Jarrow Formula<\/a>\u00a0which I purchased at a local health food store. \u00a0I used to mix it with diet Dr. Pepper after a workout. It tasted great although there are probably better ways to go about this and I dosed it all wrong.<\/p>\nIf you are considering taking Creatine \u00a0(and you should) it is best to understand what potential risks\/benefits it may have. Here is a detailed\u00a0explanation\u00a0of creatine from a medical standpoint. You should still consult your medical provider if you have any concerns before\u00a0beginning\u00a0any supplementation program.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCREATINE<\/h3>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n\n\n\n\n| What is it?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| <\/td>\n | Creatine is a chemical that is normally found in the body, mostly in muscles. It is made by the body and can also be obtained from certain foods. Fish and meats are good sources of creatine. Creatine can also be made in the laboratory.Creatine is most commonly used for improving exercise performance and increasing muscle mass in athletes and older adults. There is some science supporting the use of creatine in improving the athletic performance of young, healthy people during brief high-intensity activity such as sprinting. But older adults don\u2019t seem to benefit. Creatine doesn\u2019t seem to improve strength or body composition in people over 60.Creatine use is widespread among professional and amateur athletes and has been acknowledged by well-known athletes such as Mark McGuire, Sammy Sosa, and John Elway. Following the finding that carbohydrate solution further increases muscle creatine levels more than creatine alone, creatine sports drinks have become popular.Creatine is allowed by the International Olympic Committee, National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and professional sports. However, the NCAA no longer allows colleges and universities to supply creatine to their students with school funds. Students are permitted to buy creatine on their own and the NCAA has no plans to ban creatine unless medical evidence indicates that it is harmful. With current testing methods, detection of supplemental creatine use would not be possible.In addition to improving athletic performance, creatine is used for congestive heart failure (CHF), depression, bipolar disorder, Parkinson\u2019s disease, diseases of the muscles and nerves, an eye disease called gyrate atrophy, and high cholesterol. It is also used to slow the worsening of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, Lou Gehrig\u2019s disease), rheumatoid arthritis, McArdle\u2019s disease, and for various muscular dystrophies.Americans use more than 4 million kilograms of creatine each year.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| Is it Effective?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| <\/td>\n | The effectiveness ratings for\u00a0CREATINE<\/strong>\u00a0are as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\nPossibly Effective for…<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Improving the athletic performance of young, healthy people during brief, high-intensity exercise such as sprinting<\/strong>. Many factors seem to influence the effectiveness of creatine, including the fitness level and age of the person using it, the type of sport, and the dose. Creatine does not seem to improve performance in aerobic exercises, or benefit older people. Also, creatine does not seem to increase endurance or improve performance in highly trained athletes. There is some evidence that creatine \u201cloading,\u201d using 20 grams daily for 5 days, may be more effective than continuous use. But remember, there is still some uncertainty about exactly who can benefit from creatine and at what dose. Studies to date have included small numbers of people (all have involved fewer than 40 participants), and it is not possible to draw firm conclusions from such small numbers.<\/li>\n
- Parkinson\u2019s disease<\/strong>. Creatine might slow the worsening of some symptoms in people with early Parkinson\u2019s disease.<\/li>\n
- Increasing strength and endurance in people with heart failure<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
- Increasing strength in people with muscle diseases such as muscular dystrophy<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
- Slowing loss of sight in an eye disease called gyrate atrophy<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
- Improving symptoms of a muscle disease called McArdle’s disease<\/strong>. There is some evidence that taking high-dose creatine daily can increase exercise capacity and decrease exercise-induced muscle pain in some patients with McArdle’s disease.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\nPossibly Ineffective for…<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Rheumatoid arthritis (RA)<\/strong>. Taking creatine can increase muscle strength in people with RA, but it doesn\u2019t seem to help them function better physically.<\/li>\n
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, Lou Gehrig\u2019s disease)<\/strong>. Taking creatine orally doesn\u2019t seem to slow disease progression or improve survival in people with ALS.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\nInsufficient Evidence to Rate Effectiveness for…<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Muscle diseases such as polymyositis and dermatomyositis<\/strong>. Early studies suggest taking creatine might produce small improvements in muscle strength in people with these conditions.<\/li>\n
- High cholesterol<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
- Huntington’s disease<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
- Depression<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
- Bipolar disorder<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
- Other conditions<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
More evidence is needed to rate the effectiveness of creatine for these uses.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n| How does it work?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| <\/td>\n | Creatine is involved in making the energy muscles need to work.Vegetarians and other people who have lower total creatine levels when they start taking creatine supplements seem to get more benefit than people who start with a higher level of creatine. Skeletal muscle will only hold a certain amount of creatine; adding more won\u2019t raise levels any more. This \u201csaturation point\u201d is usually reached within the first few days of taking a \u201cloading dose.\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| Are there safety concerns?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| <\/td>\n | Creatine is\u00a0LIKELY SAFE<\/strong>\u00a0for most people when used at recommended doses. Creatine can cause stomach pain, nausea, diarrhea, and muscle cramping.When taken by mouth in high doses, creatine is\u00a0POSSIBLY UNSAFE<\/strong>. There is some concern that it could harm the kidney, liver, or heart function. However, a connection between high doses and these negative effects has not been proven.Creatine causes muscles to draw water from the rest of your body. Be sure to drink extra water to make up for this. Also, if you are taking creatine, don’t exercise in the heat. It might cause you to become dehydrated.Many people who use creatine gain weight. This is because creatine causes the muscles to hold water, not because it actually builds muscle.There is some concern that combining creatine with caffeine and the herb ephedra (also called Ma Huang) might increase the chance of having serious side effects such as stroke.There is concern that creatine might cause irregular heartbeat in some people. But more information is needed to know if creatine can cause this problem.There is concern that creatine might cause a skin condition called pigmented purpuric dermatosis in some people. But more information is needed to know if creatine can cause this problem.<\/p>\nSpecial Precautions & Warnings:<\/h4>\nPregnancy and breast-feeding<\/strong>: Not enough is known about the use of creatine during pregnancy and breast-feeding. Stay on the safe side and avoid use.<\/p>\nKidney disease or diabetes<\/strong>: Don\u2019t use creatine if you have kidney disease or a disease such as diabetes that increases your chance of developing kidney disease. There is some concern that creatine might make kidney disease worse.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n| Are there any interactions with medications?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| <\/td>\n | \n\n\n\nMedications that can harm the kidneys (Nephrotoxic Drugs)<\/strong>
\nInteraction Rating =\u00a0Moderate<\/strong>\u00a0Be cautious with this combination.
