What is Creatine .Is Creatin good for Women like Men?
What is Creatine?
Creatine is a protein that is made naturally in the body from three amino acids (arginine, glycine and methionine), but can also be found in meat and fish or taken in higher doses as a supplement. It’s also widely used as a supplement by many within the fitness community to improve physical performance and results. It is a natural substance that turns into creatine phosphate in the body. Creatine phosphate helps make a substance called adenosine triphosphate(ATP). This ATP provides the energy for muscles contractions.
Creatine is an effective supplement you can use to fast track your training results and maximize your hard work in the gym. This is an energy-rich compound that fuels your muscles during high-intensity activities, such as lifting weights or sprinting. These supplements usually come in powder, pill or capsule form( in which powder consumption is best because of fast absorption)
Back in the 1970s, scientists discovered that taking creatine in supplement form might enhance physical performance. In the 1990s, athletes started to catch on, and creatine became a popular sports supplement. The supplement is particularly popular among high school, college, and professional athletes, especially football and hockey players, wrestlers, and gymnasts. The health benefits of creatine may expand beyond athletic performance into other categories, including brain health and healthy ageing.
Creatine, more specifically creatine monohydrate, is one of the most extensively studied and most effective ergogenic nutritional supplements currently available. Especially in terms of increasing high-intensity exercise capacity and lean body mass during training. However, despite proven research, creatine is a supplement that is surrounded by many myths that put people off using it, predominantly women. Such myths include:
- It’s unethical and/or illegal to use creatine supplements
- Creatine leads to weight gain
- Increases in weight are due to water retention
- Creatine supplementation causes cramping, dehydration, and/or altered electrolyte status
Benefits of Creatine
- Promote manufacture and muscle hypertrophy(by drawing water into the cells)
- Increasing lean body mass
- Reduce muscle acidity(it buffers excess hydrogen ions)
- Provide energy by recycling the fuel in your muscles
- Increase your training intensity
- Creatine combined with resistance training leads to an increase in lean muscle building and a decrease in fat mass
- Improve strength, increase lean muscle mass, and help the muscles recover more quickly during exercise.
Should Women Take Creatine?
Yes, Women should take creatine as like Men. Although there are differences between the male and female anatomy, our muscles and our energy systems work the same. If creatine supplementation can increase performance at high intensities for men, then it will naturally do the same for women. Any female that is serious about strength training or participating in a sport that requires bouts of high-intensity work, should use creatine to aid performance, recovery and exercise adaptations.
This really shouldn’t even be a question, yet people are still asking it. And I totally understand why!
With so many sports nutrition companies catering to men, and with so many guys trying to “get swole”, a ton of the creatine supplements on the market today are packed with carbs and other ingredients that promote weight gain. This has led creatine to be unfairly thought of as a “weight gainer” and designed to help pack on large amounts of mass. The fact is, creatine alone won’t cause you to become bulky.
While creatine can cause your muscles to drawn in minor amounts of intracellular water, research reveals creatine supplementation combined with resistance training leads to more lean body mass and lower fat mass. Creatine simply helps maximize the results from training for your specific goals.
If your goal is to bulk up, and you train for it and eat large amounts of food for that goal, creatine can definitely help. But if your goal is to lean out and tone up, then you’ll be training differently and eating differently, and creatine can help you reach those goals as well!
Creatine monohydrate is the most widely available form of creatine.it is a white powder that dissolves readily in water and is virtually tasteless.it is the most concentrated form available commercially and the least expensive. Creatine monohydrate comprises a molecule of creatine with a molecule of water attache to it so it is more stable.
Although other forms of creatine such as creatine serum, creatine citrate and creatine phosphate are available, there is no evidence that they are better absorbed, produce higher levels of phosphocreatine in the muscle cells or result in a greater increase in performance or muscle mass.
How much Creatine?
The most common creatine loading protocol is 4*5-7 g doses per day over a period of 5 days. It works but doesn't mean it's the best way to load up. Creatine powder is typically mixed with water or juice and taken before or after workouts. A supplement can be consumed with creatine in one of two ways
- Creatine loading
- Maintenance dose
Creatine loading
This is the standard way to take the supplement through what’s known as creatine loading. It involves taking 20–25 grams of creatine, split into 4–5 equal doses for 5–7 days . Following loading, 3–5 grams (14 mg/pound or 30 mg/kg) per day is necessary to maintain your muscle stores of creatine.
The purpose of loading is to saturate your muscle cells with creatine quicker so that you can experience its benefits sooner. To experience the effects of creatine, your muscles must be fully saturated with it, which typically takes 5–7 days of loading.
Maintenance dose
The maintenance dose of 3–5 grams daily is the other way to supplement with creatine. This method is just as effective as creatine loading, but it takes much longer typically 28 days to experience the same benefits.
Compared to the loading method, taking the maintenance dose over a longer time may be more convenient, since it involves just 1 dose per day rather than 4–5 daily doses.
Will I lose strength when I stop taking creatine supplements?
When you stop taking supplements, elevated muscle creatine stores will drop very slowly to normal levels over a period of 4 weeks ( Greenhaff,1997). During supplementation your body's own synthesis of creatine is depressed but this is reversible. In other words, you automatically step up creatine manufacture once you stop supplementation.
Certainly, fears that your body permanently shuts down normal creatine manufacture are unfounded. You may experience weight loss and there are anecdotal reports about athletes experiencing a small reduction in strength and power, although not back to pre-supplementation levels.
It has been proposed that creatine is best taken in cycles, such as 3-5 months followed by a 1- month break.
Are there any side effects?
Creatine appears to be safe in both the short and long term. The only side effect is weight gain. This is due partly to extra water in muscle cells and partly to increased muscle tissue. It has a strong safety profile and is unlikely to cause side effects when used in recommended amounts.
Although creatine is one of the safest sports supplements available, taking too much is wasteful and may cause bloating and stomach discomfort.
After your muscles are fully saturated with creatine, it’s recommended to take 3–5 grams (14 mg/pound or 30 mg/kg) daily to maintain optimal muscle stores.
Because this amount is enough to keep your muscle stores of creatine saturated, taking more than the recommended maintenance dose will cause you to excrete the excess creatine through your urine, as your body can only store so much.
Dehydration and cramping myths
To put it simply, if you consume the appropriate amount of fluid on a daily basis you will not become dehydrated. You must, however, remember, as mentioned above, that creatine can help to increase exercise capacity and if you are performing at a higher intensity for longer periods, the body loses more fluid through sweat. This requires a greater amount of fluid than usual to replenish what the body has lost. In terms of muscle cramps, dehydration can lead to muscle cramping, therefore ensuring the body is hydrated will significantly reduce the likelihood of cramping.
In conclusion, it’s important not to pay attention to the myths that surround creatine supplementation. Creatine is a supplement that will benefit women who exercise, helping to improve performance and increase strength gains. When supplementing creatine make sure doses are appropriate, not excessive and that plenty of fluids are consumed to replenish the loss through exercise. Creatine is safe and is most effective when consumed alongside a healthy and balanced diet.
References:
https://www.idealfit.com/blog/creatine-for-women/
8th edition of Sports Nutrition book by Anita Bean
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