effects and benefits of creatine supplementation . If used correctly , for healthy individuals , such benefits come with no negative side effects . I recommend it to many clients across-the-board from young people of adult age , to certain senior citizen , and all sorts of clients . Why might you ask ? Some of you may very well be thinking , Isn ’ t it just for bodybuilding ? well friends , NO not at all , let ’ s get down to the brass tacks .
Creatine , in recent studies has been shown to be not a mere luxury and optional , but really a “ conditionally essential nutrient ” for so many different kinds of people , ages and lifestyles . There ’ s so much unpack here , the whats and the whys and hows … we can all benefit from this . Ready to NERD OUT ?! ( My favourite part of writing ) So for some of you reading this and thinking , hey wait , back up , what the heck is creatine ? For many of you out there , you might know full well , but it never hurts to brush up a little bit on the basics . So , Creatine is pretty simple really . It ’ s combination of three different amino acids : glycine , arginine , and methionine . Yup nothing more than a combination of amino acids , one essential and two nonessential . Simple as it may be , this compound is involved in a vast number of processes in the body . It ' s a fundamental component in how your body creates its primary form of energy in muscle cells , the compound adenosine triphosphate , or ATP . For example , when muscles contract explosively , or for brief , intense work lasting no longer than 8-12 seconds , creatine ( bonded with phosphoric acid as creatine phosphate ) is how the muscle creates the energy necessary to do it . Most of the creatine in your body is created in the liver and kidneys , but the majority of it is stored in muscle tissue , ( and the majority of this is from dietary sources containing those three amino acids in surplus ). As you might imagine , Creatine historically was broadly dismissed in many circles as a placebo and just water retention . Certainly not considered a “ Conditionally essential " nutrient . If the human body can create something , and , so , if you refer to the nomenclature , if you can create it , it is not essential . All healthy human bodies are capable of creating it . It can also be obtained through a diet that contains animal products . However , we make very little . Dietary creatine pretty much only comes from animal products , and to get enough to show a marked influence you ’ d have to consume a lot of red meat , dairy and eggs . ( The most rich source or creatine is red meat ) . So unless you ’ re 5 steaks a day deep , and if you ’ re vegan or a vegetarian athlete , you don ' t get nearly enough creatine in your diet . Ergo , why we supplement with creatine monohydrate . Creatine monohydrate , the most popular form of creatine supplements , is simply creatine with one molecule of water attached to it , hence the name monohydrate . No , creatine is not a steroid . It does not influence your hormones , however , you may occasionally see people claim that creatine is a steroid . Plainly friends , this couldn ' t be further from the truth . So now that we know the basics of creatine , and it ’ s purpose . I bet your asking yourself still , isn ’ t this just for weight lifting , or high performance athletes ? Well , just check this out .
Over the last few years there has been more and more research emerging , suggesting that creating is a “ conditionally essential nutrient ” for both young people and adults of all ages . This is regardless of their physical activity level in sports and conditioning requirements . There are many intricacies to this , that allow creatine to be the benefit that influences a broad-spectrum of individuals properly . Most importantly , the timing of creatine ( well get to this later on ) and the association with creatines ’ ingestion coupled with electrolytes . Yes I know right , most of you familiar with creatine are thinking wait … it has to be sugar … well it turns out that there is a sodium / potassium / magnesium / creatine transport synergy that actually helps carry creatine into the
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