage of blood leaving your heart each time in contracts) when physicians administered six grams of creatine daily for thirteen patients suffering with congestive heart failure.
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Parkinson's Disease:
Research is currently being carried out into the relevance of creatine for therapeutic approaches in Parkinson's disease and for the improvement of cell replacement strategies.
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Cancer:
Creatine supplementation has been shown to have promising results when treating various diseases therefore it has been studied in patients with colorectal cancer who were undergoing chemotherapy. This is still early stage research but 'results showed that creatine improved bioimpedance parameters that are predictive of a poor outcome.' It may therefore be a potentially useful supplement for patients undergoing milder chemotherapy.
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It is always worth mentioning that you should get the advice of your doctor before you consider taking supplements especially if your looking to improve health outcomes for any possible medical conditions you may have. The internet is rife with people trying to sell you miracle cures and quick fixes for serious conditions so please consult a Doctor before trusting a random person who is trying to sell you a supplement (even if their wearing a white coat.)
Preparations & dosage
The information on this website is intended for general information purposes and is for educational purposes only, and to inform the reader about traditional remedies and approaches in Herbal Medicine. Individuals should always see their health care provider before administering any suggestions made on this website as it is not a replacement for professional medical advice or treatment.
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If you are considering taking a creatine supplement then we recommend you choose 'Creatine Monohydrate' as this is the most studied.
Capsule:
Capsules include creatine powder that’s enclosed in an outer shell. This outer shell is broken down in the digestive tract.
Do not exceed the stated recommended daily dose given by manufacturer
Powder:
Supplement powders are often more popular as having a powdered form makes it easier to add to food and drink.
Do not exceed the stated recommended daily dose given by manufacturer
Therapeutic dosing range:
Creatine MP: 2 - 5 grams daily
