Time and now, we are seeing more and more research about new supplements emerging in the market. Some supplements are totally of no use (will talk about it in later articles) and some like ‘Creatine’, which is the most researched supplement so far, still acing on the ‘usefulness’ part of it.

Let’s discuss – Do you really need Creatine in your regular diet and day to day life?

What is creatine?

It is a molecule that is produced in your body from the amino acids. It is developed mostly in the liver and some in kidneys and pancreas. It gets stored in the form of phosphocreatine which are donated to ADP which regenerates in the ATP, the energy cars in our body. You can read exact definition here: https://examine.com/supplements/creatine/

The Benefits and Non Benefits?

• It helps in improving your strength and power output during resistance training based workout.
• It helps in increasing your muscle mass.
• Many studies have shown that it helps in improving your cognitive performance too. It may help in reducing fatigue, recovering traumatic brain injury and improving memory.
• It is not specifically made for fat loss or weight gain. It is for strength and power output which can then help you to achieve your goals.
• It won’t increase your testosterone levels directly.

Is creatine safe?

Most of the readers of this article are from India, and we know how quickly we demonize a supplement especially when it looks like a white powder. Many people think it is some kind of steroid which will harm your Kidneys and Liver, but there is no evidence regarding the same. Anyone who tells you otherwise is most probably fooling you, or has no idea about how Nutrition work.

Creatine is completely safe. Yes, if you are not drinking enough water, it may cause some bloating but then you can always fix it by increasing the water intake. Also, the common sense here is that the excessive of anything is bad.

How much to take? How to take? When to take?

Take whenever you want to. I personally mix it with my protein shake. You can mix it with juice or any other beverage. 3-5g daily is good enough for you. Start at 3g daily and take it up to 5g daily for general use. Nothing to be worried about.

Which one to buy and can you get this naturally?

Creatine monohydrate is the one of the best form of creatine available in the market. Naturally it is present in Meat and fish but then you will have to eat lots of it to get optimal creatine in your system and this is why and where people supplement it.

Can females consume creatine?

Of course you can.

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The brands I have used so far:

• Muscletech Essential Series Platinum Creatine (5g Creatine, 80 Servings) – https://amzn.to/3kTsB8l
• Optimum Nutrition (ON) Micronized Creatine Monohydrate Powder – 300 Grams (Unflavored) – https://amzn.to/32aSb1j
• GNC Pro Performance Creatine Monohydrate 3000 mg Supplement – 250 g – https://amzn.to/3n0Wsg3

That’s about it. You can read more and in depth on examine.com.

I will be writing on more supplements in coming days.