All about Creatine (pt.3)

Part 3: How do I take it?
Based on science the most effective way to supplement with creatine is to start with a one week loading phase. You need to take .3 grams per kilogram of body weight for the first week. After this we can move to a maintenance phase of .1 grams per kilogram of body weight. To calculate your weight in kilos divide your weight in pounds by 2.2. With some minor calculations you should know about how much creatine you need to consume daily now. You want to split these doses up to make sure you are utilizing all of the creatine that you consume. I suggest no more than 5 grams in one serving, otherwise you might lose some of it in your urine. The best times to ingest on training days is thirty minutes before your workout and 4 to 6 hours post workout. Some people feel that a creatine cycle is necessary, but no concrete evidence has proved this claim. If you do wish to cycle then it should look like this. Load for one week, maintenance for 4 weeks, then recover with no creatine for 3 weeks before returning to loading. One important thing over looked by many creatine users is the need to ingest it with a hgih-glycemic sugar based drink. Creatine is absorbed up to 60% more effective when ingested with a sugary drink. You want to stay away from acidic juices like orange juice because the acid can degrade the creatine. Most juices contain fructose which is not a fast sugar. Make sure to look for a drink with maltose, glucose, or dextrose and aim for around 6-8 ounces.

Your Brain on Sugar

It gives you a rush, messes with your mind, and always leaves you wanting more - and now researchers are calling for the government to regulate the sweet stuff like a drug.

Is sugar worse for you than, say, cocaine? According to a 2012 article in the journal Nature, it's a toxic substance that should be regulated like tobacco and alcohol. Researchers point to studies that show that too much sugar (both in the form of natural sucrose and high-fructose corn syrup) not only makes us fat, it also wreaks havoc on our liver, mucks up our metabolism, impairs brain function, and may leave us susceptible to heart disease, diabetes, even cancer. So far, no federal action has been taken (advocates blame industry lobbyists), and experts say simply raising awareness isn't enough, especially when 80 percent of our food choices contain sugar. "It's like watching a train wreck in slow motion," says coauthor Laura Schmidt, Ph.D., a researcher at the University of California, San Francisco.

Nevertheless, after the shock of hearing the news, many of us shrugged and turned back to our cupcakes. Yet, truth is, women in their 20s and 30s may already be feeling the effects of too much sugar without even realizing it. Here, the most common sugar-induced issues and how to beat them to prevent long-term damage—and feel your best right now.

STRESS EATING For a pick-me-up, you may feel the urge to inhale a bag of M&M's or scarf down a box of cookies. But the impulse goes deeper. To examine the hold sugar can have over us, substance-abuse researchers have performed brain scans on subjects eating something sweet. What they've seen resembles the mind of a drug addict: When tasting sugar, the brain lights up in the same regions as it would in an alcoholic with a bottle of gin. Dopamine—the so-called reward chemical—spikes and reinforces the desire to have more. (Sugar also fuels the calming hormone serotonin.)
THE FIX In times of stress, dieters are more likely to binge, studies conclude. That said, a cookie once in a while (say, twice a week) is fine, but on most days go for oatmeal with brown sugar, suggests Jeffrey Fortuna, Ph.D., a health and behavior lecturer at California State University, Fullerton. The whole grains fill you up and the sweetness is just enough to release serotonin.

INEXPLICABLE WEIGHT GAIN You stay away from burgers and drink diet soda. But sugar—both real and artificial—is the secret saboteur. When the pancreas senses sugar, the body releases insulin, which causes cells in the liver, muscle, and fat tissue to take up glucose from the blood, storing it as glycogen for energy. Eat too much at once, though, and insulin levels spike, then drop. The aftermath; you feel tired, then crave more sustenance to perk up. Faux sugars don't help. "Artificial sweeteners travel to the part of the brain associated with desire but not to the part responsible for reward," says Dr. Gene-Jack Wang, a researcher at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York. Nor do they trigger the release of the satiety hormones that real sugar does, so you're more likely to consume more calories.
THE FIX Feed sweet cravings with fruit (the fiber will help keep insulin in check), and sub in sparkling water for diet soda. If you must indulge, go for a small snack made with real sugar, and eat slowly. Add fruit or yogurt to feel fuller and prevent a crash.

BRAIN FOG Blanking out in the middle of a meeting? Research out of the University of California, Los Angeles, suggests that sugar forms free radicals in the brain's membrane and compromises nerve cells' ability to communicate. This could have repercussions in how well we remember instructions, process ideas, and handle our moods, says Fernando Gómez-Pinilla, Ph.D., author of the UCLA study.
THE FIX Stay under the USDA limit of 10 teaspoons (40 grams) of added sugar a day. Read labels and available nutrition information at food chains: A 16-ounce Starbucks vanilla latte and Einstein Bros. bagel will max out your day's allotment! A wiser choice: black coffee and plain yogurt with antioxidant-rich blueberries and walnuts, sweetened with honey.

