Creatine

Creatine is a naturally occurring substance in muscle cells. It helps your muscles produce energy when lifting heavy weights or during high-intensity exercise.

Why ?

Taking creatine as a supplement is very popular among athletes and bodybuilders. They use it to gain muscle, improve strength, and improve exercise performance Chemically, creatine has many similarities to amino acids, important compounds in the body that help build protein. Your body can make creatine from the amino acids glycine and arginine About half of your body's supply of creatine comes from the foods you eat—mainly red meat and seafood—and the rest is made by your liver and kidneys from amino acids.

Composition:

Creatine is made up of three amino acids: arginine, glycine, and methionine. However, anecdotal reports and scientific studies have found that men who take creatine gain a good 10 pounds or more in body weight and significantly increase strength. Creatine works in several ways. First, it increases the amount of energy your muscles need to perform reps in the gym. The more force you can use, the more reps you can perform with a given weight, so you can get bigger and stronger over the long term. Creatine also draws more water into your muscle cells, stretching the cell, which increases long-term growth. Creatine has recently been found to increase levels of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) in muscle, which is important for stimulating growth.

Maximize effects:

Take 2-5 grams of creatine in the form of creatine monohydrate, creatine enamel, creatine ethyl ester, or creatine alpha-ketoglutarate with a protein shake immediately before exercise. This helps supply the muscles with creatine, which produces the energy they need to perform high reps. Then consume an additional 2-5 grams in your post-workout shake (in addition to 40-100 grams of fast-digesting carbs), which is when creatine is quickly absorbed by muscle cells and the increase in IGF-1 helps induce more. growth Take 2-5 grams of creatine with a carbohydrate-rich breakfast on non-training days.

Creatine phosphate found in the body

About 95% of the body's creatine is stored in the muscles, mainly in the form of phosphocreatine. The remaining 5% is found in the brain and testes When you supplement, you increase your phosphocreatine stores. It is a form of energy stored in cells. This helps your body produce more high-energy molecules called ATP. ATP is often referred to as the energy currency of the body. When you have more ATP, your body can perform better during exercise Creatine also alters many cellular processes that lead to increased muscle mass, strength and recovery.

How does creatine work?

Creatine can improve health and athletic performance in several ways. During high-intensity exercise, its main role is to increase the stores of phosphocreatine in your muscles. In addition, these stores can be used to produce more ATP, which is a key source of energy for heavy lifting and high-intensity exercise. Creatine also helps you gain muscle in the following ways: The workload is intensifying. This allows for more total work than volume in training, which is a key factor in long-term muscle growth. Better cell signaling. It increases satellite cell signaling which helps in muscle repair and new muscle growth. Increases anabolic hormones. Studies have noted an increase in hormones such as IGF-1 after taking creatine More cell hydration. Creatine increases the amount of water in your muscle cells, causing a cell bulking effect that can play a role in muscle growth. It reduces the breakdown of proteins. It can increase overall muscle mass by reducing muscle breakdown Low levels of myostatin. High levels of the myostatin protein can slow or prevent the growth of new muscles. Creatine supplementation can lower these levels and increase growth potential Creatine supplements also increase brain stores of phosphocreatine, which can improve brain health and improve symptoms of neurological disease.

How does creatine affect muscle growth?

Creatine is effective for both short-term and long-term muscle growth. It helps many people, including inactive individuals, seniors and elite athletes A 14-week study in older adults found that adding creatine to a strength training program increased leg strength and muscle mass. In a 12-week study of weightlifters, creatine increased muscle fiber growth 2-3x more than training alone. Total bodyweight increases are also doubled, along with a one-rep max for the bench press, a common strength exercise. A large review of the most popular supplements selected creatine as one of the most effective supplements for muscle growth. Effects on endurance and exercise performance Creatine can also improve strength, power, and performance during high-intensity exercise. In one review, adding creatine to a training program increased strength by 8%, powerlifting power by 14%, and bench press one-rep max by up to 43% compared to training alone. In well-trained strength athletes, 28 days will increase bicycle sprint performance by 15% and bench press performance by 6%. Creatine also helps maintain strength and training performance while increasing muscle mass during severe overtraining. These noticeable improvements are primarily due to your body's increased capacity to produce ATP. Normally, ATP is depleted after up to 10 seconds of vigorous activity. But because creatine supplements help you produce more ATP, you can sustain peak performance for a few seconds. The effects of creatine on the brain Like your muscles, your brain stores phosphocreatine and needs more ATP to function optimally.

