Creatine
Muscle builder
- Improves strength and power
- Promotes lean muscle growth
- May reduce symptoms of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and chemotherapy
Creatine supplementation usually results in an improvement in strength and power during resistance exercise. Creatine is well-researched for this purpose and the effects are quite notable. Creatine may modestly increase lean mass when used in conjunction with resistance exercise. It has been tested for anaerobic running capacity in many studies, the results of which are mixed, but most suggest a small improvement in performance.
While creatine has been most researched physical performance and less for cognitive performance, it may have benefits in some scenarios. A reduction in mental fatigue was observed in various situations such as demanding mental activity, sleep deprivation, and brain injury. For those with below average creatine levels such as vegetarians and the elderly, Creatine may improve working memory. More research in these areas and other cognitive measures before creatine can be said to be effective.
Each of our Creatine capsules contain 2.5 grams of creatine monohydrate, one of the purest types of micronised Creatine monohydrate available. We include 2 in our packs to provide 5 grams in total.
| Product Type: 2 Capsules Dosage: 5.0g |
Creatine Monohydrate, Gelatin, magnesium stearate.
There are many studies that show increases in power output following creatine supplementation including one meta-analysis showing a “increase a 12% improvement in strength to 20%” and grow a “12% increase in power to 26%” through supplementing creatine monohydrate and training regularly.[1] It also seems to increase anaerobic cardiovascular capacity (involving respiration powered by glucose), although only to a minimal extent.[2]
Research Score: Very strong
Creatine is a popular muscle growth supplement because it can lead to muscle growth when taken in combination with strength training, as 19 studies show.[3] [4] However, three things must be noted. Muscle growth varies from individual to individual, with some people reporting no effect. Creatine increases water retention, consequently increasing overall body weight,[5] [6] and a lot of the research finding Creatine builds lean
mass also confounds this gain with water weight gain, so more studies must be done to distinguish Creatine’s muscle building properties from its water weight gain effects.[7]
Creatine has minimal muscle damage protection, fatigue resistance and muscular endurance properties.[8] [9] [10]
Research Score: Strong
Studies show that people with epilepsy and Alzheimer's disease often have low levels of phosphocreatine (high-energy phosphates in muscles and the brain).[11] Creatine supplementation can increase phosphocreatine levels and can lower cell death by 25%.[12]
Creatine also decreases neuron death induced by the toxin that can produce Parkinson’s disease-like effects in research animals[13] and reduces the process by which nerve cells are damaged or killed by over-stimulation by neurotransmitters.[14]
Additionally, it may have a role in preventing adverse side effects in some chemotherapy treatments, like corticosteroids. One study found that since
Creatine can increase lean body mass, it can prevent the decrease in growth caused by corticosteroid treatment.[15]
Moreover, it decreases markers of damage caused by the pesticide Rotenone,[16] L-DOPA induced dyskinesia (a condition caused by the adverse side effects of Parkinson’s disease treatment),[17] 3-nitropropinoic acid (a toxin produced in fungi, sugar cane and fermented Japanese and Chinese foods).[18]
Research Score: Promising
Creatine may also be able to reduce fatigue to a small extent, although studies are mixed. [21] Here we list a positive case.
Illustrative Case
A 2008 placebo-controlled study on people who suffered traumatic brain injuries showed that only 10% of those supplementing Creatine suffered from fatigue, whereas 80% of those taking the placebo did.[22]
Research Score: Mixed
1.
2.
3. Olsen S, Aagaard P, Kadi F, et al. Creatine supplementation augments the increase in satellite cell and myonuclei number in human skeletal muscle induced by strength training. The Journal of Physiology. 2006;573 (Pt 2):525-534. doi:10.1113/jphysiol.2006.
107359.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11. Matthews RT, Ferrante RJ, Klivenyi P, et al. Creatine and cyclocreatine attenuate MPTP neurotoxicity. Exp Neurol. 1999;157(1):142-9.
12. Kaemmerer WF, Rodrigues CM, Steer CJ, Low WC. Creatine-supplemented diet extends Purkinje cell survival in spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 transgenic mice but does not prevent the ataxic phenotype. Neuroscience. 2001;103(3):713-24.
13. Matthews RT, et al. Creatine and cyclocreatine attenuate MPTP neurotoxicity . Exp Neurol. (1999)
14. Brustovetsky N, Brustovetsky T, Dubinsky JM. On the mechanisms of neuroprotection by creatine and phosphocreatine . J Neurochem. (2001)
15. Roy BD, et al. Dietary supplementation with creatine monohydrate prevents corticosteroid-induced attenuation of growth in young rats . Can J Physiol Pharmacol. (2002)
16. Hosamani R, Ramesh SR, Muralidhara. Attenuation of rotenone-induced mitochondrial oxidative damage and neurotoxicty in Drosophila melanogaster supplemented with creatine . Neurochem Res. (2010)
17. Valastro B, et al. Oral creatine supplementation attenuates L-DOPA-induced dyskinesia in 6-hydroxydopamine-lesioned rats . Behav Brain Res. (2009)
18. Matthews RT, et al. Neuroprotective effects of creatine and cyclocreatine in animal models of Huntington’s disease . J Neurosci. (1998)
19. Gualano B, Novaes RB, Artioli GG, et al. Effects of creatine supplementation on glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity in sedentary healthy males undergoing aerobic training. Amino Acids. 2008;34(2):245-50.
20.
21.
22. Sakellaris G, Nasis G, Kotsiou M, Tamiolaki M, Charissis G, Evangeliou A. Prevention of traumatic headache, dizziness and fatigue with creatine administration. A pilot study. Acta Paediatrica (Oslo, Norway?: 1992). 2008;97(1):31-34. doi:10.1111/j.1651-2227.2007.00529.x.