18 Health Benefits of Creatine (No.6 Unbelievable)

Do you ever hear about creatine? So, creatine is the supplement that commonly being used to boost the athletic performance. The creatine supplement will turns into phosphocreatine, which then will increase the production adenosine triphospate (ATP). The ATP will then provide the energy for the body. You can add some creatine levels in the body with the consumption of fish or meat, but you can simply take the supplement as well, because it will bring you a lot of benefits. Do you know the exact benefits of having the sufficient amount of creatine? Here are the various benefits of taking creatine in sufficient amount.

Enhances Recovery

The first benefits of creatine that you could get whenever you’re taking creatine is that your recovery period would be speeded up. There are some studies that have already proved that creatine will speed up the recovery period. The studies evidenced that the consumption of creatine supplementation would be very beneficial to reduce the muscle cell damage and the inflammation that caused by the exhaustive exercising as well as enhancing the speedy recovery after you’re having some physical activities.

In the matter of fact, the studies that conducted in Santos, Brazil, which evidence that the male athletes that consume 20 grams of creatine monohydrate per day alongside with 60 grams of maltodextrine for five days experience the lower risk of having the cell damage after having the endurance running race, compared with the athletes who took only the maltodextrine. So, it is better for the athletes to consume the creatine supplementation.

Enhance High Intensity Work

The second benefits that you could get whenever you’re having the supplementation of creatine is that it will enable your body to perform the high intensity work. There is an evidence that the consumption of creatine will stimulate the production of muscle fibers which will ensure that your body will not feel the fatigue prematurely. Also, creatine would strengthen the muscular contraction and will boost the overall energy whenever you do whatever physical activities that you take part in.

In the matter of fact, the energy production wouldn’t be perfect whenever you’re not taking the supplementation of creatine so that you will feel the premature fatigue whenever you’re having the high intensity work. So, this creatine supplement would be very important and essential to consume for every athlete so that they overall performance will be boosted.

Improves Anaerobic Activity

The third benefits that you could get whenever you’re having the supplementation of creatine is that in will improve the anaerobic activity. In the matter of fact, there was a study that evidence if the creatine supplement would be very beneficial to improve the muscle volume significantly. So, the study conducted on the group that consists of ten males and ten females, which some of them were given the supplementation of the creatine and some of them were given the placebo.

The result of the study is that over the three-days period after they were given the creatine supplement or the placebo, the group of people who were given the creatine supplementation experienced increased the total body mass and a 6,6% increase in thigh volume, as well as the increase performance whenever they’re having the sprint tests. So, the consumption of creatine without a doubt would improve the anaerobic activity in an athlete.

Improve the Volume of the Muscle

The fourth benefits that you could get whenever you’re consuming the creatine supplements is that wour muscle’s volume without a doubt would be increased. This creatine benefit would be really beneficial and essential for everyone of you who have the obsession of becoming the bodybuilders. Creatine has the property that will make the inflation in the muscle cells and thus, the appearance of the muscle would be far more heavily than before and also, this creatine would be very essential too as protein synthesis.

In the matter of fact, there are some reports that evidence the consumption of the creatine supplement would increase the body weight up to six pounds during the first few weeks after people are taking that supplementation. So, if you’re the bodybuilders and want to increase the appearance of your muscle, try to add some creatine supplements right at the moment.

Enhances Methylation

The fifth benefits that you would get whenever you’re having the supplementation of creatine is that it will also enhance the methylation. There are some suggestions that creatine supplementation would be very beneficial to create the powerful anabolic boost through its enhancing system of systemic methylation. So, methylation is the process that would support the life itself and the molecule that commonly called as S-Adenosyl Methionine (SAM) is the main donor of body’s methylation. Without the methylation process, the anabolic process in the whole body would be disrupted, which will cause you a lot of health problems in the future.

In the matter of fact, supplementing creatine would enhance the methylation status and thus, it will reduce the risk of draining liver and kidneys, as well as the creatine supplements will alleviate the body’s need to synthesize the production of creatine through amino acids. So, it is very important to take the supplementation of methylation for the anabolic process in the body.

Boost the Brain Function

The sixth benefits that you could get whenever you’re having the supplementation of creatine is that this supplement will boost and improve your overall brain function. In fact, there are some studies that already proved that creatine supplementation would be beneficial for your brain. The study conducted by researchers Wyss and Schulze has shown that creatine is an extremely important neuroprotectan, which is the agent that will protect the health of your nerve cells from various harmful environmental conditions.

