Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Is Supplemental Creatine Worth The Risk For Athletes?

Research how creatine powders and supplements are used to help athletes train.  What are the pros and cons and using it?  Is it worth it?

6 comments:

  1. Creatine is a compound that supplies energy to your muscles. It is made by the human body, and also found in some foods (primarily fresh meat). Creatine is produced in the liver, pancreas, and kidneys, and is transported to the body's muscles through the bloodstream. Once it reaches the muscles, it is converted into phosphocreatine (creatine phosphate). This high-powered metabolite is used to regenerate the muscles' ultimate energy source, ATP. When you work out, your ATP levels drop rapidly. Creatine is responsible for restoring ATP levels.1
    Over the last two eras, creatine has become prevalent as the leader of all athletic performance supplements. A supplement is something that completes or enhances something else when added to it.2 Creatine intake heightens your body’s creatine phosphate energy system. This allows you to push yourself for longer periods of time, with more energy. Creatine also improves your ability to tap into explosive energy when you need it as critical times in your training. It should also be noted that in clinical studies, creatine has been shown to increase strength and lean muscle mass. Because creatine allows you to train longer and harder, with the ability to squeeze out more reps, the intensity of your training is heightened. This heightening of intensity forces your body to adapt and grow, more so then without creatine supplementation.1
    Because of creatine is so popular, creatine’s health benefits have been studied rather extensively. Research has found that proper creatine intake is essential to good health in a number of ways. Here are just a few of the ways that creatine can help, creatine helps with Alzheimer’s disease, creatine is an antioxidant, creatine is good to use with B vitamins, and creatine helps with heart disease.1
    Creatine is essential for good health and proper cell growth. A diet that limits the consumption of fresh meat is a diet that is ill-suited for new muscle cell growth. This reality adds another dimension to the daily protein requirement for athletes and bodybuilders. Not only do you need extra protein for amino acids and raw materials, but the creatine derived from fresh meat sources also insures that the cells are strong and healthy.1
    There are cons to creatine though. One major con a creatine is that it can cause mild diarrhea when overused, if proper hydration is not achieved. Another con to creatine is that you if you take too much of it, you will gain weight and the weight will come very rapidly. Because creatine is an “osmotically active substance.” it pulls water into you muscle cells, which protein synthesis. This only happens if you take advantage of the boost in energy and go to the gym or workout; otherwise, it is just water weight. (It is a solute that causes osmosis to occur.4)3
    In my opinion creatine supplements are not worth it, because when you take the supplement you are hurting your body, because if you don’t exercise when taking it, you gain weight quickly and part of it is water weight. Also, whenever you are exercising, why would you want to have diarrhea the whole time because then you would not even be able to work out because you will have to go to the bathroom so much and you will not want to do anything.
    Sources:
    1. Creatine:
    http://www.muscleandstrength.com/expert-guides/creatine-supplements
    2. What supplement means?
    https://www.google.com/search?q=what+is+a+supplement%3F&client=firefox-a&hs=TUf&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=fflb&source=lnms&sa=X&ei=hZqOUqaTGNDPkQfW-oC4Aw&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAA&biw=615&bih=640&dpr=1
    3. Cons
    http://www.menshealth.com/nutrition/creatine-side-effects-what-it-what-it-does
    4. What does osmotically active substance mean?
    http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_an_osmotically_active_substance

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  2. Creatine is one of the most popular drug and supplement that athletes have turned to, to enhance their performance. Creatine can be bought in many different ways: powder, tablets, energy bars, and drink mixes. These are all available without getting a doctor’s prescription. Creatine is a natural substance that turns into creatine phosphate in the body. Creatine phosphate helps make a substance called ATP. ATP provides the energy for muscle contractions. The body produces some of the creatine it uses. It also comes from protein-rich foods like meat or fish (1).Creatine was thought to improve strength, increase muscle mass, and help the muscles recover more quickly during exercise. This may help athletes get bursts of speed and energy, especially during short periods of high-intensity activities like weight lifting or sprinting (2).

    Creatine can help athletes by giving them spurts of energy to help them do hard workouts. It can help them do a lot of things they cannot do without the creatine. Creatine can also help build muscle mass and will also cause your body to increase in size (3).