\nTalk with your health provider.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\nTaking high doses of creatine might harm the kidneys. Some medications can also harm the kidneys. Taking creatine with other medications that can harm the kidneys might increase the chance of kidney damage.<\/p>\n Some of these medications that can harm the kidneys include cyclosporine (Neoral, Sandimmune); aminoglycosides including amikacin (Amikin), gentamicin (Garamycin, Gentak, others), and tobramycin (Nebcin, others); nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) including ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, Nuprin, others), indomethacin (Indocin), naproxen (Aleve, Anaprox, Naprelan, Naprosyn), piroxicam (Feldene); and numerous others.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n| Are there any interactions with Herbs and Supplements?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| <\/td>\n | \n\n\n\n| Caffeine<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n There is some concern that combining caffeine, ephedra, and creatine might increase the risk of serious adverse effects. There is a report of stroke in an athlete who consumed creatine monohydrate 6 grams, caffeine 400-600 mg, ephedra 40-60 mg, and a variety of other supplements daily for 6 weeks. Caffeine might also decrease creatine’s beneficial effects on athletic performance.<\/p>\n \n\n\n| Ephedra<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n There is some concern that combining ephedra, caffeine, and creatine might increase the risk of serious adverse effects. There is a report of stroke in an athlete who consumed creatine monohydrate 6 grams, caffeine 400-600 mg, ephedra 40-60 mg, and a variety of other supplements daily for 6 weeks.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n| Are there interactions with Foods?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| <\/td>\n | \n\n\n\n| Carbohydrates<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n Combining carbohydrates with creatine can increase muscle creatine levels more than creatine alone. Supplementing 5 grams of creatine with 93 grams of simple carbohydrates 4 times daily for 5 days can increase muscle creatine levels as much as 60% more than creatine alone.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n| What dose is used?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| <\/td>\n | The following doses have been studied in scientific research:BY MOUTH<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n- For improving physical performance, several dosing regimens have been tried:<\/li>\n
\n- Creatine is typically loaded with 20 grams per day (or 0.3 grams per kg) for 5 days followed by a maintenance dose of 2 or more grams (0.03 grams per kg) daily, Although 5 day loading is typical, 2 days of loading has also been used.<\/li>\n
- A loading dose of 9 grams per day for 6 days has also been used. Some sources suggest that, instead of acutely loading, similar results can be obtained with 3 grams per day for 28 days.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/ul>\n
During creatine supplementation, the water intake should be 64 ounces per day.<\/p>\n \n- For heart failure: 20 grams per day for 5-10 days.<\/li>\n
- For Parkinson’s disease:<\/li>\n
\n- 10 grams\/day.<\/li>\n
- A loading dose of creatine 20 grams\/day for 6 days followed by 2 grams\/day for 6 months, and then 4 grams daily for 18 months has also been used.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- For improving resistance training in people with Parkinson’s disease: a loading dose of 20 grams\/day for 5 days, followed by 5 grams\/day.<\/li>\n
- For gyrate atrophy: 1.5 grams per day.<\/li>\n
- For muscular dystrophies: 10 grams per day has been used by adults and 5 grams per day has been used by children.<\/li>\n
- For McArdle\u2019s disease: 150 mg \/ kg daily for 5 days and then continue with 60 mg \/ kg \/ day.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n| <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n <\/p>\n Links from the 4-Hour Body<\/strong>:<\/p>\nHow do you make vegetarians smarter? Have them take creatine. In one double blind placebo controlled study<\/a>, 45 young-adult vegetarians were given 5 grams of creatine daily for 6 weeks, and the researchers concluded that \u201cCreatine supplementation had a significant positive effect.<\/p>\nRobb Wolf on Creatine:<\/strong><\/p>\nThe Paleo Solution \u2013 Episode 82<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Creatine is mentioned several times in the 4 Hour Body:\u00a0 Most Notably in the chapter “Living Forever” Tim Recommends:\u00a0Intermittent\u00a0fasting, Bleeding and….. CYCLES OF 5\u201310 GRAMS OF CREATINE MONOHYDRATE (COST: $20\/MONTH) Creatine monohydrate, popular among power athletes since its commercialization in 1993, has recently become a candidate for minimizing or preventing the development of Alzheimer\u2019s, Parkinson\u2019s, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[32,3,211],"tags":[384,25,230,385,108,9,387,386,236,233,106],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1tiSR-Qj","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.4hourlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3243"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.4hourlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.4hourlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.4hourlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.4hourlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3243"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.4hourlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3243\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.4hourlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3243"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.4hourlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3243"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.4hourlife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3243"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |