Benefits Of Taking Creatine
Today, many people are indulging in strength training to stay in shape, maintain a sound mind, stay young and keep cardiovascular diseases at bay. But realizing all this requires sheer discipline, dedication, and uptake of specific nutrients. Plus, it could take months to get the kind of results you want.
That’s why a lot of people are turning to dietary supplements that promise those results in record time without any side effects and without blowing their budgets. One supplement that has been used successfully over the years by bodybuilders and athletes to fuel their bodies is creatine.
Creatine is, essentially, an amino acid found naturally in the body, on the skeleton muscles, to be exact. It’s mainly derived from protein foods, such as beef, fish, and chicken. The production of creatine occurs in the liver, kidneys, and pancreas.
It’s later transported to the muscles through the blood. Creatine speeds up muscle contractions by powering ATP (Adenosine triphosphate). ATP are high-energy molecules strongly bound by three phosphates. When one phosphate breaks from the bond, energy is remitted.
The work of creatine is to ensure the continued functioning of ATP by replenishing the lost phosphates. Therefore, creatine supplement drives up the amount of available fuel to recharge ATP.
More Benefits Of Taking Creatine
1. Increases power and performance during high-intensity workouts
This is the most well-known benefit of creatine. During strength training; there is a lot of repetitive work. And you may run out of energy to complete the required multiple sets for the day. Creatine recharges your muscles by giving them more energy and firepower to complete the multiple sets.
2. Accelerates Muscle Growth
Can creatine make you bigger? That’s the question asked by many who want to take it. The answer is yes. It accelerates muscle growth, which makes you bigger. Here is how.
Muscle growth only occurs when there is sufficient amino acid to repair all the wear and tear during strength training and to help the repaired muscles to grow. If you lack enough amino acids, the wear and tear won’t be repaired, and so, you won’t heal and you’ll be susceptible to more wear and tear and muscle loss.
To mitigate that, you need sufficient protein to sustain muscle growth. The body doesn’t produce enough protein, which is why you need a protein supplement. And that’s where creatine comes in.
3. Helps Treat Parkinson’s Disease
Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder. Meaning there is damage to specific parts of the brain. It’s common among men between 50 to 60 years old. First noticeable symptoms of Parkinson’s disease are fatigue, depression, anxiety, and memory loss.
It becomes serious when patients start to develop tremors and difficulty in walking. Creatine has been proven to help boost mitochondrial function, which is why it’s effective in treating people with this disorder. Specifically, creatine increases dopamine levels.
And according to Cochrane researchers, a reduction in dopamine levels is the main cause of Parkinson’s disease. Individuals with Parkinson’s disease can control it by combining creatine with strength training.
4. Helps Mitigate Diabetes By Lowering Blood Sugar Level
Creatine boosts GLUT4’s function. GLUT4 is basically a transporter molecule. That means it ensures that the right amount of blood sugar is absorbed into the muscles. The GLUT4 might not work as required, resulting in a myriad of health complications. Creatine increases the function of GLUT4, thereby lowering and stabilizing your blood sugar level. Additionally, creatine helps your body clear sugar quickly, thereby lowering the risk of diabetes.
5. Boosts Cognitive Function
Creatine dramatically boosts levels of phosphocreatine, as well as ATP, which, besides helping build muscle, boost energy and keep deadly diseases at bay, helps boost your brain health and function.
According to research, the human brain requires a lot of ATP when undertaking daunting tasks. We’ve seen that creatine supplement increases phosphocreatine stores in the human brain and this helps it to generate more ATP.
Brain cells are highly active and therefore require a lot of energy to function. They get their energy from ATP to continue being active. So people who take creatine have improved memory, are intelligent and are able to perform daunting tasks effortlessly.
6. Creatine Has An Anti-Aging Effect
Creatine reverses Sarcopenia, which is the rapid loss of good muscle characteristics, such as mass, function, and strength. As you age, your body’s ability to produce creatine naturally diminishes, and you will not have enough strength to exercise or work out, and this can lead to rapid aging.
Creatine supplement increases the amount of phosphocreatine and ATP that energizes your muscles to enable you to exercise or workout. And you know that regular exercise reduces aging.
While there is a lot of negative press about creatine supplement, those who have used it agree that it’s effective and has no side effects. And the good thing is that creatine is bound with hydrochloric acid (Creatine HCL) to make it soluble in water. So taking it won’t be trouble.
To see the benefits of taking creatine, all you have to do is mix the creatine HCL with water and drink. So if you’re looking to build muscle and strength quickly, you’d better start taking creatine.
