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Creatine Powder: Side Effects

Fri, 19 Nov 2010 00:44:26 +0000

The Basics of Creatine

Wed, 17 Nov 2010 08:11:05 +0000

Creatine Tablets

Fri, 05 Nov 2010 00:43:27 +0000

Creatine is an amino acid, which is produced naturally, in the human body. The main function of this amino acid is to help in the production of energy in the body, in the form of Adenosine Tri Phosphate (commonly known as ATP). The liver makes this amino acid from three different amino acids: glycine, methionine and arginine. The main function of Creatine is to improve the muscle performance of the body. Creatine needs insulin to enter the muscles, and hence the consumption of insulin-rich carbohydrates along with creatine helps more creatine to enter the muscles and improves the muscle performance even more. People often get confused between creatine and creatine.Both of them are different: creatine is used by the muscles and converted to creatine, which is then excreted along with urine. The rich sources of this amino acid include red meat and fish. It is also available in the market in form of creatine tablets and creatine suppliments.The main users of creatine are athletes and body-builders. This is because creatine is found to have increased ATP production in a person’s body, when the person is under-going stressful short duration activities, like sprinting, rugby and lifting heavy weights. Another reason why it is popular among people connected with sports is that creatine has been found to reduce the production of lactic acid in muscles. Lactic acid is the primary reason of muscle fatigue, and creatine thus helps to reduce muscle fatigue. Many of the world’s sports organizations like FIFA, ICC etc. have not banned the use of creatine by the sportspersons. However, the ethical side of use of a performance-enhancing substance such as creatine is still under debate, and many feel it is wrong to allow its usage.The muscle mass of the body has also been found to be influenced by creatine. It helps in increasing the muscle mass. The theory behind this is that creatine attracts water to the cells of the muscles and increasing the volume of the cells. The increase in the cell volume acts as an anabolic signal and reduces protein breakdown in the body.The reduced breakdown ensures higher protein usage by the body, and hence high muscle growth and efficiency.

The Pros and Cons of Creatinethe best creatinegood creatineThe very best creatine

Sat, 30 Oct 2010 08:11:29 +0000

This question has been asked numerous times by everyone in the sport of weightlifting looking to take supplements. Creatine is most often at the top of the list. But what kind of brand should you take? There are a lot of options available to you. Howcan you know know what the best creatine is and on what you should spend your hard-earned income?There are lots of supplement companies in the industry today that are trying to sell their products to anyone that will purchase them. With so many kinds ready to you it is nesecary for you to research what form of the supplement is the best is helping you achieve your goals. Here are some guidelines to help you:This is one of the most studied forms of creatine on the market today and its effectiveness has lasted the test of time.To grasp what is the proper supplement you must understand what it is intended to do. The supplement works correctly when it can keep its stable form. When this amino acid becomes unstable it will start to break down into by products that are expelled by the body. So the speedier this supplement breaks down the less effective it is in giving muscular energy.So how fast will creatine monohydrate (CM) breakdown in the body? In one study by Tallon et al, it was found that CM was stable in stomach acid and the creation of creatinine (waste product) was less than 1% of the initial dose. The same study revealed that Kre-Alkalyn (another form of creatine) converted to creatinine 35% more than CM, suggesting that KA is extremely unstable in stomach acid. This is only one scientific study that lends support in the use of CM. To gain maximum effects from the use of this supplement, based on the scientific research, it is best to stay with the monohydrate form of creatine.Plus it has been proven in research for over 15 years. Another second of creatine is that you can instantly increase your muscle size. creatine will pull water in your muscles and make you look bigger. Yet another benefit of this is that there is zero kidney damage. Early ideas stated that creatine damaged the kidneys and caused kidney damage and dehydration. Well science has proven that creatine does neither. If you are taking creatine then you should make sure that you drink at least a gallon of water a day. Most people have issues with creatine because they take it then work outside in hot temperatures and don’t drink enough water. Your body is pulling water to your muscles and if you aren’t drinking pleanty of water then the creatine will dehydrate you.allen ross writes on a number of topics online including the best creatine

