Creatine

• Maximizes recovery

• Reduces post-exercise soreness

• Powerful antioxidant support

• Multiple brain health benefits

• Supports cardiovascular health

• Protects against muscle and bone mass loss

An organic compound, made from the amino acids arginine, glycine, and methionine, creatine is arguably the most popular and well-known athletic supplement in history. First discovered in 1832 by French scientist, Michel Eugene Chevreul, creatine supplements became available to the general public in the early 1990’s.

Since then, creatine continues to be a “must have, must use” supplement for athletes involved in purely explosive strength and power types of exercise: weightlifters, bodybuilders, track and cycling sprinters, CrossFit athletes, football players, and others. Additionally, for all athletes, including endurance athletes, creatine is a staple during off-season weight training workouts, as its use permits the athlete to do more work during reps or sprints, leading to greater gains in strength, muscle mass and performance.

How Creatine Benefits You

While most people tend to relegate creatine’s use to the types of athletes mentioned above, or during off-season weight training, there are many benefits of creatine that all athletes can enjoy all season long. Creatine is also proving to very much be a “go to” overall health supplement for all people (including older people), athletes and non-athletes alike.

Helps muscle fibers heal and rebuild stronger post-exercise. As we all know, exercise creates micro-tears in the muscle fibers. During the recovery period, we want these micro-tears to heal and become stronger. Creatine (protein as well) assists in this all-important process as it helps activate satellite cells— specialized stem cells located within skeletal muscles—which help the micro-tears heal.

Helps reduce exercise-induced soreness. In one study involving well-trained runners competing in a 30k race, the researchers looked at inflammatory and muscle soreness markers—creatine kinase, lactate dehydrogenase, prostaglandin E2, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha—in the runners prior to and after the race. In the control group (no creatine) all the runners had sizable increases in all four inflammatory and muscle soreness markers, while the creatine-supplemented runners had significantly lower levels of all four markers. The researchers concluded, “These results indicate that creatine supplementation reduced cell damage and inflammation after an exhaustive, intense race.”

Has antioxidant properties. Research has shown that creatine increases the activity of antioxidant enzymes and has the capability to eliminate reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) free radicals. Creatine protects two different and important cellular targets, mitochondrial deoxyribonucleic acid (mtDNA) and RNA against oxidative damage. In addition, creatine has been shown to cause other related effects that help the cell to survive and function under oxidative stress.

Multiple brain health benefits. The conclusion of a review of numerous brain specific studies with creatine supplementation (“Heads Up” for Creatine Supplementation and its Potential Applications for Brain Health and Function), states: “Creatine supplementation can increase brain creatine content, which over time may help explain some of the promising effects on measures of brain health and function. Specifically, creatine supplementation has been shown to improve measures of cognition and memory (primarily in aging adults) and decrease symptoms of sleep deprivation in human and animal populations. Creatine supplementation also shows promise for alleviating some symptoms of TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury), including concussion, and characteristics of muscular dystrophy in humans. The efficacy of creatine for treating symptoms of depression and anxiety is also encouraging but clinical trials examining the effects of creatine (independent of pharmacological interventions) on these mood disorders are needed before a consensus can be reached.”

Cardiovascular health support. While studies on creatine’s effects on healthy human hearts are still ongoing, in animal studies, creatine supplementation restored ATP levels in animals subjected to energy-reducing cardiac stress, while also reducing markers of heart muscle exhaustion. This beneficial effect was also seen in unstressed animals. Studies on humans with chronic congestive heart failure have shown that creatine supplementation increases creatine phosphate levels in their muscles, thus allowing them to perform significantly better on strength and endurance testing compared to those not supplementing with creatine.

Protection against age-related decrease in muscle mass and strength, and bone mass, aka sarcopenia. The abstract of a study (Effectiveness of Creatine Supplementation on Aging Muscle and Bone: Focus on Falls Prevention and Inflammation) states: “Sarcopenia, defined as the age-related decrease in muscle mass, strength and physical performance, is associated with reduced bone mass and elevated low-grade inflammation. From a healthy aging perspective, interventions which overcome sarcopenia are clinically relevant. Accumulating evidence suggests that exogenous creatine supplementation has the potential to increase aging muscle mass, muscle performance, and decrease the risk of falls and possibly attenuate inflammation and loss of bone mineral.”

by Brian Frank and Steve Born at hammernutrition.com