In addition to that, creatine is also would be very essential to improve the brain’s ability to survive the metabolic and physical trauma that related to the production of Reactive Oxygen Species, which are the smaller molecules that can lead to the severe damage to cell structure. In the matter of fact too, the creatine deficiencies would increase the risk of developing the neurodegenerative disorders.

Improves Bone Healing

The next benefit that you could get whenever you’re consuming creatine is that the supplement will speed up the bone healing. In fact, there is also another study that already evidences the efficacy of creatine to improve the overall bone healing. So, the study conducted in Switzerland found that creatine would be very beneficial as the therapy against the bone fracture or as the treatment against osteoporosis, because the creatine supplementation will enhance the activity of alkaline phosphate, which is a very important thing for the bone growth.

Aside from that, creatine would also become an essential thing to consume since this supplement would stimulate the cellular energy production, which then will enhance the bone formation. The cellular energy is widely known as its importance to maintain and develop the bone, which then will prevent you from osteoporosis.

Improve Strength and Power

The next benefit that you could get whenever you’re consuming the creatine supplementation is that this supplement will increase the overall strength and also the power of your ability. So, creatine is basically formed from amino acids, which are arginine and glycine and those amino acids will serve as the energy reserve in our body. There is also a study from the scientists that shown there were an improvement in elderly whenever they flight up of stairs up to 40% after taking the creatine supplement.

So, basically the creatine supplementation would increase the strength and power within your body because this creatine will increase the amount of phosphocreatine, which then leads you to higher ATP production. So, whenever you’re having the physical activity, these ATP would be broken down into energy, which then enables you to have the better strength and power.

Improves Glucose Tolerance

The next benefit that you could get whenever you’re consuming the creatine supplementation is that this supplement will enhance the glucose tolerance, which then will protect your body from diabetes. In the matter of fact, there is also a study that already proved that the creatine would be very beneficial as the protector against the diabetes. Researchers showed that the supplementation of creatine will increase the glucose transporter expression and muscle glycogen content, as well as improve the glucose tolerance in the body.

Since the study was conducted, there are some suggestions that the creatine will improve the glucose tolerance in the body because of the production of glucose transporter type 4. So, whenever you want to stay away from the harmful disease like diabetes, you better start to consume creatine supplementation right now.

Reduce the Possibility of Having the Age Related Muscle Loss

The next benefit that you would get whenever you start taking the creatine supplementation is that you would be less likely to have the age related muscle loss, or commonly called as sarcopaenia. As we all know, whenever we’re getting older, there is a natural decline of the production of muscle building hormones, such as testosterone, growth hormone, and also the insulin like growth hormone, which then without a doubt would lead you to the age related muscle loss. In the matter of fact, the insulin like growth hormone would be loss significantly as we’re getting old.

Because of that, the consumption of creatine would be very beneficial to prevent the degenerate effects of the muscle whenever you’re getting old since creatine supplement will enhance the fast twitch muscle fiber integrity, and thus, it will maintain the levels of your insulin like growth hormone and thus, you would be less likely of having the age related muscle loss whenever you’re getting old.

Beneficial for Vegetarians

The next benefit that you could get whenever you’re consuming the creatine supplement is that it will improve the performance and muscle mass for everyone of you who decide to live as vegetarians. As we all know, the group of people who eat meat would have the greater amount of creatine in their body. As the opposite, the group of people who eat less meat from animal would have lower creatine levels in the body. So, for vegetarians who wouldn’t eat the foods that comes from animal, this creatine supplement is the solution for you to increase the creatine levels in the body.

The increased level of creatine would be very beneficial in the body because this supplement would enhance your overall performance in your daily activity as well as improve the muscle mass within your body. In addition to that, there is a study that vegetarians subjects who took creatine experienced the greater increase in total creatine, phosphocreatine, lean tissue, and total work performance compared with the non-vegetarians who took the creatine.

