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Effect of Creatine on Muscle Growth
- officialjustmed
- Jul 15, 2023
- 2 min read
Ever heard of an amino acid called creatine? This amino acid is located in your body’s muscles and brain. It is often used to help build up muscle in the body. Now, some people may be wondering that this sounds somewhat similar to steroids. However, creatine is completely different from steroids and it is much safer to use. That being said, there are still risks when consuming creatine.
What is creatine?
Creatine is an amino acid that can be received through meat and seafood. It is also a natural substance that can be created by the body’s liver, pancreas, and kidney. Creatine is an important substance for your muscles as it is often used for energy. Because of its uses, many athletes often take oral creatine to improve athletic performance and increase muscle mass as well. Athletes may be able to do more reps and work out harder, leading to greater muscle mass and performance. Oral creatine is especially used whenever athletes perform in high-intensity intermittent activities or very intense training.
Effects and Benefits of Creatine
As stated before, creatine can help provide more energy for the body. This is because creatine can help increase the body’s stores of a protein called phosphocreatine. This is the protein that produces ATP. This will allow for a little bit of extra energy before you will feel fatigued. Furthermore, creatine can also help improve the function of muscle cells. For instance, it can affect the amount of water content in your muscle cells and it can trigger processes for creating new proteins that create new muscle mass. Additionally, creatine can slow the breakdown of muscles and thereby allow muscles to last for a longer period of time. As you can see, creatine can be incredibly helpful when it comes to developing muscles or simply just having the energy to do intense workouts.
Risks of Creatine
Of course, with any other supplement, creatine comes with many risks. Some side effects can include weight gain, muscle cramps, strains and pulls, upset stomachs, diarrhea, dizziness, high blood pressure, liver dysfunction, and kidney damage. Some athletes who took too high of a dose even reported rhabdomyolysis and sudden kidney failure. Additionally, creatine supplements may stop the body from making it naturally. So, if you are thinking of taking creatine, make sure you keep these risks in mind.
So, to recap, creatine is a supplement that many athletes use to build up muscle mass or increase their energy overall. In general, creatine is relatively safe to use as long as you watch your doses and how long you take it. Though, further research will be necessary in order to determine this. Otherwise, if you are looking to improve your athletic performance or just become stronger, maybe consider giving creatine a try. Just remember to be cautious!
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