Creatine

TLDR: Creatine is good.

What is creatine?

Creatine is an amino acid that is naturally produced by the liver and then stored in the mitochondria of muscle, heart, and brain cells. Creatine is stored as Phosphocreatine or creatine-p (creatine with a phosphate bonded to it). The amount you naturally produce per day is largely dependent on your genetics. You can also acquire creatine from your diet (roughly 1g of creatine per pound of beef). Unless you are eating an absolutely insane amount of beef a day (not even you eat enough, Dalton) your body isn’t maxing out how much creatine it can hold. Supplementation is essential for capping out your body’s storage.

The recommended daily dose of creatine supplementation is anywhere from 3 to 8g per day depending on your body weight and natural body production. However, it is generally recommended to consume 5g per day as the benefits of consuming more will be marginal and determining your natural production is difficult. If creatine is digested directly (without any modifications to the creatine compound) our gut biome will break it down into creatinine (a waste product of creatine). Therefore, there are a ton of different variations of creatine on the market that have some sort of compound attached to the creatine to help it survive the gut biome, get absorbed, and become bioavailable. Among the most common are micronized creatine, creatine HCl, creatine ethyl ester, and the reigning champ creatine monohydrate. Creatine monohydrate is the simplest, most studied, and cheapest form creatine with a proven track record. All of the other variations either aren’t tested enough or the bioavailability increase of it isn’t enough to for the increase in price.

How does it work?

Cool, so now we know what creatine is and that supplementation is essential for maxing out how much your body is holding onto. However, you might be wondering, “Alright man, what does supplementing creatine actually do for me?”. If you aren’t, don’t worry I’m going to tell you anyway. Creatine is an essential component in your immediate energy system (8-15 seconds of energy). This immediate energy system is called the Phosphocreatine system and is our quickest form of energy upon muscle contraction.

In order for a muscle to contract it will need to break the bond of an ATP (Adenosine triphosphate) and produce an ADP (Adenosine diphosphate) with one less bond and phosphate attached. The bond to the phosphate is the energy that is required to allow a muscle to contract. I like to think of ATP as the initial heat source (thematch) to our muscle contraction (the fire). The body stores a very limited amount of ATP (roughly 1-3 seconds of muscle contraction). Our body keeps about 5 times as much Creatine-P in our muscle cells as we do ATP. Creatine-p donates it “-p” to ADP (the byproduct from using ATP in a muscle contraction) and turns it back into ATP. This allows ATP to be used again for muscle contraction. I think of creatine as the tinder in our analogy. It allows the flame to keep burning that little bit longer, for 8-15 seconds. After that time period, another energy system will have to support the muscle contraction until creatine-p levels return to normal.

Our body’s non supplemented levels of creatine-p limits the duration we can use this energy system. Ultimately, it limiting our strength and power potential. Supplementing creatine increases the stores of creatine-p in the muscle, allowing for longer use of the phosphocreatine system and an increase in immediate power output. This is the main reason to supplement creatine. Creatine supplementation has also been associated with higher levels of muscle retention (in aging populations as well as in caloric deficits), fat loss, and mental cognition (relatively newer research).

There are many myths out there about what creatine does and why you should supplement it. Many of which are misconstrued or misunderstood facts. The most common thing I hear is, “Creatine increases the amount of water in muscles and that is how it helps”. This is not entirely incorrect but is also not true. Creatine-p, just like glycogen, is stored in the muscle and requires water to accompany it in order to be stored properly. As a result, it increases intracellular water content. However, it doesn’t create an imbalance of a higher concentration of water in the muscle than outside of it. As creatine pulls in more water into the cell the body will increase the volume outside as well resulting as an increase in total body water volume not just intracellular volume. The increase is water volume is a consistently measured side effect of creatine supplementation. This isn’t inherently good or bad. As a side note, there is potential of a higher volume of water retention with a loading phase of creatine .

