Creatine Supplementation
(byJoseph F. Clark, Ph.D)
Research has shown that feeding creatine at 2-5 grams per day increases muscle creatine and PCr. Volunteers fed 5 grams of creatine four times a day with a daily total of 20 grams have striking increases in muscle creatine in two weeks which is maintained with a daily dose of about 5 grams. This loading dose of 20 grams a day is discontinued after 6-14 days and the maintenance dose of 5 grams per day is continued throughout the period of training. The current evidence is that the best loading of muscle creatine occurs during normal training (not double days or split sessions where several hours of intense training is done twice in one day) with a low fat, high carbohydrate diet.Following oral creatine administration blood creatine rises, and the amount taken into the muscle increases. This increases PCr, which enhances anaerobic exercise and muscle torque. About 70% of the population who have taken creatine report an increase in total muscle creatine and exercise enhancement. However, 30% of the population have a diet and metabolism such that they do not benefit from creatine supplementation.An increase in muscle size is seen with creatine feeding. Creatine and PCr have been shown to cause an increase in protein synthesis. In humans there was a 46% increase in the size of Type II muscle fibers in gyrate atrophy patients fed 1.5 g per day of creatine for one year. Therefore, there is evidence that increasing creatine and PCr will have an anabolic like increase in muscle protein.Creatine is actively taken up into the cell via a specific transport process. Once in the cell, creatine is lost very slowly (about 2 grams per day).In subjects that started with low levels of muscle creatine, supplementation caused a striking increase in creatine content. However, if the subjects started with high levels of creatine, the increase with oral creatine administration was diminished. All individuals' muscle creatine approached a similar maximum, which indicates there are definite limits to the benefits possible from creatine supplementation
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