AGING SKIN Sugar causes premature aging, just as cigarettes and UV rays do. With young skin (generally under 35), when skin support structures collagen and elastin break down from sun or other free-radical exposure, cells repair themselves. But when sugar travels into the skin, its components cause nearby amino acids to form cross-links. These cross-links jam the repair mechanism and, over time, leave you with premature wrinkles.
THE FIX Once cross-links form, they won't unhitch, so keep sugar intake to as close to zero as you can. "It's the enemy," says Dr. William Danby, a dermatologist with Dartmouth Medical School in New Hampshire. Avoid soda and processed pastries and trade sugar packets for cinnamon—it slows down cross-linking, as do cloves, oregano, ginger, and garlic.

A SLUGGISH WORKOUT Muscles need sugar for fuel, so carbs (which break up into glucose, a type of simple sugar) can kick-start your morning jog. But fruit or prepackaged snacks touting "natural sweeteners" contain just fructose, which is metabolized in the liver, not the muscles. The result: bloat, or even the runs.
THE FIX A glucose-packed snack with just 4 to 8 grams of fructose—it'll help increase glucose absorption, says Dr. Richard Johnson, professor of medicine at the University of Colorado, Denver. Try a sports drink like Gatorade or trail mix with dried fruit an hour before your workout.

Adapted "Marie Claire" Magazine

All About Creatine (pt. 2)

Part 2: What Types of Creatine are available?
Creatine is a consumer product so there are supplement companies that are constantly trying to improve the digestibility, potentcy, and bioavailability of creatine. This focus has led to the development of several forms of creatine. Creatine monohydrate is the first form of creatine to start all the hype and is the most scientifically suported form you can purchase. Creatine monohydrate is best ingested in micronized powder form and is the most affordable form of creatine. Be very careful though, there are sub par products out there. To insure the quality and integrity of your supplement only buy from well established companies and look for the "Creapure" label. This will insure that you are getting non contaminated pharmaceutical grade creatine. Although creatine monohydrate is arguably the best form, many other forms exist to target creatine non responders and bio-individuality. These forms are; Creatine Anhydrous, Di- and Tri- Creatine Malate, Creatine Orotate, Creatine Kre-Alkalyn, Creatine Citrate, Creatine Phosphate, Creatine Serum, Creatine tartrate, Creatine Titrate, Magnesium Creatine Chelate, Creatine-Glutamine-Taurine, Creatine HMB, Creatine Ethyl Ester, Effervescent Creatine, and Timed-Release Creatine. In total that is 16 different forms of creatine. It is important that you know that some are better than others and most of these are backed by very little science. However, one type stands out in front of the pack. Micro-ionized creatine monohydrate is considered the gold standard of creatine. Not only is it the most affordable, it is backed by enough research to qualify it as the best supplement to date. Thanks for reading and make sure to be on the look out for part three!

All About Creatine (part 1)

In the fitness industry we see many men and women coming in to buy creatine. However, there seems to be a lack of understanding about what this supplement can and cannot achieve. No performance enhancing supplment has been more closely evaluated under the microscope than creatine. This will be the first installment in the series All About Creatine. Without spoiling anything we will touch on the benefits of supplementing with creatine, dosing, and types of creatine.

Part 1: What is it?
Creatine has been examined thoroughly for many years by the scientific community. It has recieved many accolades and peer reviewed studies supporting it's safety and effectiveness for those looking to add lean muscle mass. But what is it? In short, Creatine is an amino acid-like substance stored in our muscles and nerve cells as creatine phosphate. Without getting too scientific, it provides the muscle and nerves with energy by enhancing cross-bridge cycling and tension production. The average person can hold anywhere from 100-200 grams of creatine in the body and lose about 2 grams through urination each day. Studies have shown us that we can increase our creatine storage by up to 40% through supplementation of creatine. But, the effects of creatine are best seen in individual muscle fibers. Numerous studies suggest creatine starts working relativley quickly after starting supplementation.  You should see noticable strength gains within the first few weeks of creatine supplementation. There are also a myriad of studies illustrating that creatine supplementation is associated with skeletal muscle hypertrophy (bigger muscles), and increased protein synthesis. This muscle building effect is directly related to cell volumization whereby water is shunted into the cells. Furthermore, recent evidence is showing that creatine augments anabolic insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) which promotes another pathway for muscle building. More beneficial effects can come in the form of decreased signs of aging and optimal brain health and function, all from creatine supplementation. Even with all of these studies in favor of the benfits of creatine we still have people propelling myths about the supplement. I'd like to spend this section of debunking the common myths associated with creatine. The most common of these myths is that, "Creatine harms the kidneys and liver." This is not true, unless you have a pre existing condition, creatine will not cause any renal stress on the kidneys, or any other organ for that matter. Another one you will hear is "creatine causes excessive water retention." These indiviudals are also misinformed. A puffy look can occur from creatine supplementation, but that is due to the sodium content, which is higher in cheaply manufactured creatine products. Many people will tell you, "you can get enough creatine from your diet." If you are trying to elicit all of the positive benefits of creatine your diet alone will not keep you covered. We only get about 1 gram a day from our diets. Yes, there is creatine in meats. But, a good part of it is destroyed in the cooking process. Now that you understand more about the benefits of creatine, you might be wondering how to go about using it, and what types to use. Yes, creatine comes in many forms! So, please check back with us and be on the lookout for part two in our "All About Creatine" series.