Creatine Is Just More Than A Supplement

By Author: Varun Pratap
Total Articles: 2
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Creatine is proving to be one of the most promising, well researched, and safe supplements ever discovered for an exceptionally wide range of uses.

Although creatine offers an array of benefits, most people think of it simply as a supplement that bodybuilders and other athletes use to gain strength and muscle mass.

Nothing could be further from the truth. People who don't follow the research on creatine are often stunned to find out how much research has been done, and how many health, fitness, and longevity uses creatine may have.

Creatine may positively effect:
sarcopenia (a loss of muscle mass due to aging)
improve in brain function of healthy and damaged brains
modulate inflammation.
diseases effecting the neuro muscular system, such as muscular dystrophy (MD)
wasting syndromes/muscle atrophy
fatigue
gyrate atrophy
Parkinson's disease
Huntington's disease and other mitochondrial cytopathies
neuropathic disorders
various dystrophies
myopathies
various brain pathologies.
may increasing growth hormone ...
... (GH) levels
reduce homocysteine levels
possibly improving the symptoms of Chronic fatigue Syndrome
improve cardiac function in those with congestive heart failure

How does Creatine work?
In a nutshell, creatine works to help generate energy. When ATP loses a phosphate molecule and becomes adenosine diphosphate (ADP), it must be converted back to ATP to produce energy. Creatine is stored in the human body as creatine phosphate (CP) also called phosphocreatine. When ATP is depleted, it can be recharged by CP. That is, CP donates a phosphate molecule to the ADP, making it ATP again.

An increased pool of CP means faster and greater recharging of ATP, which means more work can be performed. This is why creatine has been so successful for athletes. For short-duration explosive sports, such as sprinting, weight lifting and other anaerobic endeavors, ATP is the energy system used.

A more recent study done in 1999 found that 5g of Creatine per day without a loading phase in 16 athletes significantly increased measures of strength, power, and increased body mass without a change in body fat levels.

You can easily conclude that creatine is not a wonder drug for bodybuilders and atheletes only.
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