Creatine is a chemical that is used in our bodies to make energy for our muscles and brain. Our bodies make creatine everyday in our liver and kidneys, but people that exercise a lot, gym users, runners, cyclists and people that compete in sport will often supplement their diets with creatine to get more energy while training or competing. It is also used to help people with problems that affect how the brain produces energy or suffer from muscle weakness and muscle loss, such as the elderly. People that eat meat get extra creatine from their diet as creatine is found in the muscle, or meat, of animals, meat-eaters have creatine levels that are around 20% higher in their muscles than vegetarians and vegans. Vegetarians and vegans do not get any creatine from their diets as they are not eating the muscles of other animals, their bodies make everything that they use.
Do Vegans Need Extra Creatine?
First of all, unless your doctor has told you that you must take creatine to stay healthy you do not need extra creatine. But, what about if you want to change your body, get fit, make some gains? Creatine can improve how much effort your body can produce when under stress, such as when lifting weights, it can allow you to train harder and longer and it also increases muscle size and strength when used as part of a training or exercise schedule. Using creatine on its own, as a dietary supplement, without the training or exercise will not change your muscles, creatine is also not a fat loss supplement.
Doctors and scientists have tested how well creatine works in many different groups of people, the young, the old, meat-eaters and vegans. Tests and studies have shown that vegans have lower concentration of creatine in their muscles and that supplementation can be effective in increasing muscular and neuropsychological performance in vegetarians and vegans. When vegans and vegetarians take creatine supplements the levels of creatine in their muscles increases more than meat-eaters taking the same amount of extra creatine, however, the levels in their brains did not change. The vegetarian and vegan group gained more muscle, strength and endurance, but when compared to the gains made by supplementing meat-eaters the benefits were the same. Both meat-eaters and vegetarians got the same improvements. This means that the tests have shown that people benefit from taking creatine supplements if they are training or exercising, regardless of their diet. If you think that creatine could help you talk to a professional before you buy some. Creatine supplements make extra work for your kidneys as they get rid of the extra creatine that you haven't used, so make sure that it is the right thing for you before you put any new chemical into your body. Too much creatine can harm you in the same way that too much of anything is bad. If you are young talk to your doctor before starting any supplements as a young body has different needs to an adult body. Also, before starting any kind of supplement reach your natural peak before you add anything supplemental, don't join a gym and buy a bulk load of protein powder and pre-workout. Get used to the training, let your body adapt and then think about supplements later and never take more then the stated dose.
Comments