It used to be recommended that if you want to start supplementing creatine you should start with a loading phase. A loading phase consists of taking 20g per day for 7 days. After the loading phase you would begin a maintenance phase of 5g per day for as long as you want to take the supplement. The loading phase is beneficial if you want quicker saturation and short-term results. It allows your body to quickly reach its storage ceiling of creatine. Like I mentioned earlier, it can result in higher water retention that could cause bloating. This will eventually subside as you get into the maintenance phase. The loading phase is good for seeing quick results, but it is not necessary if you plan on taking a creatine supplement for a long period of time.

Another myth I used to hear is, “You need to cycle creatine”. A cycle refers to a period of consumption (on-cycle) followed by a period of no consumption (off-cycle). Cycles are commonly used with steroids or stimulants to allow your body to return to homeostasis. This helps minimize the side effects of the substances. However, there are not any significant long term side effects associated with creatine supplementation. Therefore, it is safe to stay “on-cycle” as long as you want. If you stop supplementing creatine you will notice a slight decrease in weight due to a decrease in water retention, but you will not lose the muscular gains you made while on creatine. 

My opinion?

            You may call me papi, but I’m not your doctor and anything I say is my opinion. In no way am I prescribing or telling you to take this supplement. However, from the research that I have read and the many professional opinions I have listened to, creatine is a supplement that shouldn’t be ignored. Creatine is effective at what it does with little to no side effects. If your goal is to lose fat and gain muscle (body recomposition), creatine can help you keep that muscle in a caloric deficit. If your goal is to be as strong as you can be, creatine will help you get those couple extra pounds as you chase that squat PR. If your goal is to be the swollest gym rat on the block, creatine can help you get those last couple reps as you chase those gains.

                If you wish to supplement creatine, in my opinion, the best way to supplement is to take 5g/day of creatine monohydrate. Pair it with something that you take every day so that you won’t forget to take it. I take mine with a protein shake before bed. Drink plenty of water with it as well. You don’t need to go overboard with your water consumption but if you usually struggle with drinking enough water get that squared away before you start taking creatine to help minimize any risks.

Don’t trust me, trust my sources.

Sources:

Ask Dr. Andro: The Pharmacokinetics of Creatine (Part I/II) - How Is Creatine Absorbed into the Bloodstream? - SuppVersity: Nutrition and Exercise Science for Everyone. (2011a, August 28). Ask Dr. Andro. https://suppversity.blogspot.com/2011/08/ask-dr-andro-pharmacokinetics-of.html

Ask Dr. Andro: The Pharmacokinetics of Creatine (Part II/II) - How Is Creatine Transported into the Muscle? - SuppVersity: Nutrition and Exercise Science for Everyone. (2011b, August 29). Ask Dr. Andro. https://suppversity.blogspot.com/2011/08/ask-dr-andro-pharmacokinetics-of_29.html

Creatine Phosphate—An overview | ScienceDirect Topics. (n.d.). Retrieved August 22, 2022, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/nursing-and-health-professions/creatine-phosphate

Franco, F. S., Costa, N. M., Ferreira, S. A., Carneiro-Junior, M. A., & Natali, A. J. (2011). The effects of a high dosage of creatine and caffeine supplementation on the lean body mass composition of rats submitted to vertical jumping training. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 8, 3. https://doi.org/10.1186/1550-2783-8-3

Kreider, R. B., & Stout, J. R. (2021). Creatine in Health and Disease. Nutrients, 13(2), 447. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13020447

McCall, W., & Persky, A. M. (2007). Pharmacokinetics of creatine. Sub-Cellular Biochemistry, 46, 261–273.

Rae, C. D., & Bröer, S. (2015). Creatine as a booster for human brain function. How might it work? Neurochemistry International, 89, 249–259. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuint.2015.08.010

Spillane, M., Schoch, R., Cooke, M., Harvey, T., Greenwood, M., Kreider, R., & Willoughby, D. S. (2009). The effects of creatine ethyl ester supplementation combined with heavy resistance training on body composition, muscle performance, and serum and muscle creatine levels. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 6(1), 6. https://doi.org/10.1186/1550-2783-6-6

Wax, B., Kerksick, C. M., Jagim, A. R., Mayo, J. J., Lyons, B. C., & Kreider, R. B. (2021). Creatine for Exercise and Sports Performance, with Recovery Considerations for Healthy Populations. Nutrients, 13(6), 1915. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13061915