Importance of Creatin

Fri, 29 Oct 2010 00:43:41 +0000

Creatine is naturally produced in the human body with the help of amino acids in the organs such as kidney and liver. It is transported in the blood for getting used by muscles. Basically 95 percent of creatin present in the human body’s skeletal muscle. And the rest is found in the brain and heart. Creatine is not an important nutrient as it is made in the human body from L-arginine, glycine, and L-methionine. In humans and animals almost half of the stored creatine produces from food especially from fresh meat. Those who are vegetarian will have less amount of creatine as vegetables do not produce creatin. But vegetarian people should not get worried they can compensate this loss by having creatin supplements purchased from local stores from the market. But few clinic shows some saftey tips regarding creatin such as mayo clinic and u.s national library of medicine. Reports reveals that creatin is associated with symptoms. So one should avoid the consumption of creatin if they have allergic prob lems. If in case creatin usage shows the allergy then the symptoms will be like having rashes, itching, and shortness ofbreath. Not too much study has been done on safety , pharmacology, and toxicology of creatin. Many athletes uses creatin and they should be followed under healthcare professional. So before using creatin one should discuss aboutthe pros and cons of creatin so that they might not come across bad side effects causing to health problems. Few people may come across symptoms such as gastrointestinal, loss of appetite, stomach discomfort, diarrhea and nausea . Creatin also leads to muscle cramps or breakdown and it happens due to muscle tears and discomfort. Creatin should be dealt tenderly has it is good as well as bad in both aspeccts. So one should use creatin carefully.

ATP Creatine Serum – Do You Know The Differences Between Creatine Serum And Creatine Powder?

Sun, 24 Oct 2010 08:10:51 +0000

ATP creatine serum is the liquid form of the popular supplement creatine. There has been alot of confusion among weightlifters and bodybuilders as to which form of creatine is better or more effective to help achieve your goals in the gym. Unfortunately there is no clear answer to this question. Which is better is an individual thing so you will hear and read conflicting stories all the time. This article will attempt to clarify the differences.Creatine serum is the liquid form of creatine monohydrate. This form of the supplement claims to have similar benefits as the powder form such as extra energy, improved ATP regeneration, increases in weight, size and strength. One of the downsides to liquid creatine is that research has shown higher levels of the waste product creatinine which is formed as creatine breaks down. Creatinine has no benefits to your muscles so the faster the creatine breaks down, the less effective it is. There are other controversial facts about atp creatine serum you should be aware of. Liquid creatine is not instantaneously absorbed into the muscles. You should still load with liquid creatine (just like you would powder) and you should still take it on nontraining days. Keep in mind that liquid creatine is not stable and can break down (some say more quickly) than the powder form. The claims that liquid creatine performs better than powder creatine have not been substantiated.As with any type of supplement that you are thinking of taking it is important that you research it from all aspects. Try to find scientific articles that have done controlled studies on the subject. Creatine is one of the most studied supplements on the market today. Talk to other bodybuilders and see what brands and types that they use. Find out what was most effective for them. Although everyone will respond differently when taking this supplement learning what others have done will give you some guidelines to follow to get started. When you begin taking atp creatine serum follow the manufacturers directions. After cycling through once or twice analyze the results that you got (or didn’t get). For the next cycle you can experiment with the dosage and see if it makes a difference.

How to take creatine: The top 6 ways to get the most out of your creatine

Fri, 22 Oct 2010 00:47:22 +0000

How you take your creatine can make a MASSIVE difference as to how it is absorbed. Take it right, and every speck of creatine will be absorbed straight into your muscles to give you more power, more energy and more endurance. Take creatine incorrectly, and it will simply lie on the bottom of your stomach with very poor absorption.

In fact, if you already see little result from taking creatine, or you simply want a better result, then sorting out how you take it could be the key you’ve been looking for!

1). Take it at the right time. It’s important to take creatine at least once a day either before or after your workout to replenish the creatine which has been used. The aim is to slowly build up the levels of creatine stored in your body, so there is more creatine to be used when you work out. This then provides the additional power, energy and strength.