Boost Testosterone Hormone Levels

The next benefit that you would get whenever you’re consuming the creatine supplement is that it will boost the level of testosterone level in the body. There is no secret whenever you’re reaching the age of thirties, there is a decline in the production of the testosterone level in the body. Aside from that, you will also suffer from the decline of the energy production, endurance, strength, and also the mental sharpness. The declining level of the testosterone production indeed will affect your overall performance and thus, taking creatine supplements would be very beneficial for you.

As the addition to that, there is an evidence that shows the benefits of creatine supplement to improve the testosterone levels in the body. A study conducted in New Jersey shows that the subjects who are following 10 week resistance training and consume creatine supplement on a regular basis have the increased amount of testosterone levels in their body. So, this supplement would be very beneficial for everyone of you who wouldn’t have the decline in the testosterone during your elderly period.

Help the Muscle Cells to Produce Energy

The next benefit that you could get whenever you’re consuming the creatine on a regular basis is that this supplement would increase the production of the energy and thus, it will boost your overall performance too. The reason behind this benefit is that the creatine supplement would increase the muscles’ phosphocreatine stores. Phosphocreatines would be very beneficial to help the new formation of ATP, the key molecules that your body use for energy and all of the basic functions in life. This ATP would be broken down to produce the energy whenever you’re having the physical activities.

Beneficial For Parkinson Disease

The next benefit that you could get whenever you’re consuming the creatine supplement is that this supplement might help whenever you’re having the parkinson disease. So, the Parkinson disease is commonly characterized by the reduction levels of a neurotransmitter called dopamine in the brain. The reduction level of dopamine level in the body would make the brain cells begin to die and will lead you other complications, such as loss of muscle functions, and speech impairments.

As the matter of fact, the benefit of creatine supplement for Parkinson is already proven in mice. In the study, the supplementation of creatine supplement in mice would prevent the drop of dopamine levels up to 90%. Many health experts say that the consumption of creatine and combine it with the weight training would be very important to maintain the dopamine levels in the brain and thus, you will be less likely to develop the harmful disease like Parkinson.

Prevent You from Various Neurological Diseases

The next benefit that you could get whenever you’re consuming the creatine supplement is that you will be less likely to be prevented from various neurological diseases. So, the neurological health is basically is depending on your phosphocreatine levels in the brain. Whenever you’re facing the sudden reduction of phosphocreatine levels in the brain, you will be more likely to develop various neurological diseases.

Creatine would protect you from various neurological diseases by maintaining the levels of the phosphocreatine levels in the brain. In the matter of fact, the intake of creatine supplement will increase the levels of phosphocreatine levels in the brain. According to the experiment conducted in mice at the Huntington, the supplementation of creatine in mice would restore and keep the levels of phospocreatine in the brain up to 72%, compared to only 26% for control mice. There are various neurological diseases that would be prevented if you start to take the creatine supplementation, such as

Alzheimer
Epilepsy
Spinal Cord Injury
Ischemic Stroke
ALS

Reduce the Tiredness and Fatigue

The next benefit that you would get whenever you’re consuming the creatine is that this supplement will reduce the tiredness and fatigue. As the matter of fact, the creatine supplement is already proved to be very potent to prevent you from premature tiredness and fatigue.

There is a study that followed the traumatic injury patients for six months. The result of the study is that the patients who supplemented the creatine experienced the 50% reduction of dizziness, compared with group of patients who are no supplemented. In addition to that, there were only 10% of patients who supplemented with creatine that suffer from fatigue and tiredness, compared to 80% of patients who are not supplemented with the creatine. So, basically the creatine supplement will prevent you from the sudden fatigue because this supplement would provide the brain with additional energy and also it will increase the amount of dopamine levels.

Avoid the Depression

The next benefit that you could get whenever you’re having the creatine supplementation is that you will be less likely to suffer from depression. So, the main cause of the depression is due to poor brain metabolism and this will make the brain is not getting the energy that is needed to keep you feeling the good. In the matter of fact, the consumption of creatine would increase the levels of neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin in animal studies. Those neurotransmitters have the anti-depressant effects that will avoid you to have the feeling of depression.

In human, there is also a study that already proved that creatine will have the benefit related to the mood. When 25 women took creatine supplement 5 grams per day, they had the more significant improvement compared with the group of women that took placebo in just 2 weeks of experiments. That result shows that the creatine would be very beneficial to improve your overall mood.

