| Original Article: Creatine Wars 2007 |
Facts about Creatine
The first creatine was made in
USA in 1950 by Pfanstiehl
Laboratories.
By late 60's to early 70's many
of the Eastern bloc countries
were using creatine along with
dangerous anabolic steroids, in
order to build up the strength
and stamina of their athletes.
By 80's scientist had learned
that muscles could be "loaded
up" with creatine through the
use of supplementation and that
muscle stores could be
increased by as much as 30
percent.
In 1992, media found that
several Olympic medal winners
were supplementing with
creatine.
In 1993, finally creatine
supplement become available in
the American market and the
world.
The first creatine was made in
USA in 1950 by Pfanstiehl
Laboratories.
By late 60's to early 70's many
of the Eastern bloc countries
were using creatine along with
dangerous anabolic steroids, in
order to build up the strength
and stamina of their athletes.
By 80's scientist had learned
that muscles could be "loaded
up" with creatine through the
use of supplementation and that
muscle stores could be
increased by as much as 30
percent.
In 1992, media found that
several Olympic medal winners
were supplementing with
creatine.
In 1993, finally creatine
supplement become available in
the American market and the
world.
| History of creatine For ten thousands of years, human beings have evolved on a high meat diet containing creatine in grams quantities daily. One pound of beef or salmon contains two grams of creatine. Average person produced about 2 grams of creatine daily, in their liver, kidneys and pancreas. Cooking can tend to destroy the content of creatine in food significantly. Famous French bodybuilder in the 70's, Serge Nubret was known to consume several pounds of beef daily. At that time, he did not know exactly what was so powerful in beef. Now we know maybe it's the creatine. Scientific studies support that significant results can be achieved by starting with a "loading dose" of creatine- 20 grams daily in 4 divided doses for 5 to 7 days will increase creatine concentration in muscles by 15-30%. This results in the following benefits: - increased muscle size - greater physical strength - longer endurance in short, repetitive activities - less muscle fatigue - increase lean body mass - shorter time for energy recovery - greater muscle torque - longer workouts and more reps Despite of the claims for banning creatine supplementation it is not banned by the International Olympic Committee or other sporting body. There appears to be no harmful side effects when taken in a dose needed for an ergogenic effect. The BEST Creatine It is a long time since the first introduction of creatine in 1993 till today. It is no surprise that supplement companies have been under pressure to develop a superior creatine product. But, trying to improve something that is already so perfect is going to be an uphill task. To date, no one have succeeded. The closest one is adding creatine with carbohydrate. Carbohydrate increase insulin level in the blood and increase creatine entry into muscles. The same result can be achieved by taking creatine with a carbo/protein powder or with a meal containing some carbohydrate. The only creatine that has been used and proven in scientific trials is Creatine Monohydrate. Although other creatine compounds maybe effective due to their creatine content, most have less creatine per gram basis and are far more expensive. Most important is that they do not have any scientific trials to back up their claims. The best Creatine Monohydrate in the market are those of research grade made by a patented process carrying the CREAPURE logo. This indicate that the creatine is produced in Germany using a state-of-art process that result in 100% pure Creatine Monohydrate with absolutely no harmful residues. Creatine and volumising Volumising effect is one of the property that made creatine so ergogenic. Creatine by itself is already a powerful volumising substance. It acts like a water magnet drawing water with it. That has been false accusation that creatine cause water retention and cramping in stomach and muscles and so on. But in actual fact, there is little real scientific evidence that creatine caused all these problems when taken with a meal and if the users do not use more than 5 grams each time. The water retention of creatine supplementation can be minimised by stopping creatine 2-3 days before you need maximum definitions. Just a note: without hyper-hydration will mean that sports performance will decrease. "Dryer" and ripped condition indicate a state of overtraining and this condition interfere with maximum performance. How does creatine work? Science have fully elucidated the mechanism by which Creatine Monohydrate is absorbed by the body, enter the muscles and the way it prolongs muscle contraction. Once creatine enter the muscles, it is stored by joining with a phosphate. Creatine phosphate (CP) stores energy with a higher energy potential than Adenosine Tri Phosphate (ATP). During high intensity muscular contractions when the muscles have expended its ATP stores, CP can donate its energy to recycle ATP to prolong muscular contraction. Note: Oral ATP supplements are rapidly broken down in digestive system before it can give any performance benefits. It has also been suggested that Creatine acts as a water magnet which draw water into the muscles to increase muscular hydration. Higher hydration status induce a higher pressure intramuscular, more anabolic environment which allow muscles to be capable to handling more stress. The best time to take creatine The absolute best time to take creatine is immediately after workout. During this post workout 1-hour-window, the absorption of creatine into muscles is significantly better due to increased insulin sensitivity. Taking at least 20g of fast glycaemic carbo (I recommend about 50 to 80g) with creatine will spike insulin enough to do the trick. Another good time to take creatine is with the first meal upon awaken. Again after long hours of sleep, the absorption of creatine is significantly better. * Creatine need to enter the muscle cells, get phosphorylated (joint to a phosphate) before it can do it job. That takes time. Hence, creatine should not be considered as a pre-workout supplement. How much creatine should I take? 5 grams of creatine should be taken each time (1 scoop). If you take 1 scoop daily, it will take about 30 days for you to fully saturate your muscles with creatine. If you take 2 scoops daily, it will take 14 days to fully saturate your muscle with creatine. If you take 4 scoops daily, it will take one week to saturate your muscles with creatine. Once saturation is achieved, a good regimen is to take 1 scoop on non-training days and 2 scoops on training days (once with breakfast and once after training). Summary Research-grade Creatine Monohydrate is the best creatine supplement due to its track record and extensive research on its safety and efficacy. The best time to take Creatine Monohydrate is within 1 hour after training and with breakfast. Always take Creatine Monohydrate with a meal containing some carbohydrate. The aim of creatine supplementation is to achieve creatine saturation in muscles and from there maintain creatine saturation. The most recent market survey in early 2006 showed that German-made Creatine has by far the highest quality with negligible amounts of contaminants compare to those made in other countries. |
This symbol means the creatine
monohydrate product is of the highest
quality available. Although Degussa AG
raw material may be found in some
brands, only those products clearly
marked with the CREAPURE™ LOGO
have undergone the strict requirements
and HPLC tests that guarantee the purest
product available. If the symbol is not on
the label, you may be unnecessarily
exposed to the risk of impurities.
monohydrate product is of the highest
quality available. Although Degussa AG
raw material may be found in some
brands, only those products clearly
marked with the CREAPURE™ LOGO
have undergone the strict requirements
and HPLC tests that guarantee the purest
product available. If the symbol is not on
the label, you may be unnecessarily
exposed to the risk of impurities.
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