2). Take creatine with some form of glucose sugar. Glucose creates an insulin spike which dramatically increases the absorption rate of creatine into the muscles. A large percentage of your creatine intake could simply pass right through your digestive system if you fail to take it with some sort of glucose – such as fruit juice.

3). Avoid certain fruit juices or anything which contains citric acid. Citric acid has been known to break down the creatine into an unusable by-product which will pass through your system and cannot be used by the muscles. Avoid orange juice, grapefruit juice and anything which contains citric acid at all costs!

4). Drink plenty of water. Creatine causes muscles to retain water. Whilst this plumps your muscles up and makes them look fuller, it also means that you need to in-take more water to avoid muscle cramps and further aid absorption.

5). Cycle! Avoid taking creatine for longer than 4-5 weeks in a row, as the body can become used to the increased levels, and the benefits can diminish. It’s important to take it for this period of time, and then have a break of 1-2 weeks.

6). Take the right type. Creatine monohydrate was the original and most popular creatine, but now, many more have been designed which provide additional benefits. For example, creatine ethyl ester provides far faster absorption, and creatine malate reduces the chances of bloating.

Wake up to spontaneous muscle size with best Creatine supplements

Fri, 15 Oct 2010 00:45:49 +0000

Want to maximize muscle mass? Hooking up with gym is not just enough; you need the best creatine supplements along with your diet. And if you are participating in activities like boxing strength training, the important of choosing the best creatine is even more. Athletes pursuing boxing strength training have some unique needs and requirements as opposed to others, and therefore making use of the right tools and products is of the utmost importance.

Over the years there have been many different supplement products thrown into the market with bogus advertisement to grab more and more customers. So, before choosing any supplements, you must do all the necessary research and don’t easily get blinded by all the marketing hype and catchy packaging of supplements products. And, if you don’t know what kind of creatine supplement you need and finding it very confusing which one to select, you need to have the very best information available so you can find the best creatine supplement for you needs.

In the market, you can find broad range of supplement products in various forms, at their core they all do the same thing, and that is to build and maximize your muscles size. Most creatine products available on the market blend various different forms together. Sometimes, it becomes very difficult to find just one type of creatine by itself. Some products will even add in different products like whey powder or caffeine. If you have no idea what to look for in a supplement products that suits your needs, then don’t end up buying the wrong supplement because you may not get the results you are looking for.

So, use the best creatine supplement available to increase muscle size, strength and desired body shape. Are you aware of the fact that properly taking creatine powder is one of the most effective ways to do gain muscle mass and strength. Among different creatine supplements, one of these is pure creatine monohydrate, which provides many benefits. In its most basic form creatine, creatine monohydrate is generally sold in powder for as a bulk type product. Creatine monohydrate powder is designed to increase energy levels in muscle cells so that they increase in both size and strength. While your diet can increase these levels, for some people diet alone is not enough to increase muscle mass as desired.

Besides that, it is important for you to make the best use of creatine by dosing an hour or so prior to a high intensity workout session. The reason for that is this supplement is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream and put right into muscle tissue. If you don’t utilize it, you lose it.

