The Science behind Creatine Monohydrate

Few supplements have garnered as much attention and scrutiny in the nutrition world as creatine monohydrate. From elite athletes to weekend warriors, the goal for improved muscular strength and mass has led many gym-goers to hit Google to find out if they should be adding a scoop to their post-workout shake. Creatine monohydrate, a heavily studied supplement, is fast becoming a staple to accompany the training plans of many. But what actually is it?

MH delves into the science behind creatine monohydrate’s mechanisms, the benefits and what the latest research recommends. We also talk to physiology researcher Dr. Arthur Lynch of Sigma Nutrition who shares his expertise on the supplement and separates fact from fiction around the supplement.

What Is Creatine Monohydrate?

Creatine monohydrate is a dietary supplement that is commonly used by athletes and bodybuilders to enhance athletic performance, increase muscle mass, and improve exercise capacity. It’s a naturally occurring compound found in small amounts in certain foods and is also synthesised by the body.

Of all the different forms of creatine, creatine monohydrate is the most widely researched and well-studied. It works by increasing the body’s store of phosphocreatine, a molecule that helps produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is the primary energy source for cellular activities, particularly short bursts of intense physical activity, e.g. your CrossFit WODs and heavy lifts.

Many studies suggest that supplementing with creatine monohydrate can lead to improvements in strength, body composition, power and muscle growth, particularly during high-intensity, short-duration activities like weightlifting and sprinting. However, its effects can vary from person to person, and not everyone may experience the same benefits.

How Does Creatine Monohydrate Work?

To explain the mechanisms of how we use ATP for energy, Lynch explains it in simple terms: ‘We can think of ATP being a molecule signifying potential energy. When energy is needed by a muscle cell, ATP can be broken down into two constituent parts: ADP [adenosine di-phosphate] and a phosphate molecule [P]. When this reaction happens, energy is released for muscle contraction. However, during high-intensity exercise ATP is rapidly depleted due to the high demand for energy. Depletion of ATP in this manner quickly leads to fatigue [within a matter of seconds].’

This ATP can be replenished from a pool of creatine found stored in the muscles. ‘Both free creatine and phosophocreatine [PCr] are found in the body,’ says Lynch. ‘Phosphocreatine (or creatine phosphate) is as the name implies – a creatine molecule attached to a phosphate molecule.’

‘And so if we now have ADP around [due to the breakdown of ATP], we can regenerate ATP by adding a phosphate molecule to ADP [the names adenosine DI-phosphate and adenosine TRI-phosphate should be making sense about now]. Where do we get this phosphate molecule [P] from? By breaking down [technically hydrolysing] phosphocreatine.’

Adding creatine monohydrate to your list of supplements will replenish these stores more easily. ‘By having more stores of creatine in the muscle, we have a greater ability to regenerate ATP. This is the premise for supplemental creatine – a higher rate of ATP resynthesis, a delay in the onset of muscular fatigue and enhanced recovery during repeated bouts of high-intensity exercise,’ says Lynch.

What Does Creatine Monohydrate Do?

With the science of how it works a little clearer, why should we be supplementing with creatine monohydrate and what are the benefits?

Creatine Monohydrate Enhances Muscular Strength

The main benefit of including creatine monohydrate is an improvement in strength and power during resistance training. According to research published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, creatine monohydrate supplementation has been shown to enhance muscle strength and power, enabling individuals to lift heavier weights and perform more repetitions during resistance exercises.

Creatine Monohydrate Increases Muscle Mass

Another extensively researched function of creatine monohydrate involves its capacity to enhance muscle growth. When used to support resistance training, along with the strength benefits mentioned, creatine monohydrate can increase lean mass.

Additionally, creatine monohydrate is claimed to aid in muscle development by encouraging heightened water retention within muscle cells and triggering protein synthesis, resulting in increased muscle size. However, according to a review published in the ISSN, the water retention that occurs is often short-lived, and is due to creatine monohydrate’s performance enhancing properties that the increases in muscle mass occurs.

Other studies, such as this one published by Sage Journals, have concluded that creatine supplementation can increase muscle hypertrophy in resistance-trained young adult men, particularly in the upper limbs.

Creatine Monohydrate Improves Athletic Performance

A multitude of evidence supports that creatine monohydrate enhances acute exercise capacity and training adaptations in athletes of all ages. The ISSN supports that these adaptations allow an athlete to do more work over a series of sets or sprints, leading to greater gains in strength, muscle mass, and performance due to an improvement in the quality of training.

What Is the Best Form of Creatine?

There are several forms of creatine that have been studied. These include:

Creatine monohydrate is one of the most largely studied supplements in existence. According to Examine: ‘Creatine monohydrate has the most scientific evidence behind it to support its efficacy and safety, and appears to be the cheapest form of creatine to purchase. For these reasons, creatine monohydrate is currently the best form of creatine.’

Is It Safe to Take Creatine Monohydrate?

According to Lynch, creatine monohydrate is safe but warns that ‘there are a few caveats.’

While there seems to be a lot of confusion around the supplementation of creatine monohydrate, the evidence largely supports the safety of its usage. A significant study published in Clinical Science found that higher doses of 20 grams a day caused no ill effects.

‘In terms of kidney health, again no evidence supports the idea that intakes of up to 25 grams per day pose any threat to renal function, provided there are no pre-existing kidney issues,’ says Lynch. ‘In healthy individuals no medically significant side effects have been reported in literature with either short- or long term use of creatine monohydrate.’

This notion is supported by a review published in Amino Acids.

Lynch continues to explain why there is so much confusion around creatine monohydrate’s usage and its effect on the kidneys: ‘The misunderstanding associated with creatine use and the potential negative effects on the kidneys is due to the fact that creatine supplementation increases levels of creatinine, which is a common marker used to assess renal function,’ says Lynch. ‘But an elevation in creatinine due to taking creatine doesn’t mean there is any harm to the kidneys. This could be falsely interpreted as an indication of renal dysfunction and subsequently a cause of major confusion. So, if you’re getting routine blood work with your doctor, make sure to let them know you consume creatine if your creatinine comes back high.’

Lynch also notes that there can be drawbacks with creatine usage and its effect on our digestion. ‘There does appear to be some evidence to support the notion that creatine may increase gastrointestinal (GI) distress. Some authors have reported mild GI issues including diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal discomfort.’

The only other exception that Lynch notes, where the effects of creatine usage are not as widely studied, is on children and adolescents.

How Much Creatine Monohydrate Should I Use?

You may have heard of the term creatine loading, but according to Lynch you don’t have to do so if you don’t want to. ‘It is not necessary to implement a “loading period” [typically a high dose for 5-7 days, followed by a lower maintenance dose],’ says Lynch. ‘However, doing so can increase your muscle creatine stores more rapidly.’

If you do choose to load the muscles, Lynch recommends 0.3 grams per kilogram of body mass per day (equal to 24 grams per day for an 80 kg person). After that a maintenance dose of 0.03 grams per kilogram of body mass per day (equivalent to 2.4 grams per day for that same 80 kg person). This is in accordance with evidence published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

However, as Lynch previously mentioned, this isn’t completely necessary and that most research seems to show a dose of approximately 5 grams per day is the maximum needed to elicit benefits over time, depending on lean body mass.

Lynch adds that this amount needs to be taken continuously over a number of weeks and that creatine has its benefit when it accumulates and muscle stores become saturated.

To conclude, take 5 grams a day to see the best benefits to support your training efforts.

Source: Kate Neudecker Mens Health

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