Medical Questions » Alternative Medicine Questions » Question No. 38
| Question: | If taken in the correct dosage, is creatine harmful or beneficial to the body? |
| Answer: | Creatine is a naturally occurring amino acid. These are the building blocks from which proteins are made, and are found in a variety of foods, with the richest source being lean red meat. One kilogram of steak contains about 5 grams of creatine. Creatine also increases the amount of water held in muscles, thus increasing their bulk, and making creatine attractive to muscle builders.
Muscles require energy to move, which comes from a molecule called adenosine triphosphate, (ATP). During exercise, muscles break down ATP into ADP (adenosine diphosphate). When ATP is broken down, creatine phosphate comes in and releases its phosphate to change ADP back to ATP. As creatine phosphate levels drop during exercise, performance deteriorates as skeletal muscle only stores enough creatine phosphate and ATP for about 10 seconds of high-intensity activity.
Those who use creatine phosphate supplements may increase the level of creatine in muscles, which increases the amount of phosphate available to convert ADP back to ATP, therefore increasing muscle performance and decreasing recovery time.
Dosages are usually high for the first five days with 10 to 20 grams of creatine phosphate taken every day, after that 2 to 5 grams a day is all that is necessary. There is considerable variability in creatine absorption between individuals, and those with a low initial creatine concentration will show a greater benefit. Trained athletes often have higher natural stores of creatine than non-athletes, so they will not benefit as much from supplements.
Creatine supplementation does improve performance with intermittent short exercises lasting no longer than 20 seconds (eg. body building, sprinting, throwing, jumping). It does not improve long-term aerobic exercise (medium-or long-distance running, swimming, cycling).
The most common side effects from creatine in normal doses are a rash, shortness of breath, vomiting, diarrhoea, nervousness, anxiety, fatigue and migraines. Uncommon serious side effects include muscle inflammation, seizures and irregular heartbeat. Excessive doses can cause kidney damage. There are no adverse effects from long-term use at low dosages. |
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