Post by Joey Smith on Jul 23, 2006 19:21:56 GMT -5
Creatine (Cr) is made from interaction between three different amino acids (building blocks of protein):
Methionine
Glycine
Arginine
Creatine is found in 95% of the body's skeletal muscle with the remaining 5% scattered throughout the body with the highest concentrations present in the heart, brain, and testes (no creatine is found in body fat). 60% of the creatine is present in the form of phosphocreatine (PCr) while the remaining 40% is present as free creatine.
Also, the average sedentary person consumes about 2g of creatine per day while athletes use quite a bit more than 2g per day depending on the sport, intensity level, and the muscle mass. The body makes about 1g of creatine over the course of the day with dietary intake accounting for the remaining creatine composition in the body.
Natural Sources of Creatine:
Food Source Creatine Content (g/kg)
Fish
Herring 6.5-10
Salmon 4.5
Tuna 4.0
Cod 3.0
Plaice 2.0
Shrimp Trace
Meat -
Pork 5.0
Beef 4.5
Other -
Milk 0.01
Cranberries 0.02
Chicken and Turkey are not listed due to undetermined amount of creatine present per kg
The average person (154lbs) at any one time has approximately 120g of creatine present within the body at any given time. Women have more creatine than men with vegetarians having lower creatine levels than meat eaters.
What Is Creatine?
Creatine is a nutrient that is made in our bodies from a combination of 3 different amino acids; arginine, glycine and methionine. Creatine is an essential component in providing our muscle cells with the energy that they need to move, especially those movements that require a quick release of energy or exertion. Most of the creatine in our bodies is found in the skeletal muscles. Studies have shown that you can increase the amount of creatine In your muscles by ingesting creatine rich foods (mainly red meats) or through supplementation.
How Does It Work?
Creatine exists In two different forms in the body, as free chemically unbound creatine and creatine phosphate. The creatine phosphate form is the active form in muscles. When muscles contract, the muscular fuel that is used for the contraction is a compound called ATP (adenosine triphosphate). ATP provides the energy by releasing one of its phosphate molecules. Once the phosphate molecule is released ATP now becomes ADP (adenosine diphosphate). Unfortunately our bodies do not have a large reserve of ATP, and in order to keep muscle cells energised, more ATP must be produced. Creatine phosphale carries out this role by donating its phosphate molecule to ADP enabling it to become ATP again, where it can be roused for fuelling the muscles. This regeneration of ADP to ATP enables your muscles to work at peak levels for a longer period of time. Creatine has the ability to enhance the body's production of 2 key muscle proteins myosin and actin. These muscle proteins are essential to all muscle contractions.
What Is The Best Way To Take Creatine?
Creatine is (mostly) an odourless, tasteless powder (it sometimes can have a slight odour). It is best when mixed with a warm liquid (not caffeine, which may reduce the performance enhancing of the creatine) juice or a glucose based drink, but not juice high in fructose like orange juice. Ribena syrup mixed with water 1/4 to 3/4 or grape juice is good. The transport of creatine into the muscles involves insulin and the sugars in these drinks activate insulin release. Do not take it with soda pop or protein drinks (it can be taken with protein but this reduces the total uptake and effect). The best time to take it is before and after your work-outs. Creatine stays in the blood stream for 1-1/2 hours. This is the period of time that your muscles draw creatine from the blood vessels and store it in their cells. If you are dividing your daily dosage into two portions, take it before and after your work-out. If you are dividing it into more servings (especially during the loading phase) take it before and after your work-out and then divide the rest of the portions throughout the day.
What Happens If I Stop Taking It?
Creatine can stay in the muscle cells for several weeks without supplementation so you don't have to worry if you miss a day or two. After several weeks creatine stores within the muscles go down and results will be lessened unless supplementation is reintroduced.
What are the beneflts from Creatine supplementation?
An increased peak torque - your muscles will stay stronger longer
Creatine improves recovery time which will help with your training
Allows your muscles to store more energy
Creatine increases strength and power
Boosts protein synthesis and lean muscle mass
Reduced lactic acid concentrations
Who will benefit from creatine supplementation?
Those who benefit most are athletes who are involved in sports that require quick explosive bursts of energy. Power lifters, sprinters, boxers, wrestlers, rugby players, rugby league players, body builders, dragon boaters and people involved in martial arts are some of those who are benefited most. For worthwhile gains in lean muscle a good protein source rich in Glutamine should also be used. An excellant product is NFS' Super Whey Protein. Unfortunately there is no good scientific evidence that creatine would be beneficial for athletes who are involved in long distance sports such as marathon runners (other supplements like Hypergen, HMB however can). Further studies need to be done to determine if there is any benefit in creatine supplementation for the elderly or the non athlete.
