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Creatine supplementation has hit buzzworthy status once again in wellness and fitness circles. What is it? Why should I take it? Is it safe? The list of questions go on and on, so in this little article we are going to keep it as simple as possible. The primary questions we are going to answer are, “What is creatine?” and “Who benefits from taking creatine?” Disclaimer: Please consult your physician before starting any supplement. This article is for informational purposes only. What is creatine? Creatine, also known as methylguanidine-acetic acid (what a mouthful), is formed in our bodies by a series of reactions from the amino acids arginine, glycine, and methionine. This reaction occurs in our kidneys and liver, and is how we get creatine internally. The second way we get creatine is externally by consuming red meat, poultry, and seafood, or through supplementation. Creatine is best known for its muscle building perks, its ability to give you short energy bursts, and allows muscles to recover well post-workout. About 95% of creatine is in our skeletal muscle, and our body uses 1-3g of creatine daily. This is why it’s important to replace that 1-3g per day, both internally and through supplementation and diet, to maintain normal creative levels. Most creatine supplements are found in monohydrate form meaning a creatine molecule pairs with a water molecule bringing more water into the muscle and allowing it to increase in size quickly. This type of creatine is said to work best with a “loading” method over time, but there have been multiple studies showing that the average person gets the same benefit from creatine monohydrate whether they choose to load or not. For that reason we won’t get into loading as long as we understand that results happen over time. On the other hand, creatine HCL is made up of a creatine molecule with a hydrochloride attached, which increases its water solubility and absorption. This means you can take a smaller dose of creatine HCL than creatine monohydrate. Creatine HCL is also easier on the digestive system for many people because of how soluble it is, which is a positive feature for those of us with sensitive stomachs. Who benefits from taking creatine? In a nutshell, everyone. Creatine has been proven safe for healthy individuals that range from children to the elderly. For the purpose of this article we will assume that we are talking about adults aged 18 and up, especially since when we think of creatine, we typically think of the supplement. Additional creatine found in red meat, poultry, and fish, is perfectly healthy. When we’re talking about older adults (ages 50+) one of the biggest benefits of creatine has to do with age-related sarcopenia. Sarcopenia is defined as a progressive and generalized skeletal muscle condition which causes a decrease in muscle mass, muscle strength, functionality, and leads to someone becoming an increased fall risk. All of this increases someone's mortality risk, as well. Muscle strength remains pretty constant until about age 50, and then strength starts to dip at the rate of 1.2%-1.5% per year thereafter. Due to this decrease in strength, we also start to see a decrease in muscle mass (size) at the rate of about ~0.8% per year, starting at the age of 50. Resistance training is still the number one way to curb the onset of sarcopenia, but an overwhelming amount of evidence is suggesting that creatine supplementation may enhance the effects of resistance training, thereby increasing muscle mass in older adults. In fact a meta-analysis by Chilibeck et al. showed a significantly greater increase in lean tissue mass when upper and lower maximal strength was tested in aging adults who took a low dose of creatine (3g-5g) combined with resistance training than those who took a placebo. While this was a relatively small study of 721 adults ages 57-70 years over the course of 7 weeks to one year, the results of these small studies have been fairly consistent. On the contrary, a similar study of those in the same age group who took a low dose of creatine but didn’t combine it with resistance training saw little to no difference in strength or size. However, one study of a group of aging males (ages 60-82) showed that with a creatine load of 20g/day over the course of a day for 10 days, followed by 4g/day for 20 days, found that lower body muscle fatigue was decreased, but the study may have been the result of a “one off” or fluke, and more studies need to be conducted. A little blurb on bone health… Studies on creatine and resistance training on bone health are just starting to gain traction, especially as the talk of health with perimenopausal, menopausal, and post-menopausal people is becoming mainstream. Something to keep in mind when looking at studies of bone health in people, these studies are done over a long period of time due to the slowness of bone growth. For the sake of this article we’ll look at the most effective intervention which involved 8g/day of creatine supplementation over a 12 month period, combined with resistance training of three times per week. This study showed that post-menopausal participants saw a decrease in strength and mass of only 1.2% compared to the group who did resistance training without creatine supplementation who lost 3.9% over the same time period. What does this all mean? It shows that there is slight evidence that creatine supplementation without resistance training improves some measures of muscular and physical performance in aging adults. HOWEVER! For all adults, resistance training combined with some creatine supplementation has positive results across the board. One of the biggest reasons for positive results with bone density is because of the increase of muscle mass. Greater muscle mass equals greater strength, and greater strength equals more strain on the bone per muscle contraction. And BAM we have stronger bones. In summary, creatine supplementation is worth your time and money for serious or hobbyist lifters and athletes. Antonio, J., Candow, D. G., Forbes, S. C., Gualano, B., Jagim, A. R., Kreider, R. B., Rawson, E. S., Smith-Ryan, A. E., VanDusseldorp, T. A., Willoughby, D. S., & Ziegenfuss, T. N. (2021, February 8). Common questions and misconceptions about creatine supplementation: What does the scientific evidence really show? - journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. BioMed Central. https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12970-021-00412-w Antonio, J., Candow, D. G., Forbes, S. C., Gualano, B., Jagim, A. R., Kreider, R. B., Rawson, E. S., Smith-Ryan, A. E., VanDusseldorp, T. A., Willoughby, D. S., & Ziegenfuss, T. N. (2021, February 8). Common questions and misconceptions about creatine supplementation: What does the scientific evidence really show? - journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. BioMed Central. https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12970-021-00412-w
Your browser does not support viewing this document. Click here to download the document. For terrain and elevation difficulty there is no one true measure, but this link and its topic "Fitness Levels" provides the closest information to the grading system we used. Instead of using "A, B, or C, we used 1, 2, and 3".
Trails marked good for wheelchair users are typically parks that have access to both paved trails for users, and unpaved trails for ambulatory people. Happy hiking! As the weather turns I always turns to soups & stews first. In the Midwest the CrockPot remains king, but I prefer a slower, over the stove approach. This is why I love lentil soups. The prep and cook time is less than 40 minutes, and in that time you have a meal packed with fiber that you can eat by itself, over rice, or with a breadlike vessel.
Ingredients: 1 Cup Red Lentils 3 Cups Water (or Vegetable Broth) 2 Carrots; diced 1 Onion; diced 3 Celery Stalks; chopped 5 Garlic Cloves; minced Cumin (idk, like, a lot) Olive Oil or Oil of Choice Bay Leaves Salt and Pepper to Taste Directions: 1. PREP! I like to prep all of the veggies and spices ahead of time which will take you about 10 minutes depending on your knife skills. Also, rinse your lentils before hand. 2. In a stockpot start to heat your oil. Add your onions first and let them sweat. This is about 5-8 minutes or so. Next add the garlic and let them cook for about 2 minutes. Let the flavors really get into your pores. 3. Add in the carrots and celery and stir. Wait about 2 minutes and add the cumin. Stir so everything has a good coating to it. 4. Finally add the lentils PLUS 3 cups of water or broth. Let them all get to know each other in the pot. 5. I add a little salt while it's cooking, and throw in 1-2 bay leaves. Set your timer for about 25 minutes and let it simmer and absorb all of the water/broth. 6. After 25 minutes it should be nice and soupy. Season with salt and pepper to desired levels. Squeeze in 1 lemon! Enjoy. |
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