The Creatine GraveYard

Tue, 12 Oct 2010 08:10:59 +0000

Looks like another “high tech” form of creatine has got one foot planted firmly in the creatine grave yard. What is the creatine graveyard? It’s where forms of creatine – other then monohydrate – go when either science has shown them inferior to monohydrate, and or it’s life cycle of hype has come to and end.
I refer specifically to creatine ethyl ester (CEE). As with the many “high tech” forms of creatine before it, all manner of claims were/are made about how superior it is to creatine monohydrate (CM). It always starts the same. First the company will invent a long list of negatives about CM such as “poorly absorbed” or “causes bloat” or “is not stable” and then goes onto claim their form of creatine has solved all those invented negatives. The problem is, the data already shows CM does not suffer from virtually any of the negatives they invent, nor do they show their form “cures” those negatives. Sellers of CCE for example claimed CEE was better absorbed and utilized vs. CM, and that has been shown to be nonsense. There have been several in vitro (test tube) studies pointing to the fact CEE is inferior to CM, but a recent study done in humans puts a final nail in the coffin as far as I am concerned. This study is titled “The effects of creatine ethyl ester supplementation combined with heavy resistance training on body composition, muscle performance, and serum and muscle creatine levels” The full study is public access and can be read online.
Warning, the abstract is confusing and not well written. If you read the full paper, it’s clearer. If you don’t have the time or interest to read it, the take home is: although all subjects in this study (CEE vs. CM vs. Placebo) experienced approximately the same effects; they all had improvements in bodycomp and got stronger. Why? Because they used untrained subjects in the study. Thus, a drawback of this study was due to using untrained people, they couldn’t differentiate between PL, CEE, and CM in terms of effects on bodycomp and strength within that time period as newbies always make fast progress in the beginning. No news there.
However, the study did achieve the essential point, which is it clearly showed the claims of CEE false: CEE had much higher creatinine levels and lower muscle creatine levels compared to CM in this study, thus, yet again, the claims by sellers of CEE that it’s superior to CM and that CM is “poorly absorbed” or “causes bloat,” or my favorite “CM is not stable,” etc are false. They also looked at changes in water compartments (CEE actually had a trend toward greater extra cellular water then CM BTW, so there goes that stupid “no bloat” claim for CEE…) and other issues claimed to make CEE superior, and it failed.
CEE is less stable then CM, increases creatinine to a much greater extent then CM, and is inferior for increasing muscle creatine levels to CM. This study is not perfect by any means, but when combined with what else exists, and the counter studies sellers of CEE offer (which is to say zero), well you don’t have to be a scientist to see the writing on the wall there…
CEE will be added to the creatine graveyard with a ton of others all claiming to be superior to CM which all started with big claims and now sit in the grave yard.
Two essential points about the grave yard before we get to that:
(1) Because they are in the grave yard does not mean they are worthless. Some forms, such as magnesium creatine chelate for example looked promising, but a head to head study with CM found it no better. Remember, another form does not have to show it’s the equal of CM, it has to show it’s superior to CM per its claims. Forms such as creatine pyruvate and many others on the list may be just as effective as CM, but not superior, so it comes down to cost. Others on the list have in fact been proven inferior to CM in studies, such as serum creatine, various liquid creatine versions, and now CEE. Serum creatine was all the rage a few years ago, and studies found not only was it inferior to CM in every respect, it contained virtually no creatine! Of course, there were still those on the various forums using ‘bro logic’ with “bro, I don’t care what the studies say, it works like da bomb for me!” posts, but I digress….Finally, other forms on the list simply lack any data at all to compare to CM. The companies selling these forms will routinely make claims of superiority with nadda for hard data to support them. Therefore, it’s impossible to really separate fact from fiction (i.e., marketing hype) to recommend them.
Me, I will use what has literally hundreds of studies to support its efficacy and safety over a form with zero data to support it’s claims of superiority over CM. Thus, they get put into the grave yard. Future studies may get them out of the graveyard, but I aint holding my breath…
(2) CM is not perfect. It’s not very soluble, and in about 30% of users, does not appear to work at all. At higher doses, generally above 3g-5g or so in a single dose, can cause stomach upset for some, among other small, but significant drawbacks for some users. Therefore, I am in favor of continued research into improved delivery technologies, improved forms of creatine, and so on. I’m all for it, but as they say, don’t piss on me and tell me it’s raining. In God we trust, everyone else must show data. Hard data talks, BS walks.
I could randomly take two forms from the list below, say dicreatine malate and creatine ethyl carbonate ester and make dicreatine malate creatine ethyl carbonate*, but would it be superior to CM? Unknown as there would be no data. I could just invent a bunch of unproven claims like others do and sell the stuff… Do companies just invent a form of creatine for no other reason then it sound “high tech”? Hell, one company (BSN) is currently in court over one form they sell, called CEM3 or “Creatine Ethyl Ester Malate” which according to the charges “does not exist and is impossible to manufacture”! As I said, CM is not perfect and I am all for continued research into improved (vs. just different!) forms of creatine and or improved delivery technologies, but companies should do their due diligence on these products and stop with all the hype and CM bashing to sell unproven products.
So, without further delay, here is my current list for the creatine graveyard:
The Creatine Graveyard List:
Creatine ethyl ester (CEE)
creatine pyruvate
creatine taurinate
creatine ethyl ester malate
creatine ethyl carbonate ester
creatine gluconate
creatine malate
dicreatine malate
tricreatine malate
creatine citrate
tricreatine citrate
Kre-Alkalyn
creatine phosphate
creatine alpha-ketoglutarate
creatine-6,8-thioctic Acid-ketoisocaproic Acid Calcium (CREAKIC)
creatine pyroglutamate
“conjugated creatine” (Con-Cret)
magnesium creatine chelate
creatine anhydrous
dicreatine orotate
tricreatine orotate
creatine alpha-amino butyrate
creatine HMB
“titrated creatine”
“creatine serum”
“liquid creatine”
Also:
glycocyamine (precursor)
creatinol-o-phosphate (analog)

