The Wonders of Creatine. If You Aren't Taking It, Read This!
So what is creatine monohydrate? I first took creatine when I was in college (I think). I, like so many other college dudes, wanted to be jacked, ripsky, swole, hard, cut…well, you get the picture.
So at some point creatine came into my supplement stack. The most research I did back then was peruse the pages of Men’s Health or Flex. If the advertisement was good enough or there was a featured article including a testimonial of Gregg Avedon, the chances of me trying the product was pretty high.
So as you can see there really was no research at all. Somewhere along the way creatine got pushed aside for who knows what. I didn’t take it for years. Things are different now. I do real research and a lot of it. I have no desire to be ‘swole.’ I just want to be healthy. I want to live as long and healthy as possible.
I saw on a post from Ben Greenfield that creatine had been linked to success in longevity. My ears or eyes or whatever perked up, and I began researching my old college supplement. After all, Ben has gained my trust. If Ben says it’s good, it must be good.
I then saw another post from Ben in which he said of all the supplements he recommends creatine is the number one universally recommended supplement he tells folks to add to their mix. Ok. That did it for me. Full disclaimer, Ben Greenfield is the Founder of Kion. Kion is a supplement company. Kion sells creatine. It’s the one I consume. However, Kion only sells what Ben takes. Ben even gives input on the ingredients of the supplements.
Further disclaimer, I am not an affiliate of Kion. I use their creatine powder, but I don’t receive any compensation from them so this is not a sneaky advertisement for Kion creatine. If Kion puts it out, I know it’s a quality product.
Ok, so let’s dive in. First, I want to explain something about supplements. To really benefit from them you have to understand a supplement doesn’t work alone. It either spurns on other cellular activity or slows cellular activity. Supplements do just what their name suggests, they supplement other work happening in the body. Generally they enhance something the body already produces but isn’t producing quite as much as we would like. It might help us overcome a deficiency in production such as testosterone. It’s like adding a turbocharger to an already functioning car or making jet fuel, well jet fuel. Same stuff, different configuration for higher octane.
I like to think of supplements as dominos. You’ve probably seen how people will line up a bunch of dominos and then finally watch as they all tip over. Along the way they launch little triggers. Maybe it’s a mouse trap that causes a ball to pop up into a funnel that then hits another domino and so on. The key is all the triggers keep the dominos moving until the very end where there’s a big finale. Maybe a balloon pops or something. I don’t know.
This is how supplements and training work. We are lining up dominos so that the triggers work and the chain reaction continues. Such is the case with a supplement like creatine. You don’t take creatine and it then makes your muscles produce more muscle or causes you to gain bone density. What it does is cause a molecular reaction in your body. Imagine creatine a la Jerry McGuire saying, “Help me help you!”
Ok creatine. Help me. What do you want to help me with Jerry McCreatine? It wants to help you produce more ATP. So let’s talk about the domino that is ATP.
First, a really quick explanation of what Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) is. I don’t want to get too in the weeds here. There is much more to be said about this, but for the sake of your brain, my brain and this article let’s keep this high level. ATP is an energy transfer shuttle in the body. It does not store energy, it simply moves energy to where it’s needed. Think of a train with carloads of coal. The ATP is the train carrying the energy along the railroad inside your body.
Here’s how the process works.
Domino 1 is taking the creatine > Domino 2 is digesting the creatine where it is then transferred to the mitochondria and turned into phosphocreatine > Domino 3 is this stimulates the production of healthy ATP which in turn knocks over Domino 4 which is Adenosine Diphosphate (ADP) which causes muscles to contract. Contraction means growth. The more energetic the contraction and quicker recovery from each one the more muscle that gets built. I hope that makes sense.
I went into that so you would understand what is happening. Creatine isn’t like protein. It is an enhancer of energy that allows for the body to make more lean body mass. So why is that important? Well, lean body mass has been linked to longevity. The more muscle you have in old age the healthier you are. It’s not just because of the muscle. Again, no one thing in isolation is a panacea. They are all pieces of a big puzzle. More lean mass means less fat, better mitochondrial health, more energy, more bone density and on and on.
So the big win for creatine is it helps stimulate the energy necessary for muscular growth. This is why so many athletes have been taking it for years. It also helps with recovery. Your body has stores of creatine from the consumption of animal proteins, but often not enough to give you the benefits supplementation can.
What if I’m vegan? Oh, then you really need some creatine. The primary source for creatine is animal protein. If you are not eating fish and meat you aren’t getting creatine, and you are doing yourself a great disservice.
How often should I take creatine? That depends. If you have never taken it before, you will want to do a ‘loading phase.’ This is a time when you introduce it to your body making sure you get enough to have an impact.
Once you’ve loaded, about 5 grams per day is enough. If you’ve already been taking it for years, a dose of 5 grams per day is the recommended dosage.
Loading phase 20-25 grams per day 5-7 days
5g/day for maintenance
Take a couple weeks off and repeat
Will it make me fat if I don’t lift weights? No. Creatine contributes nothing to fat storage. However, taking it without training, especially resistance training or fast twitch training like sprinting, is not going to yield the best results.
When should I take it? Again, that depends. Most of the research has shown it’s best taken post-workout. However, if you are someone who has been taking it for years it really doesn’t seem to matter when you take it according to Dr. Jose Antonio, Ph.D. and soon to be a guest on The Jason Wright Show. Here’s what Dr. Antonio has to say about creatine.
What is the downside? Good question. I like your style. So, there really isn’t a lot of downside to creatine. However, it has been shown to put stress on the kidneys and liver. This all depends on your body makeup and how you metabolize certain foods. If your kidney and liver are already healthy, they should be able to handle creatine just fine. Remember, if you’re a meat eater your body is already producing creatine.
Here’s another benefit. Creatine is good for your brain. Here’s how it works for cognitive health.
Creatine (molecularly categorized as “α-methyl guanidine-acetic acid) is simply a peptide, which is a compound consisting of two or more amino acids linked in a chain—in this case, L-arginine, glycine, and methionine. Creatine is naturally produced in your body in small amounts. Your kidneys use glycine and arginine to create guanidine-acetic acid (GAA) which is then transported via your bloodstream to your liver where it is then converted into creatine. From there, the creatine is once again carried around by your bloodstream, primarily to skeletal muscle, but also to several other target tissues such as your brain. A stronger brain is a smarter, better functioning brain, no?
One study found that with elderly people, a dose of 5g of creatine 4x/day was shown to aid in cognitive performance, specifically random number generation, forward number recall, spatial recall, and long-term memory tasks after just two weeks of supplementation. It was also found that patients with Alzheimer’s had lower amounts of creatine present.
Other benefits include
Testosterone production
Strength and power
Muscle repair
Age related muscle loss
Heart health
Bone health
It really is the utility player of supplements. If you are looking to add one thing to your protein shake, morning smoothie or just your overall supplement protocol and aren’t taking creatine I highly recommend you explore doing so.
It is the most researched supplement on the market. That means we know just about all there is to know. So what do we know? It’s very beneficial to your health.