It is Relatively Safe

The next benefit that you could get whenever you’re consuming the creatine is that this supplement is relatively safe to use since many health experts already conducted a study from the people who take the creatine supplementation on a regular basis and they’re not suffering from any specific health problems after several periods of time. But, you need to take the attention that you’re not recommended to take the creatine supplement more than the daily recommended dosage. The daily recommended dosage for creatine supplement is about 3 to 5 grams of creatine monohydrate powder per day.

So, basically the creatine supplementation would be very beneficial for the people who have the profession as athletes as well as improve the overall health in common people. In addition to that, the creatine supplement is considered as one of the cheapest and safest supplements available in the stores.

Various Types of Creatines

So, after you already know all of the benefits of creatine that you would get whenever you’re start consuming it, we bet that you would also like to know what kind of types of creatine supplement that widely available in stores. Well, in fact there are various types of creatine and thus, we provide you with guidance of the various types of creatine as described in the following article.

Creatine Monohydrate. The first and the most common types of creatine is the creatine monohydrate. This kind of creatine is the most famous kind of creatine for the scientific purpose. This creatine monohydrate will bind with water, which then provide 88% of pure creatine per molecule. In the other words, a gram of creatine monohydrate would supply about 4,40 grams of active product in the body.
Creatine Phosphate. This is the type of creatine that would maintain and increase the store of phosphocreatine. But if you think that this type of creatine would give you the better benefits that the creatine monohydrate, you’re probably wrong because creatine phosphate only has 62,3% pure creatine per molecules, which make the creatine phosphate would be less effective if you compared it with the creatine monohydrate.
Micronized Creatine. This type of creatine is very similar with the creatine monohydrate, bu the main difference between the micronized creatine and creatine monohydrate is that the micronized creatine has smaller molecules than micronized creatine. This enables the micronized creatine to do various benefits related to your health. This micronized creatine would reduce the unwanted bloating effects also will make it easier to absorb and lessening any potential stomach discomfort.
Creatine Citrate. This type of creatine is an essential regular creatine that will bond with special molecules and increase the absorption. But, this type of creatine would only have 400 miligrams of active creatine per gram and this type of creatine is really expensive.
Creatine Ethyl Ester. This type of creatine is often touted as the future type of creatine supplementation since this creatine could have the absorption rate up to ten times higher than regular creatine due to its solubility.
Kre-Alkalyn. This type of creatine is claimed as the type of creatine that has the fastest absorption rates of all types of creatine because kre-alkalyn is the type of creatine that processed at higher pH levels than the regular creatine monohydrate.
Creatine Serum. This is one of the controversial type of creatine because there is an evidence that creatine serum doesn’t give any benefits at all to the body because this type of creatine is really unstable in liquid.

Creatine Myths

After you already know everything about all of the types of creatine and also the health benefits of creatine, you might wonder whether taking creatine would cause the side effects or not. There are some myths related to the side effects of creatine. Here are the myths related to creatine side effects and its explanation.

Creatine Could Cause the Kidney and Liver Damage.This myth is wrong at all, because there are a lot of studies that conducted by the researchers on the group of people, and all of those studies conclude that the long term use of creatine doesn’t appear to have any negative effects on the kidney and liver.
Creatine Causes Gastrointestinal Distress. There is a truth about this myth, but the gastrointestinal distress that caused by the creatine is the minor one. Stomach discomfort will be occur whenever you’re taking the creatine supplement on an empty stomach or you take too much creatine supplement at once.
Creatine Causes Cramping and Dehydration. This is one of the most common thing related to the creatine. But, the creatine supplement, on the contrary, will make your body stay hydrated because this creatine supplement would increase the levels of the body water.
Creatine Leads to Weight Gain. The fact about that myth is that the creatine supplementation indeed will lead you to the weight gain, but the minor ones. Whenever you first consume the creatine supplement, there would be an increase about up to 2,9% of the total body weight because the water being pulled into the muscle.

So, are there any specific harmful side effects about creatine?

While the creatine supplement doesn’t have any specific harmful side effects, but you need to also consider that you must not consume the creatine higher than the recommended dosage. Kids that below 18 years old also shouldn’t consume the creatine since their bone is still growth and this supplement can lead them to torn muscles and will lead to permanent damage.

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So, now you already know everything that you need to know about creatine. While this supplement will bring you a lot of benefits, but you need to take it wisely and not overuse it. So, stay healthy!