Creatine provides short-term energy in muscle and nerve cells. Your body synthesizes approximately 1 g of creatine per day from three amino acids. Meat, poultry and fish contain creatine, but you only consume about 1 g from your diet and none if you are vegetarian. No dietary recommendation has been established for creatine. Athletes sometimes supplement with creatine to improve performance and muscle mass, but creatine may have more health benefits than just improving athletic performance.
Energy for Brain and Body
Creatine combines with phosphate to form creatine phosphate in your body. Creatine phosphate is used by muscles and nerves to provide energy during intense activities that last a short time, such as weightlifting or sprinting. Creatine does not help in endurance exercises. Creatine is also an important energy source for the brain, especially during stressful situations. Even when resting, the brain is an energy hog, using approximately 20 percent of the calories you take in each day.
Muscles
Creatine supplements may also improve lean muscle mass and strength during athletic activities of short duration and high intensity. This appears to be more effective in younger people. Use of creatine supplements is not banned by the International Olympic Committee or the National Collegiate Athletic Association, although the latter bans schools from providing it for their athletes. People with diseases that affect muscle strength and endurance, such as muscular dystrophy and Parkinson's disease, may also benefit from creatine supplementation.
Heart Disease
Creatine supplementation may help people with congestive heart failure gain more endurance, enabling them to exercise more and gain muscle strength. Fatigue during even slight exertion is one of the main symptoms of congestive heart failure. Creatine may also help lower triglycerides and homocysteine. A high triglyceride level is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, while homocysteine is a marker indicating a risk of heart attack and stroke.
Supplementation
When supplementing to improve physical performance, a typical regimen involves a loading dose of 20 g of creatine daily for five days, followed by a maintenance dose of about 2 g a day. For congestive heart failure, the typical dose is 20 g each day for five to 10 days. For Parkinson's and muscular dystrophy, the dosage is often 10 g a day. Because creatine causes muscles to draw water from the body, be sure to drink at least eight 8 oz. servings of liquid daily while supplementing.
Precautions
Creatine supplements are safe for most people at the recommended amounts, but you may experience nausea, stomach pain, diarrhea or cramping. High doses of creatine are not recommended, because of the possibility of kidney, liver and heart damage. If you have kidney disease or diabetes, which can increase the risk of kidney disease, you should avoid creatine supplementation unless you're under a doctor's supervision. Because little is known about creatine supplementation during pregnancy and breastfeeding, it is better to avoid supplements and get creatine solely from a healthy diet if you are pregnant or nursing.
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