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Welcome to factsaboutfitness.com.
Creatine supplementation has been one of the most studied topics in athletics. Although creatine is naturally found in foods, supplementation of creatine monohydrate can be taken to increase muscle creatine stores. Most adults store approximately 1-2g of creatine which is taken in through dietary intake and organ synthesis (Smith-Ryan & Antonio 2013). According to Kreider et al. 2017, this is about 60-80% of muscle creatine sores which means the other 20-40% needed to fully saturate storage can be supplemented. Having maximum muscle creatine storage for athletes is advantageous because it can enhance maximal power and strength for performance. Research has also indicated that creatine supplementation may enhance post-exercise recovery, injury prevention, thermoregulation, rehabilitation, and concussion and/or spinal cord neuroprotection. Once muscle creatine stores are fully saturated, creatine stores can generally be maintained by ingesting 3–5 g/day, although some studies indicate that larger athletes may need to ingest as much as 5–10 g/day in order to maintain creatine stores (Kreider et al. 2017). Older adults can also benefit from creatine supplementation as well. In a study by Candow, Vogt, Johannsmeyer, Forbes & Farthing (2015), their results showed that post-exercise creatine supplementation increased lean tissue mass more than placebo in older adults.
Regarding the safety of creatine, according (Kreider et al. 2017), the International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: safety and efficacy of creatine supplementation in exercise, sport, and medicine state there is no compelling scientific evidence that the short- or long-term use of creatine monohydrate (up to 30 g/day for 5 years) has any detrimental effects on otherwise healthy individuals.
RESOURCES
* To learn more about the use, safety and efficacy of creatine, read the full article with links to all of the research studies by clicking on this link to International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: safety and efficacy of creatine supplementation in exercise, sport, and medicine
* If you and your health care provider decide a creatine supplement is right for you, do your research to find products that are certified in their purity to avoid consuming bpa, harmful chemicals or other ergogenic aids that are often found in supplements.
The NSF website is a resource to find creatine with these guarantees:
Products do not contain any of approximately 270+ substances banned by major athletic organizations.
The contents of the supplement actually match what is printed on the label.
There are no unsafe levels of contaminants in the tested products.
The product is manufactured at a facility that is GMP registered and audited twice annually for quality and safety by NSF International.
References
Candow, D. G., Vogt, E., Johannsmeyer, S., Forbes, S. C., & Farthing, J. P. (2015). Strategic creatine supplementation and resistance training in healthy older adults. Applied Physiology, Nutrition & Metabolism, 40(7), 689–694.
Kreider, R. B., Kalman, D. S., Antonio, J., Ziegenfuss, T. N., Wildman, R., Collins, R.,Lopez, H. L. (2017). International society of sports nutrition position stand: safety and efficacy of creatine supplementation in exercise, sport, and medicine. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 14, 1–18.