Methionine
Glycine
Arginine
Creatine is found in 95% of the body's skeletal muscle with the remaining 5% scattered throughout the body with the highest concentrations present in the heart, brain, and testes (no creatine is found in body fat). 60% of the creatine is present in the form of phosphocreatine (PCr) while the remaining 40% is present as free creatine.
Also, the average sedentary person consumes about 2g of creatine per day while athletes use quite a bit more than 2g per day depending on the sport, intensity level, and the muscle mass. The body makes about 1g of creatine over the course of the day with dietary intake accounting for the remaining creatine composition in the body.
Natural Sources of Creatine:
Food Source Creatine Content (g/kg)
Fish
Herring 6.5-10
Salmon 4.5
Tuna 4.0
Cod 3.0
Plaice 2.0
Shrimp Trace
Meat -
Pork 5.0
Beef 4.5
Other -
Milk 0.01
Cranberries 0.02
Chicken and Turkey are not listed due to undetermined amount of creatine present per kg
The average person (154lbs) at any one time has approximately 120g of creatine present within the body at any given time. Women have more creatine than men with vegetarians having lower creatine levels than meat eaters.
What Is Creatine?
Creatine is a nutrient that is made in our bodies from a combination of 3 different amino acids; arginine, glycine and methionine. Creatine is an essential component in providing our muscle cells with the energy that they need to move, especially those movements that require a quick release of energy or exertion. Most of the creatine in our bodies is found in the skeletal muscles. Studies have shown that you can increase the amount of creatine In your muscles by ingesting creatine rich foods (mainly red meats) or through supplementation.
How Does It Work?
Creatine exists In two different forms in the body, as free chemically unbound creatine and creatine phosphate. The creatine phosphate form is the active form in muscles. When muscles contract, the muscular fuel that is used for the contraction is a compound called ATP (adenosine triphosphate). ATP provides the energy by releasing one of its phosphate molecules. Once the phosphate molecule is released ATP now becomes ADP (adenosine diphosphate). Unfortunately our bodies do not have a large reserve of ATP, and in order to keep muscle cells energised, more ATP must be produced. Creatine phosphale carries out this role by donating its phosphate molecule to ADP enabling it to become ATP again, where it can be roused for fuelling the muscles. This regeneration of ADP to ATP enables your muscles to work at peak levels for a longer period of time. Creatine has the ability to enhance the body's production of 2 key muscle proteins myosin and actin. These muscle proteins are essential to all muscle contractions.
What Is The Best Way To Take Creatine?
Creatine is (mostly) an odourless, tasteless powder (it sometimes can have a slight odour). It is best when mixed with a warm liquid (not caffeine, which may reduce the performance enhancing of the creatine) juice or a glucose based drink, but not juice high in fructose like orange juice. Ribena syrup mixed with water 1/4 to 3/4 or grape juice is good. The transport of creatine into the muscles involves insulin and the sugars in these drinks activate insulin release. Do not take it with soda pop or protein drinks (it can be taken with protein but this reduces the total uptake and effect). The best time to take it is before and after your work-outs. Creatine stays in the blood stream for 1-1/2 hours. This is the period of time that your muscles draw creatine from the blood vessels and store it in their cells. If you are dividing your daily dosage into two portions, take it before and after your work-out. If you are dividing it into more servings (especially during the loading phase) take it before and after your work-out and then divide the rest of the portions throughout the day.
What Happens If I Stop Taking It?
Creatine can stay in the muscle cells for several weeks without supplementation so you don't have to worry if you miss a day or two. After several weeks creatine stores within the muscles go down and results will be lessened unless supplementation is reintroduced.
What are the beneflts from Creatine supplementation?
An increased peak torque - your muscles will stay stronger longer
Creatine improves recovery time which will help with your training
Allows your muscles to store more energy
Creatine increases strength and power
Boosts protein synthesis and lean muscle mass
Reduced lactic acid concentrations
Who will benefit from creatine supplementation?
Those who benefit most are athletes who are involved in sports that require quick explosive bursts of energy. Power lifters, sprinters, boxers, wrestlers, rugby players, rugby league players, body builders, dragon boaters and people involved in martial arts are some of those who are benefited most. For worthwhile gains in lean muscle a good protein source rich in Glutamine should also be used. An excellant product is NFS' Super Whey Protein. Unfortunately there is no good scientific evidence that creatine would be beneficial for athletes who are involved in long distance sports such as marathon runners (other supplements like Hypergen, HMB however can). Further studies need to be done to determine if there is any benefit in creatine supplementation for the elderly or the non athlete.