“Creatine has long been a popular supplement between athletes and bodybuilders, who claim that they supply the rapid bursts of energy necessary for high intensity training and helps them develop muscle,” said Melinda Wenner, a journalist specialized in health for The New York Times.
In a journalistic report with various expert opinions on the subject, the reporter explained: “But in social networks, the claims about creatine go beyond the weight room, since some users claim that it can improve memory, help recovery after brain shocks or other cranial trauma, or even control blood sugar In people with Type 2 Diabetes “.
Creatine is a compound that the liver, kidneys and pancreas produce for themselves, but is also obtained from certain animal products such as red meat and fish. “After being absorbed by the bloodstream and transferred to the muscles, it becomes another compound called creatine phosphate, which our muscles use to generate energy, especially during high -intensity activities such as careers and weightlifting,” says Roger Fieldingmain scientist at the Jean Mayer Usda Center for Research on Human Nutrition and Aging of the Tufts University.
For specialists, most bodies need about two grams of creatine per day to perform their basic functions. ”Since we normally produce sufficient creatine to survive, federal health authorities do not recommend recommendations on the amount we must consume, and it is not considered an essential nutrient,” he says Jose AntonioProfessor of Exercise Sciences in the Universidad Nova Southeastern Florida.
Most studies on creatine supplements, which usually contain a form of the compound called creatine monohydrate, have evaluated their effects on athletic performance and muscle growth. To whom you want to use creatine to improve these aspects, experts usually recommend you take between three and five grams per day in the form of supplements.
Clinical and other studies have discovered that athletes who take creatine supplements can generate between 5 and 15 percent more strength or vigor during short and repeated explosions of activity, compared to people who do not take creatine supplements. “This performance improvement effect is quite well documented,” adds Fielding.
In an analysis in 2022 and the review of 35 clinical trials in which almost 1200 adults participated, the researchers discovered that people who took creatine supplements while performing resistance training increased their lean body mass (or the weight of everything in their body except fat) in an average of almost a kilogram. The trials included different doses of creatine for different periods of time, from a week to four months.
Vegans and vegans can also benefit from creatine supplements rather than meat consumers, because they do not eat animal protein sources that are naturally rich in the compound. Although their organisms produce enough to survive, they may not obtain the amount associated with additional muscle and performance benefits, but even more research is needed to confirm it.
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