Creatine: It is more than a sports supplement

Fri, 08 Oct 2010 00:44:18 +0000

The article also covered exactly what creatine is, how it works and how much is required to possibly treat the aforementioned pathologies. If you missed that article, refer to the March 2003 issue of Life Extension magazine, or view it at www.lef.org. In this article, we examine some additional properties of creatine, such as its effects on growth hormone release, homocysteine and chronic fatigue syndrome (cfs), as well as other important issues surrounding this supplement, such as its safety.Although data is limited, some research suggests creatine can raise growth hormone equal to that of intense exercise. Growth hormone (GH) is known to play an essential role in the regulation of body fat levels, immunity, muscle mass, wound healing, bone mass and literally thousands of other functions both known and yet unknown. It is well established that GH levels steadily decline as we age and is partially responsible for the steady loss of muscle mass, loss of skin elasticity, immune dysfunction and many other physical changes that take place in the aging human body. Therefore, the possible effects of creatine on GH is worth exploring in aging populations.One study found creatine could mimic the increased GH levels seen after intense exercise. In this comparative cross-sectional study, researchers gave six healthy male subjects 20 grams of creatine in a single dose at resting (non-exercising) conditions. The study found that all subjects showed a “significant” increase of GH in the blood during the six-hour period after creatine ingestion. However, the study also found “a large interindividual variability in the GH response.” That is, there were wide differences among individuals in the levels of GH achieved from taking the creatine. For the majority of subjects the maximum GH concentration occurred between two and six hours after ingesting the creatine.The researchers concluded “In resting conditions and at high dosages creatine enhances GH secretion, mimicking the response of strong exercise which also stimulates GH secretion.” These researchers felt that the effects of creatine on GH could be viewed as one of creatine’s anabolic properties with the lean mass and strength increases observed after creatine supplementation. Although creatine supplementation has been found to increase lean muscle mass and strength in many studies, the effects of creatine on those tissues via GH enhancement has yet to be clarified.Creatine may reduce homocysteine levelsHomocysteine has been recognized as an important independent risk factor of heart disease, more so than cholesterol levels according to some studies. Creatine biosynthesis has been postulated as a major effector of homocysteine concentrations, and that oral creatine supplements may reduce levels of homocysteine. Many studies have found that methyl donors (such as trimethylglycine (TMG) reduce levels of homocysteine, which also reduces the risk of heart disease. Conversely, pathways that demand large amounts of methyl groups may hinder the body’s ability to reduce homocysteine levels. The methylation of guanidinoacetate to form creatine consumes more methyl groups than all other methylation reactions combined in the human body.Researchers have also postulated that increasing or decreasing methyl demands on the body may increase or decrease homocysteine levels. In one study researchers fed rats either guanidinoacetate- or creatine-supplemented diets for two weeks. According to the researchers “plasma homocysteine was significantly increased (~50%) in rats maintained on guanidinoacetate-supplemented diets, whereas rats maintained on creatine-supplemented diets exhibited a significantly lower (~25%) plasma homocysteine level.” These results suggest that homocysteine metabolism is sensitive to methylation demand imposed by physiological substrates such as creatine.Creatine and chronic fatigue / fibromyalgiaBecause of creatine’s apparent abilities to improve the symptoms of other pathologies involving a lack of high energy compounds (e.g., congestive heart failure, etc.) as well as the aforementioned afflictions outlined in the introduction to this article, it has been suggested that creatine may help with chronic fatigue syndrome (cfs) and fibromyalgia (some researchers now think that they are in fact the same syndrome). Although the causes of both pathologies is still being