Creatine is without doubt one of the hottest sports activities dietary supplements in the marketplace.
It’s primarily used for its potential to extend muscle dimension, energy, and energy. It could additionally produce other well being advantages associated to getting old and mind operate.
Nonetheless, because the mantra goes, extra shouldn’t be essentially higher.
This text particulars creatine’s well being advantages, unwanted effects, and dosage data.
What’s creatine?
Creatine is of course produced by your physique in your kidneys, liver, and pancreas. It’s constructed from three amino acids — glycine, arginine, and methionine (1).
On common, you make 1–2 grams of creatine per day, which is saved primarily in your skeletal muscle tissue (1).
The compound can also be present in meals, predominantly animal merchandise like beef, hen, pork, and fish. A typical, omnivorous weight loss plan supplies 1–2 grams of creatine per day (1).
In comparison with individuals who embrace meat of their diets, vegetarians have decrease ranges of the compound saved of their skeletal muscle tissue (2, 3).
Other than being naturally discovered in lots of meals, creatine is out there in complement kind.
Though there are a number of types of these dietary supplements accessible, creatine monohydrate is essentially the most well-studied, efficient, and cheap kind (4, 5, 6, 7).
Advantages of creatine
Creatine is well known for its potential to reinforce athletic efficiency.
Nonetheless, analysis has not too long ago urged that the potential advantages of those dietary supplements could develop past athletic efficiency to encourage wholesome getting old and profit mind well being.
Athletic efficiency
Creatine replenishes your physique’s shops of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) — a molecule that shops power and fuels your cells — to offer power to your muscle tissue.
This enhance in accessible power has been proven to spice up muscle dimension, energy, and energy.
In reality, research have proven that creatine dietary supplements can enhance markers of athletic efficiency, together with muscle energy and energy, by 5–15% (8).
Wholesome getting old
Analysis means that taking creatine dietary supplements could assist preserve your muscle tissue and bones wholesome as you age.
One 10-week examine confirmed that males aged 59–77 who supplemented with 5 mg/pound (10 mg/kg) of creatine and 14 mg/pound (30 mg/kg) of protein considerably grew higher physique muscle mass and diminished bone breakdown, in comparison with those that took a placebo (9).
What’s extra, a overview of research in 405 older adults discovered better enhancements in muscle mass and energy in those that supplemented with 5–22 gram of creatine mixed with resistance coaching, in comparison with those that did resistance coaching alone (10).
Mind well being
Creatine dietary supplements have been proven to extend ranges of creatine within the mind by almost 10%, which can promote mind well being (11, 12).
It’s thought that taking these dietary supplements enhances mind operate by enhancing the power provide to the mind and offering mobile safety.
In a single examine, individuals who supplemented with 8 grams of creatine per day for 5 days diminished psychological fatigue throughout mathematical calculations, in comparison with these taking a placebo (13).
Equally, a overview of 6 research discovered that doses of 5–20 gram of the compound could enhance short-term reminiscence and intelligence in wholesome folks (14).
Dosing methods
Creatine powder is usually blended with water or juice and brought earlier than or after exercises.
You possibly can complement with creatine in one in all two methods.
Creatine loading
The usual method to take the complement is thru what’s often known as creatine loading.
Creatine loading entails taking 20–25 grams of creatine, cut up into 4–5 equal doses for five–7 days (15).
Following loading, 3–5 grams (14 mg/pound or 30 mg/kg) per day is important to take care of your muscle shops of creatine (16).
The aim of loading is to saturate your muscle cells with creatine faster so that you could expertise its advantages sooner. To expertise the consequences of creatine, your muscle tissue should be totally saturated with it, which generally takes 5–7 days of loading.
Upkeep dose
Skipping the loading section and taking the upkeep dose of three–5 grams each day is the opposite method to complement with creatine.
This technique is simply as efficient as creatine loading, nevertheless it takes for much longer — usually 28 days — to expertise the identical advantages (17, 18).
In comparison with the loading technique, taking the upkeep dose over an extended time could also be extra handy, because it entails simply 1 dose per day relatively than 4–5 each day doses.
Is creatine secure?
Creatine is a secure, well-studied complement.
Research in quite a lot of folks have proven no detrimental well being results of taking creatine dietary supplements in doses as much as 4–20 grams per day for 10 months to five years (19, 20, 21).
That mentioned, it’s generally thought that taking these dietary supplements could hurt kidney well being.
Nonetheless, in a examine in folks with kind 2 diabetes, a situation that will impair kidney operate, supplementing with 5 grams of creatine per day for 12 weeks didn’t hurt kidney well being (22).
Nonetheless, long-term research in folks with kidney illness are missing. Folks with impaired kidney operate or these taking drugs ought to verify with their healthcare supplier earlier than supplementing with creatine to make sure security.
Whereas creatine is taken into account a secure complement, take into account that it’s possible you’ll expertise unwanted effects associated to overconsumption.
Unintended effects of taking an excessive amount of creatine
Regardless of the robust security profile of creatine, taking bigger than really useful doses isn’t obligatory and should end in some minor unwanted effects.
Bloating
Creatine loading may end up in a major achieve in physique weight resulting from a rise in each muscle mass and water consumption into your muscle tissue. Whereas innocent, this enhance in physique weight could trigger bloating.
For instance, one examine discovered that taking creatine dietary supplements for 28 days, which additionally included a loading section, elevated the physique weights of contributors by 2.9 kilos (1.3 kg), on common. This weight achieve accounted for each muscle development and water retention (23).
Whereas not everybody experiences bloating when taking the dietary supplements, you might be able to scale back it by skipping the loading section and taking the upkeep dose of three–5 grams per day as a substitute.
Abdomen discomfort
Taking an excessive amount of creatine at one time may end up in abdomen discomfort.
For instance, in a single examine athletes who supplemented with 10 grams of creatine in a single serving skilled diarrhea, abdomen upset, and belching. Those that supplemented with a 2–5-gram single dose didn’t report the identical unwanted effects (24).
That mentioned, in the event you select to observe the loading protocol, you possibly can keep away from these unwanted effects by taking 20–25 grams of creatine cut up into 4–5 equal doses all through the day.
Taking an excessive amount of creatine is futile
Taking an excessive amount of creatine at one time may end up in abdomen discomfort and bloating, and it’s a waste of cash.
After your muscle tissue are totally saturated with creatine, it’s really useful to take 3–5 grams (14 mg/pound or 30 mg/kg) each day to take care of optimum muscle shops.
As a result of this quantity is sufficient to preserve your muscle shops of creatine saturated, taking greater than the really useful upkeep dose will trigger you to excrete the surplus creatine by way of your urine, as your physique can solely retailer a lot (7).
The underside line
Creatine is a well-liked sports activities complement that’s taken primarily for its potential to enhance athletic efficiency.
Research have additionally investigated creatine for different potential well being advantages associated to getting old and mind operate.
Whereas taking creatine dietary supplements poses little if any danger, taking an excessive amount of, particularly through the loading section, is pointless and should trigger unwanted effects like bloating and abdomen discomfort.
“how a lot creatine to soak up a day”