Creatine Monohydrate: The Fitness Dream or Corporate Scam?

This past winter I, like many other teenage athletes preparing for spring sports, found myself in the weight room close to every day. But when this gym craze didn’t give me the results that I wanted quickly, I started researching supplements to help my physical performance and ability to gain strength and muscle. The hard performance enhancing drugs (PED's) popped up at first, from trenbolone to testosterone. But then a couple links down, I landed on something I had never heard of, creatine. I didn’t think much of it, but after asking some friends, I found that many were actually taking it. But none of them seemed to know what it did. They all had the generic response of “it makes you bigger." And this was not a very good selling point when proposing the idea to my parents, who sternly said that I would not be putting that into my body. So for a lack of research, I let the idea go. But 5 months later I am looping back to properly research all facets of creatine monohydrate. 

What Is Creatine Monohydrate? The Background

Creatine is a type of amino acid, the building blocks of proteins. In this type of creatine, it is a hydrate, which means that the compound contains one molecule of water. Its composition is C4H9N3O2. Creatine is found naturally in red meats and fish, with up to a gram of creatine per pound of food. It is also naturally produced in the body in the liver, kidney, and pancreas. So contradicting what my parents thought, it is the farthest thing from a lab-produced steroid. But then what is the point of taking it if we already naturally produce it and consume it? Well, we get it in very minimal amounts. But is taking it as a supplement healthy or beneficial for us?

Creatine vs creatine monohydrate chemical composition^link 

Creatine Monohydrate Process in the Body

Once creatine enters the body, ingested most efficiently in powder form, it increases the phosphocreatine levels in the body's muscles. This is then used by creatine kinase to generate ATP in the skeletal system. If there is more creatine ingested in the body through supplementation, creatine kinase is activated more, resulting in higher levels of ATP. When the ATP is released into the system, you have more energy to push out more repetitions in the gym. But with the hydrate aspect of it, creatine saturates the body's muscles with water, resulting in a slight mass gain of 1-3 pounds after 3 weeks of supplementing. But does all this have any significant output on performance?

The basic process of creatine monohydrate in the body^link

Data and Test Cases

So in theory, the science behind it should lead one to believe that creatine would have a positive effect on athletic performance. But this can be better supported through data and test cases. In a 2003 analysis of creatine supplementation, it was found that there was a 8% increase in 1RMs (one rep maxes) and a 14% increase in total repetitions performed in those taking creatine compared to placebo. Following another study involving four groups split between placebo and actually taking creatine monohydrate, the change in muscle fiber size in terms of area tended to almost double in those taking it versus placebo. For D1 athletes taking this supplement, after 9 weeks of supplementation and training, they found a 19.6% increase in peak high intensity anaerobic power, as well as significant increases in all 3 major lifting movements. Thus, from regular joes to D1 athletes and almost everyone in between, creatine has a positive effect on muscle performance and growth. 

A college program lifting weights, many of my friends playing college sports say their coach tells them to take creatine during the offseason^link

More Than a Athletic Supplement

Through more data and studying, cases have shown that creatine can improve many facets of life outside of muscle growth and performance. One of these many improvements is injury prevention and recovery, which is shown to significantly reduce the chance of injury, as seen through a test with Ironman athletes who found a decrease in several markers of muscle damage. Creatine also can strengthen the brain and prevent neurological diseases from happening. On that same note, it can also improve brain function. This is because your brain is firing so often, the neurons get depleted of ATP, thus resulting in a higher consumption of ATP. Since it is an ATP hog, the creatine helps to supply the brain with more ATP to help it run more efficiently. An increase in these levels from creatine have been shown to have a 20-50% increase in memory and intelligence test scores. From injury to prevention to brain function, creatine monohydrate has the studies behind it to show this supplement is more than a bro-ology. 

The brain getting stronger, a positive side effect of creatine monohydrate^link

Gender Barriers

Though there are many benefits of creatine monohydrate, unfortunately it seems that they are less effective in the biologically female gender. When testing anaerobic running capacity, males found a 23% increase in time to exhaustion, women found no significant increase. The same sort of results can be seen when testing aerobic performance as well, with women seeing small increases compared to the large percentages that the males receive. These results can be accredited to the overall higher amount of muscle fibers in males. Nonetheless, women can still benefit in all other aspects except the anaerobic benefits.

Woman and man doing anaerobic workouts, the benefit women didn't receive through creatine supplementation^link

But What's the Catch?

With all these amazing benefits, there surely must be a serious disease or shortened lifespan that comes with it. But that would not be the case. The main side effects that come with creatine are digestive related, with some people reporting upset stomachs and even diarrhea. Since your body is not used to the high intake of this amino acid, it may take a few days to get adjusted to it. So people with a naturally weak digestive system (like me...), proceed with caution that the first few days may result in frequent trips to the bathroom.

Man with stomach pains, like the side effects from creatine^link

So...

Creatine Monohydrate is the most studied supplement out in the market, being researched through hundreds of test-cases over decades of years. Through this countless research, it has been proven again and again that there are a plethora of significant benefits from boosts in anaerobic and aerobic performance to mental benefits, and many more. These benefits heavily outweigh the slim downsides. Creatine monohydrate is a safe and effective supplement for D1 athletes to office workers, and everyone in between. Because of the overwhelming amount of science and data, even my parents gave me the green light to try creatine over the summer (if I can convince my parents, you can definitely convince yours). So if you are looking for a way to increase your performance in any way...look no further.