    Creatine causes dehydration in your body. It pulls water into of your skeletal muscles causing less water for the rest of the cells. Creatine may also cause kidney problems. Creatine has compounds that are attached to the creatine molecule that are called metabolites. These metabolites are filtered through your kidneys to your urine. An extreme amount of metabolites can cause stress on your kidneys and bladder, and could potentially cause kidney damage. While using creatine you will get a splurge of energy, but this energy is only temporary. After a couple hours the energy will die down. The fast drop in energy in your muscles may cause chronic fatigue, drop in muscular power, and may cause other side effects. (4) When overdosing in creatine and also using caffeine there is some concern that people can have side effects such as a stroke or heart failure (5).


    (1) http://men.webmd.com/creatine
    (2) http://www.webmd.boots.com/vitamins-and-minerals/supplement-guide-creatine
    (3) http://www.menshealth.com/nutrition/creatine-side-effects-what-it-what-it-does
    (4) http://www.livestrong.com/article/486072-cons-of-using-creatine/
    (5) http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-873-CREATINE.aspx?activeIngredientId=873&activeIngredientName=CREATINE

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  3. Creatine is a substance that is already found in the muscles and is also found in various types of food; like proteins. The benefits of creatine are enhancing the muscle mass and improving exercise performance. This is why often athletes take supplements like Creatine powder to enhance their energy and strength. Even though Creatine is a performance enhancer it is not yet band by the Olympic Committee and the NCAA. In addition to being used for athletes performance Creatine is used to treat a serious of diseases such as, arthritis, depression, and most diseases on the muscles and nerves.

    The Pro’s of the creatine supplement are, it is an amino acid; so basically by taking this supplement your body is receiving more of something that is considered good for it. Adenine Tri-phosphate (ATP) is the basic source of energy in the body, basically Creatine supplements helps increase levels of energy. Since Creatine is one of the basic units of energy when doing exercise having more helps the body maintain its energy source. Creatine helps you achieve a higher level of muscle mass (helps build muscle faster). The main reason athlete’s use this supplement is because it enhances workout performance to keep going, instead of stopping for a break or entirely.

    The side effects of taking the creatine supplement are nausea, diarrhea, stomach pains, and muscle cramping. When taking too much Creatine it can have many harmful side effects on the body including heart function. In short term use it can also cause dehydration so it is important to stay hydrated while taking this supplement. Using muscle and exercise enhancers are very dangerous, and should be used very cautiously.

    At this point Creatine has been called “worth it” for professional athletes. Even though it could help performance if it is not necessary it is better not to take. Even though Creatine is not complete unsafe, it is better to stay away from enhancing supplements


    Bibliography:
    • http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/873.html - Medline Plus, Page last updated: Sep.13.2013
    • http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/5-reasons-to-use-creatine.htm - Body Building
    • http://www.simplyshredded.com/beyond-the-confusion-getting-the-facts-straight-on-creatine-for-optimal-results.html - Simply Shredded

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  4. What is Creatine? “Creatine (or methyl guanidinoacetic acid) is a combination of three amino acids: arginine, glycine, and methionine. It was first discovered in 1832 by the French scientist Michel Eugene Chevreul while he was researching the skeletal muscle system. Creatine is naturally produced in the liver, kidneys, and pancreas. A normal, active person produces about two grams daily, and most people consume an additional gram or two from fish, beef, chicken, and dairy products. Creatine is stored in the muscles as creatine phosphate, which plays an important part in the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) energy cycle that supplies energy to human muscles. During exercise, as the stored ATP begins to run low, creatine phosphate (CP) is then broken down into creatine and phosphate, replenishing ATP for greater energy and contractile strength.” (1)

    Creatine powders and supplements are used to help athletes train by giving them more energy to do more exercise and have a good body. Many trainers and athletes think that this supplement doesn’t have effects, but it does. If you take a lot of it, it can actually make you gain weight very easily. (2,3)

