Creatine Monohydrate Pure Powder is a nitrogen-containing organic acid, or more simply, a chemical compound that occurs naturally in animals. So creatine is a compound that exists in the body, not a man-made hormone or steroid. 95% of the creatine in the human body is in the skeletal muscles, and the remaining 5% is in the brain, liver, kidneys and testes. The total creatine content in the body is achieved by extraction from food plus secretion by the liver. Foods high in creatine include all kinds of meat, especially beef.
Since creatine is a compound that exists naturally in the body and can also be found in food, why should it be supplemented by supplements? Why not fill it up with some extra beef?
Because the amount of creatine in the body and food is not enough, athletes can get the improvement of sports performance. Moreover, meat will lose 30% of its creatine during the burning process, and beef is also very expensive. Therefore, it is a very good choice to supplement the total creatine content through supplements.
Creatine is generally a supplement that only strength athletes take because it has the following functions (1-2-3-4):
help boost strength
Helps Improve Endurance*
Helps improve athletic performance
Helps boost body weight and lean body mass
Helps increase muscle mass
The full name of ATP is Adenosine Triphosphate, which is called adenosine triphosphate in Chinese.
Cells need energy to function, but the human body cannot generate energy out of thin air, it can only rely on food intake. Whenever food enters the body, it is digested into fat, protein and carbohydrates, all of which contain a certain amount of energy. However, cells cannot directly use these energies, they must first be converted into forms usable by cells. And this form is ATP, so ATP is often called the "molecular currency" of energy transfer in cells.
Every cell needs ATP to function, but the amount of ATP in each cell is limited. When we are exercising, especially during high-intensity training, the ATP in the muscles will be used up quickly (within 5 seconds). Therefore, during high-intensity training, ATP needs to be continuously recovered to maintain training performance.
There are many ways to restore ATP, one of the most effective and fastest is through CP or Creatine Phosphate or creatine phosphate.
Whenever 1 ATP is used up, it will become 1 ADP (Adenosine Diphosphate) or adenosine diphosphate. But ADP cannot be used by cells as energy, and that's when CP steps in. 1 CP and 1 ADP can synthesize 1 ATP, and the total amount of CP in the cell is 5 times more than ATP, which can last longer (to 30 seconds). Therefore, CP can quickly restore the amount of ATP, allowing the muscles to continue to contract and exert force.
When we take creatine supplements, we are increasing the creatine content in the cells, and creatine can be turned into CP through phosphorylation, thereby increasing the body's reserve energy.
This is why supplementing creatine is very helpful for strength-type sports: because power-type sports, such as powerlifting, Olympic lifting, sprinting and even bodybuilding, these sports have a short force time, lasting up to 60 seconds; Increase the reserve energy in the body in seconds, and the sports performance will be better.
That's why scientific studies have found that creatine supplements can improve endurance. Note that the "endurance" here is not the "endurance" of long-distance running or marathon, but the "endurance" of high-intensity exercise. For example: Xiaobai can squat 100 kg 5 times, after he eats creatine, he may be able to squat 7-8 times.
Benefits for the Brain
The human brain accounts for only 2% of the total body weight, but consumes 20% of the total energy consumed. So the brain, like a muscle, needs a lot of ATP every day to function properly. And like muscles, the ATP in brain cells is limited and needs to be constantly restored. In other words, brain cells also need CP or creatine.
However, in some patients born with neurological diseases, the CP content in the brain is less than that of ordinary people, causing some brain cells to fail to work normally. That's why these patients can benefit from creatine supplementation.
In general, creatine supplements have a wide range of effects, especially for fitness people. So I highly recommend creatine supplementation, but with so many types of creatine on the market, which best pure creatine monohydrate powder should I buy?
Creatine monohydrate is the best because it is the most researched creatine, the most effective creatine found, and the cheapest creatine.
There are also some studies on other different creatines, but compared with creatine monohydrate, creatine monohydrate is the most effective (1-2-3)
You may ask, since creatine monohydrate is the most effective, why are there so many types?
On the great side, because scientists want to eliminate the shortcomings of ordinary creatine monohydrate, other different types of creatine may allow its absorption rate to be higher, so that creatine saturation in the body can be achieved faster, and consumers can see it faster. To be effective, they may not have the side effects of creatine monohydrate, such as gastrointestinal discomfort and so on.
However, as mentioned above, there is not enough effective evidence to prove that the side effects of creatine really exist. In addition, as long as you eat 5 grams of creatine monohydrate every day, you can find the difference after 3 weeks. Even if other creatines can make you see the effect faster, 2 weeks, 1 week, or even a few days, will have a long-term impact on your life. For the fitness journey, is there really such a big difference?
On the ugly side, because supplement companies want to make money. Creatine monohydrate is the cheapest supplement, so you don't make much money. But if you can add glucose or citric acid or any other ingredient to creatine, you can sell it more expensive and increase the profit of creatine.
So, don't waste your money on other creatine, just buy the cheapest pure creatine monohydrate powder bulk. Now there is a popular product called micronized creatine monohydrate in the market, which makes the particles smaller on the basis of ordinary creatine monohydrate, which is easier to absorb and dissolve. This kind is also good.