Vitamin and mineral supplements can be a great boost to your wellness. This is especially the case when you’re exercising, as you have to take special care of your body to ensure you don’t do more damage than good to your wellbeing. One supplement that can give you the boost you need is creatine, but what exactly is it?
Your body naturally makes creatine, but this protein can also be found in meat and fish, and in supplement form, either alone or in meal replacement shakes and other supplements. It works as a backup generator for your body. According to Nikhil Rao, usually a chemical called adenosine triphosphate (ATP) helps your body to produce, store and use energy, ‘but there are times when your body can’t keep up with energy demand and it needs another source of phosphates. That’s where creatine comes in.’
Anita Bean adds, ‘Creatine supplements also help promote protein manufacture and reduce protein breakdown following intense exercise,’ and it’s ideal for brief periods of all-out effort with short recovery phases. Therefore, you’re likely to see the benefits if you train with weights or do sports that involve repeated high-intensity movements, such as sprinting, jumping or throwing. Body builders also use creatine because it draws water into muscle cells, which increased muscle hypertrophy by drawing water into muscle cells. However, Bean says, ‘There is less evidence to show that creatine supplementation is beneficial to endurance athletes.’
In terms of the amount to take, Rao says ‘An average person takes in 1g of creatine a day from food and produces another 1g from amino acids and ends up with creatine stores that are about 40% below his maximum. The best way to fill up seems to be with doses of around 3g a day. If you’re taking any more than 5g you’ll just excrete it.’
However, Rao warns that you should ‘avoid drinking creatine before you work out. It’s hygroscopic, which basically means it acts like a sponge – it can draw water into your gastrointestinal tract and bloodstream from surrounding tissues or muscles. That’s what can give you a bloated feeling or give you muscle cramps. The ideal time to take creatine is immediately after your workout.’
He adds, ‘Most of us, myself included, drink our creatine with some of the powder still visibly floating around. At this point, it hasn’t fully dissolved. That means it’s going to suck water from the places where water is supposed to be. Mix it with enough water to saturate the “sponge”, and you’ll be fine.’
When it comes to side effects, the main one is weight gain, partly due to increased muscle tissue and partly the result of extra water in your muscle cells. There’s no clinical evidence of other effects, though Bean admits ‘There have been anecdotal reports about gastrointestinal discomfort, dehydration, muscle injury and kidney damage.’
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