The supplement may improve the following conditions.

Alzheimer's disease Parkinson's disease Huntington's disease general repair epilepsy brain or spinal cord injury motor neuron disease memory and brain function in the elderly Despite the potential benefits of creatine for the treatment of neurological diseases, most current research has been conducted on animals. However, a six-month study in children with traumatic brain injury observed a 70% reduction in fatigue and a 50% reduction in dizziness.

Human research suggests that creatine can also help the elderly, vegetarians, and those at risk of neurological disorders.

Vegetarians tend to have low creatine stores because they do not eat meat, which is the main natural source of the nutrient.

In a vegetarian study, supplementation caused a 50% improvement in memory tests and a 20% improvement in intelligence test scores. Even in healthy adults, creatine supplementation can improve short-term memory and intelligence.

Other health benefits

Research has also shown that creatine can low blood sugar improvement of muscle function and quality of life in the elderly may help treat non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

whey protein?

Milk protein is a mixture of proteins isolated from whey, which is the liquid part of milk that is separated during cheese making. Milk actually contains two main types of protein: casein (80%) and whey (20%). Milk is found in the watery part of the milk. During the production of cheese, the fatty parts of milk are precipitated and whey is separated from it as a by-product. If you've ever opened a yogurt container to see liquid rising to the top—that's milk. Cheesemakers rejected it before discovering its commercial value After being separated during cheese making, whey goes through several processing steps to become what people commonly know as whey protein—a powder added to shakes, meal replacements, and protein bars. Whey protein itself doesn't have much flavor, so it's usually flavored. Chocolate, vanilla and strawberry flavored powders are popular. It is important to read the ingredient list as some products may contain harmful ingredients such as refined sugar. Taking whey protein is a convenient way to add protein to your daily intake. This can be important for bodybuilders and gym enthusiasts, as well as people who need to lose weight or lack protein in their diet. Most whey protein flavors are delicious and can be used to add a unique flavor to healthy recipes like smoothies. Milk is generally well tolerated, although people with lactose intolerance should be careful and some people may be allergic to it.

How to maximize the effects?

Drink 20 grams of whey protein powder within 30 minutes before your workout and 40 grams within 60 minutes after your workout. Also, consider drinking 20-40 grams of milk every morning right after waking up to jumpstart muscle growth. The best solution is to choose a milk powder that contains whey protein hydrolysates (whey protein is broken down into smaller pieces for faster digestion) or whey protein isolate.

Types of whey protein

concentrate vs isolate vs hydrolyzate

There are several popular types of whey protein. Their main difference is the processing method.

• Concentrate: about 70-80% protein; it contains lactose (milk sugar) and fat and has the best taste.

• Except: 90% protein or more; it contains less lactose and fat and lacks many of the beneficial nutrients found in whey protein concentrate.

• Hydrolyzate: Also known as hydrolyzed milk, this type is predigested so it can be absorbed more quickly. It causes a 28-43% greater spike in insulin levels than both

• Whey protein concentrate seems to be the best choice overall. Many options are available online.

• It is the cheapest and retains most of the beneficial nutrients naturally found in whey. Many people also like the taste, which is probably due to lactose and fat. If you have trouble with concentration tolerance or are trying to emphasize protein while keeping carbs and fat low, whey protein isolate—or even hydrolyzate—may be a better option.

• Keep in mind that although concentrate is the most popular form, most studies have looked at whey protein isolate.

Glutamine

L-Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in the body. It is involved in protein synthesis and serves as fuel for the immune system.1 Most people benefit from taking glutamine when their immune system is weakened or when they are healing from a major injury such as a burn or surgery.

Although l-glutamine is found in foods and supplements, it is not necessary to take supplemental l-glutamine as it is a non-essential amino acid. This means your body can handle it on its own. Glutamine used to be a staple for bodybuilders and athletes to build muscle and reduce recovery time. However, the use of this supplement has since been abandoned because there is no solid research to support it.

Here's what you need to know about l-glutamine.

