All About The Amazing Health Benefits Of Creatine

Creatine is an organic amino acid that can help us strengthen and develop our muscles. It is obtained from animal foods or, if we do not eat meat, from supplements.

However, it is important to know what purpose this amino acid serves in our body so that we can decide whether to try it for a while or not.

In this article we tell you what creatine is, what its properties are and how to take it to get the most out of it.

What is creatine?

Creatine is an organic amino acid that our liver produces and consists of three amino acids: arginine, glycine and methionine.

It is initially stored in the muscle fibers until released as energy through physical exertion. This is especially true if the effort is short but intense.

So even though our body already produces creatine on its own, we can enhance the positive effects it has on our muscles if we take a supplement of it.

Health Benefits

Creatine offers the following health benefits:

• It increases the endurance of your muscles
• It makes you feel more powerful
• It increases your muscle mass

Therefore, creatine can be a very useful supplement for athletes who want to increase their muscle mass and the volume of their muscles. But not only that, also those who want to improve their figure can benefit from it. That is, those who want to define their muscles and reduce stubborn fat.

Are there foods rich in creatine?

It is important to know that you can not get creatine by eating plant-based products. Vegetarians should therefore consider taking it sporadically as a supplement in this case.

The foods that contain the most creatine are from richest to less rich:

• Herring
• Veal
• salmon
• Tuna
• Rabbit
• Chicken
• Codfish

However, we should mention that to get five grams of creatine (the recommended daily amount), you need to consume more than one kilogram of herring.

In addition, much of this nutrient is lost during cooking. For this reason, we recommend taking a supplement if you have decided to increase your intake of it.

Creatine in the form of a supplement

• The generally recommended daily allowance of creatine is five grams per day, divided into several doses. However, a more accurate dosage would be one gram per ten kg of body weight. That is, someone who weighs sixty pounds should take six grams of creatine daily.

• After a month, it is wise to take a two-week break before starting again.
• You can take creatine with water or mix it with your shakes. If you plan to exercise that day, you should take it right before or after exercise to maximize the positive effects.
• By taking creatine, you increase hydration at the intracellular level. That’s why you should also make sure you drink more water, especially outside of your meals and during physical activities. You should drink at least a liter of water daily, and on hot days or when you sweat, even two liters.
• It is important to clarify that creatine only retains fluid at the intracellular level and has no negative effect on kidney function.

Other tips to increase your muscle mass

You may have decided that you want to strengthen your muscles, increase your muscle mass, or simply improve your figure. Or maybe you just started a new training schedule and would like to have a little more energy.

In that case, you can also apply these simple and effective tips to complement the function of the supplement :

• Reduce your consumption of harmful fats : pastries, precooked and fried foods, margarine, ice cream, sweets, low-quality oils, snacks, etc.

• Increase your intake of healthy fats: extra virgin olive and coconut oil, nuts, seeds, avocado, clarified butter or ghee, egg yolks, fatty fish, etc.
• Consume sufficient protein at every meal , both animal proteins (meat, fish, eggs, dairy products) and vegetable proteins (legumes, nuts and seeds, whole grains such as quinoa or millet).
• Also consume protein after exercise. Do this within forty minutes. At that point, you should also be taking the supplement with the optimal dose of creatine.
• Do exercises with weights or elements that help you strengthen your muscles (elastics, weight balls or your own body weight). Initially, you can start with two or three sessions a week, alternating different muscles each day. After three months you can reduce this to one or two a week. This only applies if you have managed to achieve your desired results within that time.

• We highly recommend trying the vegan protein shakes you can buy these days, made with foods like peas, hemp, brown rice, or whey. For example, you can combine them with fruit and vegetable drinks.