Your body naturally manufactures creatine. About half of it is made from other amino acids that you've ingested, while the other half comes from dietary sources like wild game, lean red meat and some types of fish. Because vegetarians lack these dietary sources of creatine, their creatine levels tend to be lower than those of meat eaters. The following guidelines have, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center, been thoroughly tested in athletes; non-athletes may respond differently.
Step 1
Consult your supervising athletic or medical professional before taking liquid creatine, as it may have serious side effects and may interfere with some medications.
Step 2
Check the ingredients label on your liquid creatine supplement to determine how many milligrams or grams of creatine are in each serving. This is critically important, because the potency of liquid creatine supplements will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.
Step 3
Take enough doses of the liquid to add up to 5 grams of creatine ingested four times every day for 1 week. This is known as the loading phase and is meant to rapidly increase the amount of creatine in your system.
Step 4
Take a maintenance dose of 2 to 5 grams each day after the loading period has passed.
Tips and Warnings
- Eat foods rich in carbohydrates--especially starches like grains and pasta or fruit--when you take your creatine dose; these appear to help with absorption.
- Creatine may have harmful side effects like muscle cramps, bloating, liver problems, high blood pressure and kidney damage. If you have any liver, blood pressure or kidney disorders or are taking any medication, you should avoid taking creatine. Creatine may, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center, prevent your body from creating its own natural stores of creatine.
Member Comments