Study links nutritional supplement, creatine, to increased metabolic energy

A Temple University researcher seeking physiological evidence of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) has found a link between creatine and metabolic energy. The findings, which hold promise for future CFS treatments, were published in a recent issue of the Journal of Applied Physiology."We found that creatine affects mitochondria - the parts of the cells that produce energy for all biological functioning - in normal human subjects. Now that we have established this baseline evidence, we are looking at the link between creatine and energy production in CFS patients," said lead author Sinclair Smith, Sc.D., assistant professor of occupational therapy in Temple's College of Health Professions.Creatine, thought to build muscle and improve performance, is a popular over-the-counter supplement used by athletes. Smith and his colleagues wondered if creatine could also be used to help relieve the extreme physical and mental fatigue that strikes CFS sufferers. "Many physicians still don't believe that CFS exists, making it important to investigate possible physiologic differences and to determine if we can impact metabolic function in CFS patients," explained Smith."In addition to improving muscle metabolic function, recent studies show that creatine supplementation may improve nervous system function as well. Given that cognitive fatigue is a frequent symptom of CFS, we thought that creatine may enhance both muscle and neural metabolic status in people with CFS," said Smith.In the study, "Use of phosphocreatine kinetics to determine the influence of creatine on muscle mitochondrial respiration: an in vivo 31P-MRS study of oral creatine ingestion," the researchers analyzed the effect of naturally produced and supplemental creatine on the rate of muscle metabolism using non-invasive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques during exercise and rest.While previous studies have evaluated the link between creatine and mitochondria in animals and human muscle samples, Smith's was the first lab to test in people.Smith collaborated in this research with the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston University and Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences.

So if you would like to try creatine then make sure you choose a quality nutritional supplement outlet, that only sell the highest quality Creatine products.

Source: medicalnewstoday
Author: Eryn Jelesiewicz, Temple University

How pure is your Creatine

Creatine was expensive when it was first introduced and this was an obvious inhibitor to the initial sales, but as more people began to use it and see the benefits of it prices were forced down. Some manufacturers began to import it with less purity than oe would expect. These cheap foreign imports often came from China.

Recently a number of tests have shown the presence of Creatinine, Dicyandiamide and Dihydrotriazine in a number of brands of Creatine. These are all impurities caused by using cheap raw materials.

What are the Impurities and what hazards could they pose

Creatinine
Tiny amount of Creatinine is present in even the best Creatine products. Although it’s a natural by-product of Creatine metabolism within your body, it has no effect on muscle growth. Nearly all brands of Creatine stored in liquid, serum are rapidly converted into the useless and inactive Creatinine, making the product completely ineffective and a waste of money. Avoid any liquid creatine, unless they can give you specific guarantees.

Dicyandiamide
It’s formed during the production of Creatine. Large amounts are the result of incomplete or inefficient manufacturing. A quality Creatine product will contain very small amounts of Dicyandiamide, usually less than 50 parts per million, which poses no threat.

Dihydrotriazine
There is very little data available on its safety, and its toxic effects are largely unknown. Even a small amount of a contaminant (such as the dihydrotriazine) can add up quickly. For example, one creatine product contained as much as 430 parts per million of Dicyandiamide. If a person is using 10 grams of Creatine per day, they’re consuming 180 mg of this undesirable chemical.

Recommendations
You don't need to worry about these contaminants including the serum creatine issue, so long as you choose quality nutritional supplement outlets, that only sell the highest quality Creatine products.

How Creatine HSC Works

With the advent of modern sports science comes a number of benefits and one of those is the research that has taken place into how to make a number of supplements much more efficient in the way they work.

One of the groups of supplements that this has happened to is creatine. Creatine HSC is one of the derivatives of creatine that uses the integration of creatine carrier sub-pathways to dramatically

• increase muscle cell uptake and retention of creatine,
• the turn-over of ATP / creatine,
• muscle cell volume
• protein synthesis and lean muscle growth.

The basis of creatine HSC is the integration of four very important creatine mediators.


Integrated ATP Support System

ATP is the fuel that is the source of all muscular work so with each rep you use up some of the ATP that is stored in the muscles. It is therefore essential that this is replaced as quickly as possible. Creatine is one of the base components that enables the body to replenish its ATP stores. But this complicated process is reliant on a number of steps for the creatine to ATP conversion and one of these is known as the “bioenergetic-intermediates”.

These intermediates are naturally synthesized within your body in minute amounts, but a creatine substrate (creatine HSC) with the crucial bioenergetic-intermediates ensures that when there is extra creatine the necessary intermediates are there to allow the conversion process to occur.