    Obviously, as any other product, there are pros and cons about this one. Some pros are that if you are trying to build muscles and be strong, Creatine will help you do this because Creatine gives you volume not of your fat but of your muscles. On the other hand, the cons are that you will have a severe case of gastrointestinal distress, that means you will have diarrhea, gas, and your stomach will blow up. (1)

    Sources:
    1.Creatine Powder; March 2013
    http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20130315163121AATN1ei

    2.Body Building; October 14, 2004
    http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/evan7.htm

    3.Creatine, Men’s Health; July 12, 2012
    http://www.menshealth.com/nutrition/creatine-side-effects-what-it-what-it-does


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  5. Creatine is one of the most used supplements by athletes. It is a combination of amino acids produced by the liver, kidneys and pancreas. It is not a steroid, it is actually found in your muscles, red meat and fish, though at lower levels than in the powder sold at the bodybuilding stores or in GNC. This supplement works by giving more energy or ATP to your cells. The problem of having more creatine phosphate by consuming the creatine supplements, you can work harder than you usually do , because you have more energy. Creatine is thought to improve strength, increase lean muscle mass, and help the muscles recover more quickly during exercise. This muscular boost may help athletes achieve bursts of speed and energy, especially during short bouts of high-intensity activities such as weight lifting or sprinting.(WebMD, July 23, 2012) It is not a prohibited substance but using this supplement has its risks. One side effect is the gain of weight, when you drink this supplement your body generates more energy, therefore your cells will be more filled of water than usual, and that makes a person gain weight, because creatine is a molecule that attracts water. Also for bodybuilders this supplement makes muscles look more squishy rather than defined. (Men's Health, October 14, 2012). There are several side effecs that this supplement has not very harmful like Anxiety, Headache, Vomit, and Fever, but these are caused when used in great amounts.(WebMD, July 23, 2012) Although creatine makes you more fat, it is the safest supplement you can use for boost your training, they don't mess with kidneys or has a side effect for changing your body. (Men's Health, October 14, 2012) Scientist have studied this substance for a long time and they say that there are no patterns that can prove that creatine affects the body, but there are anecdotal reports telling that people experienced cramps, dehydration, diarrhea, heart problems and kidney damages, but they are anecdotal. The safest way of consuming this supplement is using small amounts of it and only if you are a healthy person. It is recommended for people with ages above 18. If people under this age uses it they may have torn muscles which are a permanent damage to the body. Using this supplement is not a 100 percent sure that you will grow in muscles or your body will be stronger, because creatine works differently in each person, it's something genetic. If you want to take creatine that's fine but don't abuse of it just take in 20 grams of it per day for a week. (Men's Health, July 12, 2012)
    Bibliography
    http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/10/11/creatine-myths-and-facts/
    http://www.menshealth.com/nutrition/creatine-side-effects-what-it-what-it-does?cm_mmc=Fox_Health-_-Creatine--Myths%20and%20Facts-_-Article-_-Creatine--Side%20Effects
    http://men.webmd.com/creatine

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  6. Francisco Jose Gonzalez


    Creatine Blogs

    Creatine are athletic aids used to increase athletic performance. Athletes use this to improve many of their physical features.it improves the strength of muscles improving things that can help in lots of abilities in the court to improve the jump the endurance the speed and much more. The people who sell include in their advertisement that the creating will make you taller stronger and it’s the best thing I the market. This products come with different flavors its meant to be to train for longer work harder to improve your results.

    People say that creating is save for recommended doses but if it is not regulated it can cause stomach pain nauseas and diarrhea. Creatine is an amino acid that is natural in the human body. The main problem with creatine is dehydration in short term use if you are taking creatine you should increase your water intake so it will no take all the water out of the muscles. Creating can cause many kidney problems that’s why it is not advised its taken. There is no known risk if taken long term this maybe because it has only been around for the last decade so its taking a step till the unknowns. Creatine cannot be trusted yet and the distributers say that there is nothing better and there is no bad consequences only good ones.




    Sources:
    http://www.menshealth.com/nutrition/creatine-side-effects-what-it-what-it-does
    http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/creatine.html
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creatine_supplements
    http://menshealth.intoday.in/storyprint.jsp?contentid=1050&sid=5&cid=22

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