It's from a cycling web site which I can source if anyone needs.Let me ask you this, would you take a drug if you knew it was going to make you gain five pounds of water, increase your risk of dehydration, and place unnecessary stress on your kidneys? I doubt it. But that's what taking creatine may do to you.
Creatine is a nitrogen-containing compound that is made in the liver and kidneys from the amino acids arginine and glycine. We make about 1-2 g of creatine per day and consume another 1-2 g per day in meat and fish. Skeletal muscle contains most of the body's creatine, but there is an upper limit to the amount of creatine that the muscle will retain. Any excess creatine consumed in the diet or from supplements is excreted by the kidneys. For this reason, individuals who consume adequate amounts of creatine in their diet are less likely to derive any benefit from taking additional creatine than vegetarians whose diets are lacking creatine.
In individuals who respond to supplementation, the amount of creatine in skeletal muscle typically increases 15-20% and body weight increases 1-3 kg during the first 5-7 days of supplementation. Creatine is not anabolic; it does not stimulate muscle protein synthesis or muscle growth. The rapid weight gain associated with creatine supplementation is due to water retention in the muscle cells. When the muscle cells take in more creatine, they also have to retain more water to maintain the correct intracellular fluid pressure. The extra water not only decreases the power to weight ratio (by increasing weight and not power), but it may impair muscle function and cause muscle stiffness and cramping. Because body water will shift from the blood to the muscle cells, sweating and thermoregulation may be impaired. Athletes who supplement with creatine must be especially careful not to become dehydrated-they should consume copious fluids and refrain from strenuous exercise, especially in the heat.
Creatine is used by skeletal muscle to make phosphocreatine. During maximal, anaerobic efforts, the phosphocreatine allows the muscle to generate a large amount of ATP very rapidly. However, there is only enough phosphocreatine to last 10-20 seconds. The idea behind "creatine loading" is that by increasing the amount of creatine in the muscle, there will be more phosphocreatine on hand to generate ATP. If there is more ATP available for use during maximal, anaerobic efforts, then the muscle will have more energy and performance will improve. Creatine supplementation has been shown to improve performance in repeated cycling sprints and maximal weight lifting efforts. In other words, creatine does not increase maximal power or strength, but allows an individual to achieve their max during repetitive tests separated by short rest intervals. Creatine supplementation will not improve endurance performance because the ATP that is used for submaximal exercise comes from glucose and fat, not from phosphocreatine.
The only way to increase muscle mass is to perform resistance training. In theory, creatine supplementation may allow you to train harder, i.e., do more repetitions at max before fatiguing. However, any gains in strength may be offset by the water retention in the muscle.
Info about the author:
Pamela Hinton has a bachelor's degree in Molecular Biology and a doctoral degree in Nutritional Sciences, both from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She did postdoctoral training at Cornell University and is now an assistant professor of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Missouri-Columbia where she studies the effects of iron deficiency on adaptations to endurance training and the consequences of exercise-associated changes in menstrual function on bone health.
Pam was an All-American in track while at the UW. She started cycling competitively in 2003 and is the defending Missouri State Road Champion. Pam writes a nutrition column for Giana Roberge's Team Speed Queen Newsletter.
