ATP is known as the currency of the body, it is the energy that is needed for movement and key metabolic processes. ATP degrades to ADP when used, if there is need for more energy quickly, phosphocreatine can give up a phosphate group that converts ADP back into readily available ATP. This reaction is catalyzed an enzyme called creatine kinase (Arkel, et al., 2018) Phosphocreatine can help create more ATP quickly and therefore used in supplements to help exercise performance and muscle growth. In a study done by Volek, they showed that creatine supplementation has a significant difference when it came to fat-free mass gained, physical performance and muscle morphology in response to resistance training. The control group was given a placebo pill while the other group was given creatine. The subjects performed heavy resistance training for 12 weeks. After the 12 weeks, the results showed the group that was given creatine had an increase in Type I and Type II muscle by 20% more than the placebo group. Also, results showed the average weight lifted was significantly higher by those who took creatine supplementation. Along with these significant results, there were no negative side effects to supplementation (Volek, et al., 1999).
Creatine supplementation seems to have a variety of beneficial aspects ranging from increased muscle mass, exercise performance and strength. Some people think there are possible negative effects of creatine, but a review of experimental evidence by Francaux, showed no negative side effects. In the paper they mentioned there was a slight increase in levels of methylamine and formaldehyde (mutagenic agents) in urine but they were still within normal ranges (Francaux & Poortmans, 2006). This may be one of the few news stories that line up with scientific literature, that creatine supplementation has benefits for athletes and weight lifters. Future research needs to be conducted to ensure that this supplementation has no negative long-term side effects. With all that said, supplements in generally are not the healthiest because the FDA does not regulate them, supplements can contain other ingredients than are listed.
Francaux, M., & Poortmans, J. R. (2006). Side effects of creatine supplementation in athletes. International Journal Of Sports Physiology And Performance, 1(4), 311–323. Retrieved from http://dml.regis.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=cmedm&AN=19124889&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Mawer, R. (2018). Creatine 101 - What Is It and What Does It Do? Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/what-is-creatine
Volek, J. S., Duncan, N. D., Mazzetti, S. A., Staron, R. S., Putukian, M., Gomez, A. L., Kraemer, W. J. (1999). Performance and muscle fiber adaptations to creatine supplementation and heavy resistance training. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 31(8), 1147-1156. doi:10.1097/00005768-199908000-00011
Okay. Besides from laughing at this title, I tried long and relatively hard to find recent studies to counter this enthusiastic association between creatine and GAINS and came up empty handed.
ReplyDeleteMy gut reaction to this post was horror because I remember in high school, my tennis coach lamented very passionately against the use and effectiveness of creatine. One girl on our team was using creatine supplements and my coach basically made her out to a fool hoodwinked by GNC. I think I remember him also telling us her kidneys would fail. Looking into the literature, I found The Lancet article that first made claims about renal dysfunction, but since then these claims have been diminished. I see your enthusiasm Andrew for creatine, but a part of me still needs some convincing of its long term safety and dosage effects. I want the gains but I also don't want to set myself up cancer or whatever.
Pritchard N, Kalra P (1998) Renal dysfunction accompanying oral creatine supplementations. Lancet 351:1252–1253