Creatine

About 2 grams a day of creatina are irreversibly converted into creatinine, diminshing the bodily supplies which ate counterbalanced both by feeding and by endogenous production by the liver, pancreas and kidneys, which synthesise it starting from glycine, arginine and methionine.

Various types of creatine are on the market in the form of supplements, the most usually found being monohydrate creatine.

Creatine supplement raises the values of muscular phosphocreatine and consequently facilitates ATP synthesis during maximum work supplying more energy. Even between one performance and another of a given exercise the re-synthesis of phosphocreatine tends to go up.

It should be said that after about 4 weeks from interrupting its intake with food supplements, the muscular concentration of creatine tends to return to normal levels. Moreover in a good 25% of individuals, creatine supplement doesn’t seem to bring any benefit, in that the supplement doesn’t lead to variations of concentration in the subject.

Generally the use of creatine has 3 distinct stages commonly known as: loading stage, maintenance stage and suspension.
The loading phase means taking about 0.3g of creatine per kg of body weight per day, divided into 3-4 intakes. Obviously the optimum doses should be set according to the person and these indications are general. The loading stage lasts about 6 days, but the same effect can be obtained by lowering the quantity drastically (about 3 grams a day) but increasing the duration of intake up to 30 days.

Once the maximum possible concentration of muscular creatine is reached, you move on to the maintenance stage, with variable doses of about 2-3 grams a day, eough to counter the physiological turnover mentioned previously, or balance the creatine which tends to turn into creatinine.

Suspension is recommended after 3 months of use for periods varying from 2 weeks to a month.
The intake of creatine should be accompanied by the simultaneous introduction of sugars with a high glycaemic index, or those able to have released insulin which acts in favour of picking up creatine.
However research in this field is not concluded and is sometimes contrasting. It would seem as much that caffeine reduces the effects of creatine, even if the inhibiting mechanisms still haven’t been completely clarified.

The benefits to sports performance can be seen especially in the sprint and in anaerobic performances.

As far as physiological modifications are concerned, an increase in weight can be noted, due to the increase in inner and outer cellular water retention. Some writers however maintain that both the increased cellular dimensions and the improved performance can also act in stimulating protein synthesis. The most important side effects, although not all have been demonstrated with a causal link, are: gastrointestinal disturbances, hepatic kidney problems, cramps, dehydration and suppression of endogenic synthesis of creatine.