Creatine: pros and cons

What is creatine

Creatine is a molecule that is present in our body in a natural way. It is synthesized from various amino acids, which are components of proteins, so creatine has protein origin. We also obtain creatine from foods of animal origin, mainly meat and fish.
Creatine has a structural function (part of the musculo-skeletal system), and is also used as an energy source. Most of the creatine we possess is deposited in muscles, it is there where it will perform some of their more interesting features. The body is capable of synthesizing part of total creatine we need for our daily lives, about half of the requirements. The rest of the required amount take it through feeding, provided we keep a complete and balanced diet.
However, creatine is also used as a nutritional supplement or ergogenic aid. In addition, its use has become widespread in recent years since it is not considered a doping substance. Ergogenic AIDS are substances, products, situations, or even tools, which are used to improve the capacity or performance of the sporty person. This capability can be provided in muscular strength, power, resistance to exhaustion, resilience after the exercise, or an overall improvement in the quality of the physical and sports performance .

Effects of creatine

There are multiple and varied types of aid ergogenic, and not always are proven beneficial effects. In the case of creatine, we find ourselves faced a substance type nutritional ergogenic, it provides an improvement in athletic performance proven in certain situations, as we will see later, but still with many outstanding perform studies and, especially, slope rating the absence of side effects in the long run.
There is some controversy about the actual beneficial effect that creatine has on sports performance. Muscles obtain the energy they need to make their contractions and cause movement through a molecule called ATP (adenosine triphosphate). The ATP is known as the quintessential energy currency, since your metabolism is virtually the only way - or the most physiological and usual - which exists to get energy in the cells. Through the presence of creatine, this process is facilitated rather because it helps in the synthesis of ATP by the cell. More clearly, we can say that creatine causes an improvement in the production of the energy molecule ATP. Hence a better mobility of muscle and an increase of its tone and its strengthis derived, in addition that extends the time before this occurs fatigue, so improve muscular performance.
In addition, creatine produces an increase in muscle mass own, due to their structural role, so fibers of shrinking capacity will be greater as these are older and more developed. But on this issue there is also a conflict, since it seems that part of this increase in muscle is not such, but that would be an increase in the deposit of water retained by the muscle.

Tips for the use of creatine

To avoid the appearance of unwanted side effects in the use of creatine, it is important to have in mind the following Tips:

• Creatine should be reserved for use by professional or amateur athletes people who practice an intermediate or high level of training or competition. A person who makes a couple of hours of exercise per week, is not at all a successful candidate to take this help.
• Athletes take creatine always arising must have the support of a professional who can advise you about its use, consumption and limitations. Taking creatine is not equal in all athletes or in all situations. It is necessary to customize the treatment of supplementation.
• You must purchase products in approved establishments which ensure the purity and safety of creatine.
• Marketed supplements of creatine in the form of tablets, chewable or drinks. You must know the concentration of creatine-containing and the volume or number of units to be taken, not to exceed in its consumption.

Creatine or phosphocreatine (creatine with a molecule of phosphorus added) can be useful is certain sports. However, as we have advanced above, causes an increase in muscle mass, with the corresponding increase in total body weight, which makes to be not very suitable in sports where the minimum gram extra you can pay dearly: Marathon, speed racing and swimming. Nor is especially useful in a very long time sports such as hiking, mountaineering, hiking, etc.
The greatest benefits of creatine have been checked into sports, or phases thereof, consisting of brief and intense repetitions, for example a series of sprints in cycling, uprisings periodic dumbbells in fitness, spinning, tennis, football, basketball, handball, etc. These exercises have in common that, during a general activity, runs, hits (tennis) series, are produced releases (basketball, handball), where you can see a high performance.
We have an example to illustrate this difference before the crossing of skiing and alpine skiing. In the first, exercise is intense but durable and fairly steady, short strokes and sudden surges of activity. For this, say, skiing, taking creatine would not be effective. On the other hand, for Alpine skiing where the athlete has to perform turns dry and strong motion, reloaded the creatine reserves could do is to get an extra energy in those moments.

How and when to take creatine

How take creatine the most common is to carry out a period of overload of this substance, which is to fill the tanks of creatine muscle. It is usually done for between 2 and 5 days, not showing better results by increasing the number of days. At this stage they take about 20 grams of creatine per day. It is more advisable to split this consumption in four or five shots of 4-5 grams each. In this way, acceptance and use is much greater. This process of saturation of creatine works best if prior deposits are found with a low storage level. For this reason, people with low intake of food of animal origin and, therefore, low external creatine consumption, they respond better to this overload.
It is not appropriate or beneficial, rise above this figure consumption, excess creatine cannot be stored and removed mainly via the urine, with enough work for kidneys, responsible for debugging the leftover items.
After this period, begin the sessions of maintenance, where creatine intake drops much and stays low but steady; around 5 grams a day. The majority of experts advocate making breaks between different stages of maintenance, i.e., that they do not last for more than 2-3 months, then rest some months without supplementation.
In addressing the issue of when to take creatine, there are several theories and systems. The most repeated is that points to take part of the daily dose prior to sporting activity, and rest during and after the effort, to recovery mode. In one way or another, it is advisable to always take the supplement with water, since, as we have seen, the creatine produced a drag of water back to its correct maintenance.
Some precautions that must be when taking creatine are:

• Always check the tolerance to the product before using it in a test or official competition, and be attentive to the assimilation of the same and possible undesirable effects.
• Monitor hydration, both for the sport itself, which already causes losses, increasing chances of dehydration being used the water in the maintenance of creatine, rather than on the replacement of lost fluids.
• Never exceed the recommended daily amount. Not by taking more supplement the performance will be better, and Yes we can instead expose ourselves to any unwanted disorder.
• Rating the real product utility. Many times fashion, routine or the pressure of the atmosphere, pushed to perform actions not appropriate or unnecessary. It is good to know that through a proper diet well directed to fitness level to increase energy reserves, and an effective workout, you can get spectacular results at a much reduced price.

Controversy about the use of creatine

Practically nothing - or very little - is proven about the use of creatine, nor shown to 100 percent through valid and serious studies: neither good, nor bad.
Regarding the positive aspects attributed to him, can be highlighted the improvement in muscle performance of the athlete, less fatigue and, therefore, better recovery.
On the negative aspects, should appoint cases of muscle cramps or gastrointestinal problems (diarrhea, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, etc.) that it seems that creatine has provoked in some users.
Regarding long-term side effects, been possible relationship, unconfirmed, supplementation of creatine with an increased incidence of kidney failure. This problem would be to wear that would suffer the kidneys because of the extra work involved in having to solubilize the excess creatine so that it is eliminated through the urine. While there is no weight works that support this thesis, it is also true that taking creatine as Supplement sports has done less than 30 years, so there is no sufficient data of its possible long-term effects. However, in the case of people with previous kidney problems, the use of creatine supplements are clearly contraindicated.
Also pending to verify much of the muscle increase caused by extra creatine consumption is due to the actual increase in the muscle fibers, and which part is derived from the water associated to that store of creatine.
As we can see, all that glitters is not Gold , and even if creatine is advertised in some sectors as the panacea of muscular performance, there is still ground for research. More prudent is reporting is always personalized targets professionals who are not an interested party in the matter; follow the recommendations of use strictly, and take creatine only when you can get some benefit, which is not at all persons, situations, or sports activities.

Article contributed for educational purposes