The Creatine-Sodium Chemical Gradient

The correct creatine-sodium chemical gradient is also crucial for getting more creatine into your muscles than normally achievable in an ordinary cellular metabolic state.
Creatine HSC stimulates sodium-creatine co-transport by increasing the trans-membrane sodium concentration gradient. This increased sodium flow into the cell allows a thermodynamic creatine attachment to “hitch-a-ride” into the muscle cell and thereby increases your muscle creatine uptake.

Dual-Phosphate / Taurine Matrix

Creatine HSC integrates a precise sodium-potassium phosphate combination along with HPLC Taurine for increased muscle cell hydration and insulin-like mediation for creatine transport to promote an optimum cellular medium for accelerated muscle growth.


Precise Insulin Spike with DGC™

Creatine HSC incorporates new high-glycemic-index dextrorotatory glucose crystals. This new glucose component helps your body mediate a significant increase in creatine uptake and retention by having a sharp impact on serum insulin levels. This insulin “spike” drives more creatine into your muscle cells for increased cell volume and muscle growth. See my other blog on the creatine insulin debate.

If this has given you a taste to try creatine to kick start your efforts then be sure to visit a nutritional supplement site to purchase creatine

Creatine and the Insulin debate

A number of studies have taken place in the past to try and ascertain the manner in which best to promote the absorption of creatine by skeletal muscle. These studies have postulated that insulin greatly assists in the uptake of creatine into skeletal muscle.

Insulin is released from the pancreas when blood sugar levels rise, this is commonly after food. Insulin will act as an enabler for the cells of our body to take up insulin, amino acids and other nutrients. As creatine is very closely aligned to amino acids in structure it will also be transported into the cells via the assistance of insulin. In this way insulin acts as a pre-cursor to muscle growth. It puts in place the appropriate means by which the basic substrates are available to create new muscle tissue.

However what the studies also showed was that to invoke a large enough release of insulin the intake of glucose required was large (20 grams for each gram of creatine). In this large amount the glucose is beyond the ability of most to palate. In addition to this the large amount of glucose ingested to ensure this response meant there was a strong possibilityof developing insulin resistance which is how type II diabetes develops.

The drive in recent times by manufacturers has been to try and find agents that would increase the amount of insulin produced or the effects on the cells of insulin. This obviously in-flated the price. However the effectiveness of these agents (chromium, picolinate, alpholic acid, etc) has never been proved to be effective. I am unaware of any scientific studies that either prove or dis-prove these additional agents

But studies have shown that protein greatly increases the ability of glucose to relase insulin into the blood from the pancreas. Further studies have also shown that the combination of creatine, protein and carbohydrate drastically increases the uptake of creatine.

If this has given you a taste to try creatine and / or protein kick start your efforts then be sure to visit a nutritional supplement site to purchase creatine

Side Effects of Creatine

Creatine is a naturally produced by the human body and is an amino-acid based compound. The body produces half the required creatine indigenously from internal amino acids and the rest is produced from the food we eat. Creatine is produced by the liver, pancreas and kidneys and is sent to the muscle tissues through the blood.
It is converted into phosphocreatine molecules that store energy in muscular tissues. This allows the body to release large bouts of energy when the body is exerted.

Creatine can be taken as a food supplement like vitamins and minerals. This is to create additional phosphocreatine in the body for generating more energy. Creatine supplements are generally taken by people participating in sports that require sudden bursts of energy for short periods.

Creatine supplements are approved by the FDA under the 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act.

Creatine also has other benefits like promoting lean-muscle mass and reducing muscle wasting in post-surgical patients. It is also believed to help heart patients by increasing their exercise capacity, reducing heart spasms and thus increasing heart function. Some studies have also indicated its usefulness in treating neuromuscular disorders though tests are still being conducted.

Use of creatine as a food supplement is on the rise. Despite its usefulness, creatine is found to have some side effects albeit few. The most common side effect is weight gain due to more water in the muscle and increase in the lean-muscle tissue. Other side effects rported are dehydration, muscle cramps, nausea, diarrhea, gastrointestinal distress. For persons with existing kidney or renal disorders, creatine was found to cause renal stress because of more stress on the kidneys.

The long-term effects of taking Creatine over a long period of time haven’t been established yet. Its side effects when used along with other medications or supplements also haven’t been determined yet. Hence it is better to be well informed about the likely side effects of creatine before using it, especially in the “loading” method.