Health benefits

Years ago, glutamine was almost considered a conditionally essential amino acid only for the sick or injured, such as burn victims or someone who is physically stressed and at risk of muscle and tissue breakdown.

3 In these situations, glutamine supplementation can help shorten recovery time and be beneficial.

4 L-glutamine is also sometimes used to alleviate some of the side effects of chemotherapy.

5 It has also been used for health and exercise purposes in dietary supplements for decades, although many of these claims are unsubstantiated or exaggerated. Here are some potential benefits of l-glutamine.

Immune system support

Glutamine is important for the immune system because it helps it function properly. People who are seriously ill or have experienced severe physical trauma have low glutamine levels due to reduced glutamine production in the bones or cells using glutamine stored in the body more quickly as a result of the trauma. For this reason, l-glutamine supplementation can help improve immune system function and speed up healing.1 Especially in burn patients, glutamine supplementation can help maintain healthy immune function, promote wound healing, and shorten hospital stays.4 In fact, an older study in a study from 2009 from India reported that enteral administration of L-glutamine reduced bacterial complications as well as hospital stay by almost 17 days compared to the control group. For healthy individuals, the benefits of glutamine for immune function are simply not there. In this sense, unless you are immunocompromised, critically ill, or recovering from surgery, taking a daily glutamine supplement to improve your health is a waste of money.

Muscle building, fat loss and recovery

Much to the dismay of the bodybuilding community, l-glutamine does not offer the muscle building and fat burning benefits it was once believed to provide. Although scientists continue to investigate these claims, current research does not support them. For example, one study examined the effects of glutamine supplementation combined with resistance training in young adults aged 18 to 24 and found no significant differences between the glutamine group and the placebo group. Both groups experienced similar gains in muscle and strength. When it comes to weight loss, many studies support this claim. This six-week study observed sixty patients with type 2 diabetes. They were divided into two groups and instructed to either take 30 grams of glutamine per day or receive a placebo. The group receiving glutamine experienced improvements in cardiovascular risk factors and body composition.7 And this study shows that consuming glutamine for 4 weeks leads to a reduction in body weight and waist circumference. On the other hand, many studies have found the opposite to be true, that glutamine supplementation has no effect on weight loss and body composition. Research is ongoing to determine whether L-glutamine supplementation has a positive effect on muscle building and weight loss. All is not lost for people hoping that L-glutamine supplementation will reap some athletic benefits. Several studies have shown that supplementing with L-glutamine once a day can shorten muscle recovery time and reduce soreness after a hard workout. In a sense, L-glutamine can help athletic performance by delaying fatigue. When you're not tired, you perform better in the gym and on the field.

Effects of chemotherapy

Glutamine may play an important role in improving the quality of life of cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. In fact, symptoms associated with chemotherapy may be less severe at lower doses and after treatment. Chemotherapy often destroys the tissue of the intestinal lining, causing ulcers in the mouth and throat, called mucositis. Other studies report a reduction in painful mucosal symptoms and ulceration associated with radiation and chemotherapy treatment. In contrast, other studies have found effects of oral L-glutamine supplementation on mucositis. Although it has the potential to reduce pain and discomfort, more research is needed. Possible effects L-glutamine is safe for human consumption and generally does not cause significant side effects, even at doses up to 40 grams per day. More than that and you may experience mild symptoms such as bloating, gas, nausea, dizziness, heartburn or heartburn. That being said, there are few studies that have examined the long-term effects of l-glutamine supplements or what doses of l-glutamine can cause toxicity. - anticonvulsants. Because l-glutamine is metabolized in the liver, it should be avoided by people with severe liver disease. Due to the lack of research, it is best to avoid l-glutamine during pregnancy or breastfeeding. While l-glutamine is safe for use in infants and children, it should only be prescribed under the supervision of a pediatrician. Dosage and preparation Your l-glutamine requirements are usually met by the foods you eat every day.

​​​​​​​However, if you plan to take a supplemental form of l-glutamine, 3 to 6 grams per day is considered safe. According to an older report in Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology, 14 grams of supplemental l-glutamine is safe for healthy adults and no more than 0.7 grams per kilogram of body weight per day in children. L-glutamine supplements are available in powder, oral capsule, and oral tablet forms. They can usually be found at local health food stores, drug stores, grocery stores, and online.