debated, a lack of high energy compounds (e.g. ATP) at the level of the mitochondria and general muscle weakness exists. For example, people with fibromyalgia have lower levels of creatine phosphate and ATP levels compared to controls. No direct studies exist at this time showing creatine supplementation improves the symptoms of either chronic fatigue or fibromyalgia. Although a study at Temple University confirms the link between creatine and metabolic energy.Considering, however, the other data that finds that creatine supplementation increases creatine and ATP levels consistently in other pathologies where low levels of creatine and ATP are found, it stands to reason that people suffering from either syndrome may want to try using creatine. Another similar syndrome to chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia, is Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Syndrome, which may also be potentially improved by the use of creatine supplements, though more research is clearly needed.Creatine safety issues: fact or fiction?After the first article in Life Extension magazine on the many potential medical and anti-aging uses of creatine, I received several letters and many e-mails that basically said “I would like to use creatine for the various reasons stated in the article, but I am worried about its safety.” This fear over the safety of creatine was usually generated from some hysterical news report or poorly researched article. It’s odd, but predictable that the media and conservative medical establishment have desperately tried to paint creatine as an inherently dangerous or “poorly researched” dietary supplement. The fact is, creatine may be the most extensively researched performance-enhancing supplement of all time, with a somewhat astounding safety record.True to form, the “don’t confuse us with the facts” media and anti-supplement conservative medical groups have had no problems ignoring the extensive safety data on creatine, or simply inventing safety worries where none exists. A perfect example of this was the news report that mentioned the deaths of three high school wrestlers who died after putting on rubber suits and riding a stationary bike in a sauna to lose weight.Amazingly, their deaths were linked to creatine by the media, rather than extreme dehydration! Even more amazingly, on further examination, it was found that two of the three wrestlers were not using creatine!Creatine has been blamed for all sorts of effects, from muscle cramps to dehydration, to increased injuries in athletes. However, these effects have been looked at extensively by researchers without a single study reporting side effects among several groups taking creatine for various medical reasons over five years.In some, but not all people, creatine can raise a metabolic byproduct of creatine metabolism known as creatinine. Some people-including some medical professionals who should know better-have mistakenly stated that elevated levels of creatinine could damage the kidneys. Elevated creatinine is often a blood indicator, not a cause, of kidney dysfunction.That’s a very important distinction, and several short- and long-term studies have found creatine supplements have no ill effects on the kidney function of healthy people. Though it makes sense that people with pre-existing kidney dysfunction should avoid creatine supplements, it is reassuring to know that creatine supplements were found to have no ill effects on the kidney function of animals with pre-existing kidney failure, showing just how non toxic creatine appears to be for the kidneys.The Bottom line is, creatine safety has been extensively researched and is far safer than most over-the-counter (OTC) products, including aspirin.ConclusionThough additional research is warranted regarding the pathologies outlined in this article, creatine has a substantial body of research showing it is an effective, safe and worthwhile supplement in a wide range of pathologies and may be the next big find in anti-aging nutrients. Although the dose used in the studies was quite high, recent studies suggest lower doses are just as effective for increasing the overall creatine phosphate pool in the body. The dose of 2 to 3 grams per day appears adequate for healthy people to increase their tissue levels of creatine phosphate.People with the pathologies mentioned in this article may benefit from higher intakes in the 5 to 10 gram per day range.