If after reading this article you want to give creatine a try then make sure to visit a quality merchant to purchase creatine

Whats creatine

Creatine is a naturally formed nutrient in the human body. It is an amino acid-based compound that is produced in the body from existing amino acids and food. Creatine content is found in foods like fish and red meat. The Creatine produced in the body is converted into a molecule known as “phosphocreatine”. Phosphocreatine stores energy in muscular tissues, especially in voluntary muscles and in the nervous system as these require large bouts of energy suddenly.

There are also other benefits from Creatine such as promoting lean-muscle mass and reducing muscle wasting in post-surgical patients. It is also believed to help heart patients by increasing their exercise capacity, reducing heart spasms and thus increasing heart function. Some studies have also indicated its usefulness in treating neuromuscular disorders, though tests are still being conducted. Creatine is categorized as a food supplement by the FDA.

Creatine is said to be the “most legitimate sports supplement” today. Creatine is essentially used by sportspersons who participate in heavy sports like weightlifting, wrestling and sprinting. This is because these sports require sudden bursts of energy for a short period of time. Creatine also helps the athlete to recover sooner even after using up all the energy. Taking too much Creatine is also not very harmful as the body can absorb only a certain quantity and the rest is expelled from the body through the kidneys.

Creatine is also found to be useful for people suffering from neuromuscular disorders like ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease), a degenerative neural disease, when tested in mice. It was found to be twice as effective in extending the life of mice as compared to the existing prescription drug – riluzole. This may be due to the increase in the availability of energy to damaged nerve cells. Or it can be because of a blocking to a chemical pathway that causes cell death.

If this has given you a taste to try and ethically enhance your training then be sure to visit a quality merchant to purchase creatine

Creatine - More detailed Info

Creatine a naturally occurring substance, is converted by the body to phosphocreatine which is a form of stoed energy used by muscles.
Evidence for the positive effects of supplemental creatine are not definitive, but it probably has more evidence behind it then any other sports supplement. Numerous double blind studies have shown that it may be able to increase athletic performance in short but high intensity activities i.e. sprinting.
The theory behind its use is simple – creatine can build up a reserve of phosphocreatine which helps the muscles perform on demand and evidence suggests that may enable the body to make new phosphocreatine faster.

Although some creatine exists in the daily diet, it is not an essential nutrient because your body can make it from the amino acids L-arginine, glycine, and L-methionine. Provided you eat enough protein (the source of these amino acids), your body will make all the creatine you need for good health.
Meat (including chicken and fish) is the most important dietary source of creatine and its amino acid building blocks. For this reason, vegetarian athletes may potentially benefit most from creatine supplementation.

For bodybuilding and exercise enhancement, a typical dosage schedule starts with a "loading dose" of 15 to 30 g daily (divided into 2 or 3 separate doses) for 3 to 4 days, followed by 2 to 5 g daily. Some authorities recommend skipping the loading dose. (By comparison, we typically get only about 1 g of creatine in the daily diet.)
Creatine's ability to enter muscle cells can be increased by combining it with glucose, fructose, or other simple carbohydrates; in addition, prior use of creatine might enhance the sports benefits of carbohydrate-loading.
Caffeine may block the effects of creatine.

Creatine is one of the best-selling and best-documented supplements for enhancing athletic performance but the scientific evidence that it works is far from complete. The best evidence we have points to potential benefits in forms of exercise that require repeated short-term bursts of high-intensity exercise; this has been seen more in artificial laboratory studies, however, rather than in studies involving athletes carrying out normal sports. It might also be helpful for resistance exercise (weight training), although not all studies have found benefit.
Creatine has also been proposed as an aid to promote weight loss and to reduce the proportion of fat to muscle in the body, but there is little evidence that it is effective for this purpose.

Preliminary evidence suggests that creatine supplements may be able to reduce levels of triglycerides in the blood.(Triglycerides are fats related to cholesterol that also increase risk of heart disease when elevated in the body.)
Creatine supplements might also help counter the loss of muscle strength that occurs when a limb is immobilized, such as following injury or surgery; however, not all results have been positive.

Preliminary studies, including small double-blind trials, suggest (somewhat inconsistently) that creatine might be helpful for reducing fatigue and increasing strength in various illnesses where muscle weakness occurs.

