Studies show that liquid creatine and creatine ethyl ester (CEE) are unstable and break down in your blood system. Surprise: Many of these supplements do not contain the minimum amount of the nutrient proven to be effective. One category to watch out for: "pre-workout" supplements that advertise that they contain creatine. "A lot of other supplements out there will have a lot of junk that you don’t need, and they’ll be much more expensive." "If you’re going to add a supplement in, make sure it’s creatine monohydrate," Brown says. Some forms of the supplement are indeed better than others. That said, you can't take creatine, not workout, and expect to gain muscle. "So taking creatine and not working out is just going to lead to nothing." "Creatine contains no calories, and has no impact on your fat metabolism," he says. Some people think that if they take creatine and don’t work out, they’ll put on fat-but Roussell says it isn’t true. What are the long-term effects of creatine?Īfter that initial retention period, subsequent gains are due to the increase in the workload you can handle, according to Paul Greenhaff, Ph.D., professor of muscle metabolism at the University of Nottingham in England.īasically, if you continue pushing harder and harder in the gym, creatine will keep fueling you to greater gains. Make sure you're well-hydrated when you're taking creatine supplements. Creatine pulls more water into your muscles, making your muscles bigger and fuller.Īnd if you're not gaining weight on creatine in the short-term, you may not be drinking enough water. "Most people gain between two and four pounds of water retention in the first week."īut that water weight is good. "Creatine is a quick way to add muscle, but not without some water weight, too," Carolyn Brown, R.D., a nutrition counselor at Indigo Wellness Group. One thing is almost certain: If you take creatine, you’ll gain weight. What are the short-term effects of creatine? ![]() "Take 5 grams of creatine monohydrate with your workout shake to help you get bigger and stronger."Īlthough some research has pointed to creatine’s efficacy for high-intensity, explosive exercises like sprinting, the overall results have been mixed. (And, if you're buying the good stuff, creatine supplements aren't cheap.)ĭon't worry, though: "You should feel good about your creatine supplementation," says Michael Roussell, Ph.D. In other words, you're wasting your money. Take creatine the wrong way and you won't experience the same benefits as someone who follows direction. In short, creatine, when taken as recommended, delivers on its promises of strength and muscle gain.īut them there's the not-so-great news: You can incorrectly take creatine (read: "user error"), which can result in side effects. And, if you're taking creatine supplements correctly, that science largely considers creatine safe and effective. The good news is that creatine supplementation is well-studied in scientific circles (perhaps more so than any other supplement, short of protein power). The mechanism is straightforward: If you're able to lift more weight in the gym, you're able to create more of the muscle fiber tears that your body can then repair and rebuild bigger and stronger after your workout. Animal proteins, particularly red meat and fish, contain creatine naturally, but you'd need to eat almost inhuman amounts of each to hit the level available in most creatine supplements. What is creatine?Ĭreatine is an endogenous amino acid derivative produced by vertebrate animals and occurring primarily in muscle cells, according to the National Institutes of Health.īasically it's an acid that your body can produce, by way of your kidneys and liver, after you eat protein. So before you go all-in on taking creatine, here's what the supplement actually is, what it does, and how to avoid any of its side effects. To help you out, we turned to some of the smartest minds in nutrition to answer all of your questions about creatine supplementation. It's good to have questions about creatine. ![]() Nobody should put anything into their body without weighing the benefits and risks (and, yes, creatine does carry a few side effects that you should be aware of). ![]() Play icon The triangle icon that indicates to play
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