Understanding creatine monohydrate
This is a project I have been working on for some time now. The more I worked, the more I wrote, the longer it got. Up to the point it was almost 4,000 words. That’s too much, so I have decided to break this article up into a few different sections. Hopefully that makes it more approachable.
But the truth is this: what I am sharing in these articles is, quite honestly, one of the most important things I have experienced and integrated into my life. And I hope that this will serve to help others do the same.
One easy trick
Perhaps they tell us that if we follow the formula they are going to spell out for us, we will become new people. Or they guarantee that the system they are selling will make all our dreams come true.
I don't believe it.
When I started this project, I wrote those words.
I stand by them.
Mostly.
Today, I’m going to make a liar of myself. Because I am going to share something, one easy trick, that has changed my life. And with science on my side, I hope to make the argument that it can change yours as well.
Big promises.
Grounded in big results.
It’s energy, not time
Our most valuable, most finite resource that must be managed is our energy. It is fleeting and fading and will be exhausted before we run out of time.
Facts.
Last year, I found myself completely drained by the end of the work day. I would come home and it took everything I had to put food in me. And then I sat, a useless pile of protoplasm, until finally, blessedly, it was time to go to bed.
Physically, I had energy to do more. It was my mental energy that was completely gone.
Honestly, it was frightening. I thought something serious was wrong with me.
Then I had a moment. A simultaneous “aha,” and “you stupid fool,” moment. I made one small change. Literally. I started doing, again, one simple thing each day.
Fast-forward about 3-4 weeks, and I felt completely different. I’m going to share that one simple thing, but more importantly, I’m going to dive into the biology and research to support this incredible transformation I experienced.
And hopefully, you will be inspired to try it yourself.
Biology 101
First, we need to remember some crucial. Something fundamental.
The mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell.
I know, I know. But it is. And that is because of one key molecule: ATP. Adenosine triphosphate is the primary source of energy in our cells, and is the end result of the food we eat. The goal is to, eventually, convert that food via a number of different mechanisms into molecules of ATP.
The key source of that energy is in those phosphate bonds. As ATP becomes ADP (adenosine diphosphate) by breaking one of the phosphate bonds, energy is released and can be used. Let’s keep that in mind: breaking phosphate bonds releases energy (ATP ->ADP), and we get more energy that can be used when needed by adding phosphates back to that adenosine-based molecule (ADP->ATP). Everything I will be talking about hinges on the ability of our bodies to make more ATP.
We’ve all heard of it…
I promise this is all going to come together. We’ve talked about ATP. Now we need to talk about something else, I am certain you have, at the very least, heard of.
We’ve been hearing about creatine for decades. It is one of the most thoroughly studied supplements out there. There are only a handful of other supplements that come close to the same level of evidence (caffeine, whey protein, and possibly vitamin D are in the same rarified air) as creatine monohydrate.
Maybe you have even taken it, or at least thought about taking it. But you figured it was for the “gym bros”, not for you. I know I thought the same.
We were wrong. It’s for all of us.
To understand that, though, we need to understand what creatine monohydrate is and how it works.
…But we didn’t understand it
Creatine is a naturally occurring organic nitrogen compound that is derived from amino acids. It is found naturally in animal muscle and tissue. You also naturally produce some daily in the liver, kidneys, and pancreas.
But to achieve muscle saturation, you need to get about 5 g/day. In order to get that from meat, you would need to be eating anywhere between 3 to 3.5 pounds of cooked meat a day to get that.
And for most of the benefits I am going to highlight, you need to be getting closer to 15-20 g of creatine a day.
Yeah, no one in their right mind is eating >10 lbs of cooked meat a day, every day, to get those levels of creatine.
Enter supplementation. Creatine monohydrate is >95% absorbed by the lining of the gut, so it is incredibly easy to supplement. Cost effective as well. A load less expensive than those 10-12 lbs of meat a day. Supplementation is the only way to effectively achieve the concentrations we are shooting for.
Importantly, creatine monohydrate is the best way to go. There are supplement companies out there telling you that you need their special formulation, or that their gummies are the way to go. They are all hucksters and liars, out to sell you something you don’t need and shouldn’t be wasting your money on. These other formulations aren’t any better, and recent studies found that most gummies have zero detectable creatine, in large part due to the heat needed to make the gummies.
If you choose to supplement, just find creatine monohydrate from a reputable supplement company. It is that simple.
But why?
That is one of the key questions I will be addressing in the next couple of articles: why supplement?
Why do you want to saturate your muscles, and then some? What does it do for you? How does it help? That will all be part two. The important things to remember are these:
- Creatine occurs naturally
- Supplementation is the only realistic way to achieve the levels needed for noticeable physiologic effects
- ATP is the key
Part two will focus on that last part: the relationship between ATP production and creatine. I know this wasn’t the most interesting part, but I promise it will be worth understanding. For me, that was when all of this clicked, when the reasons behind creatine supplementation finally made sense.
Stay tuned for next week’s part two.