Creatine appears to be relatively safe.No significant side effects have been found with the regimen of several days of a high dosage (15 to 30 g daily) followed by 6 weeks of a lower dosage (2 to 3 g daily). A study of 100 football players found no adverse consequences during 10 months to 5 years of creatine supplementation. Creatine does not appear to adversely affect the body's ability to exercise under hot conditions.
However, there are some potential concerns with creatine. Because it is metabolized by the kidneys, fears have been expressed that creatine supplements could cause kidney injury, and there are two worrisome case reports. However, evidence suggests that creatine is safe for people whose kidneys are healthy to begin with, and who don't take excessive doses. Furthermore, a one year double-blind study of 175 people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis found that use of 10 grams of creatine daily did not adversely affect kidney function. Nonetheless, individuals with kidney disease, especially those on dialysis, should avoid creatine.

Another concern revolves around the fact that creatine is metabolized in the body to the toxic substance formaldehyde.However, it is not clear whether the amount of formaldehyde produced in this way will cause any harm. Three deaths have been reported in individuals taking creatine, but other causes were most likely responsible.

As with all supplements taken in very high doses, it is important to purchase a high-quality form of creatine from a reputable retailer, as contaminants present even in very low concentrations could conceivably build up and cause problems.

Proper Supplementation of Creatine

The best results will be seen by having a loading phase - usually 5 days followed by a maintenance phase, followed by a wash-out phase during Creatine supplementation. A loading phase is used as it helps the muscles become saturated with Creatine faster. This would mean that the maximum effects of Creatine supplementation could be experienced faster in one week rather than four to six weeks as would be seen without the loading phase. Here is a brief summary of these phases for creatine Supplementation.

The Loading Phase - The loading phase consists of 5 days where the body will be loaded with approximately .3 grams of creatine per kilogram of bodyweight. This should be taken 5 times a day. You should ensure that each dosage is taken with roughly 16 ounces of water. Taking a large amount of Creatine can put extra strain on the kidneys, the water will aid in minimising the concentration of theCreatine and help in it being assimilated. The additional amount of water should be taken in addition to your normal daily fluid in-take this will ensure that the kidneys operate in an optimal way. Do not load for more than five days consistantly.

The Maintenance Phase - After completing the loading phase, one should take a maintenance dosage everyday equal to about .03 grams of creatine per kilogram of bodyweight. Continue this for one month, then stop supplementation for one month to allow for a "wash-out" phase. Afterwards, repeat the loading phase and mainentance as described above. Since the maintenance dosage is only taken once per day, it is generally recommended to take it with or after a meal. This will cause insulin to be released which will help to "shuttle" Creatine into the muscle cells.

If you would like to try this supplementation regime then why not take a look at a high quality nutritional site that has a wide range of creatine supplements

An Introduction to Creatine

Creatine is a source of energy for muscle contraction. The body produces its own creatine in the liver, kidneys and pancreas. You also get it in your diet when you eat meat or fish. (Vegetarians may have less creatine.) The body stores most of the creatine in skeletal muscle to use when you exercise. The rest goes in the heart, brain and other tissues.
Creatine is an amino acid, like the building blocks that make up proteins. Creatine in the form of phosphocreatine (creatine phosphate) is an important store of energy in muscle cells. During intense exercise lasting around half a minute, phosphocreatine is broken down to creatine and phosphate, and the energy released is used to regenerate the primary source of energy, adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Output power drops as phosphocreatine becomes depleted, because ATP cannot be regenerated fast enough to meet the demand of the exercise. It follows that a bigger store of phosphocreatine in muscle should reduce fatigue during exercise. Extra creatine in the muscle may also increase the rate of regeneration of phosphocreatine following exercise, which should mean less fatigue with repeated bursts of activity in training or in many sport competitions.
A typical loading regime for a 70-kg athlete is a 5-g dose four times a day for a week. Thereafter the dose can be reduced to 2 to 5 g per day in order to maintain elevated creatine content. This supplementation protocol will increase intramuscular creatine and phosphocreatine content and enhance high intensity exercise performance. There is now some evidence that taking glucose (100 g) with the creatine (5 to 7 g) increases the uptake of creatine into muscle (Green et al., 1996a; Green et al., 1996b). Consequently, I recommend that athletes take creatine with carbohydrate (e.g. with grape juice) or ingest commercially available creatine supplements that combine creatine with glucose. For athletes wanting to promote additional gains in lean body mass, I recommend 15 to 25 g per day for 1 to 3 months. Although many athletes cycle on or off creatine, no study has determined whether this practice promotes greater gains in fat free mass or performance than continuous use.

If this has given you a taste to try and ethically enhance your training then be sure to visit a quality merchant to purchase creatine