|
Subject: creatine
Submitted by: Ben Witmer, Norristown,
PA
|
QUESTION: Prior to embarking on the NHE program I had been using creatine,
and I feel that it has helped my intensity in the gym. I was concerned, however, about the
compatibility of creatine with the NHE Eating Plan. You are supposed to take creatine with
carbs, because supposedly creatine doesn't work without insulin - but this threatens to
push me over my carb-limits.
|
ROB'S ANSWER:
|
The notion that creatine is worthless unless taken with
carbohydrate is categorically false. For hundreds-of-thousands of years "man the
hunter" got creatine from meat unaccompanied by a high-sugar drink (however, a
quantity of creatine sufficient to promote maximum anaerobic output is not reasonably
obtainable through food alone). But now, to secure their market share of creatine sales,
some supplement companies have propagated the idea that creatine
doesn't
work unless you take
it with some special concoction of cheap sugars that they sell. Nonsense. |
|
... to
allow creatine-loading to dictate your diet,
rather than your diet dictate creatine-loading
is a case of inverted priorities.
|
|
|
|
Studies do show that consuming creatine with carbohydrate
increases its uptake by the muscles via the action of insulin. However, this does not mean
that without an insulin surge creatine cannot be absorbed by the muscles. It simply means
you must ingest correspondingly more creatine to get the same absolute amount of creatine
absorption since the rate of absorption is lower - in the same way that you must drive for
a longer period of time to go a certain distance traveling 50 MPH than if you were
traveling 80 MPH. You should weigh the incremental benefit of taking creatine with carbs
against the detriment of evoking insulin's other, less desirable, properties.
|
Having said this, the NHE Eating Plan is actually quite compatible
with creatine supplementation. The carb-load meals provide an ideal occasion to load
creatine, not only because of the insulin spike it creates but also because of the
"glycogen supercompensation effect" discussed in NHE. Although there are no
studies on this specific issue, it is reasonable to postulate that creatine uptake by the
muscles will be accelerated if creatine is consumed at a time when glucose uptake is
accelerated. During the downcycle, when carbs are low, you can enhance creatine absorption
and retention by taking it immediately after training. This is when ATP regeneration and
phosphate synthesis are at a peak. (This does not mean you shouldn't also take it before
training.)
Overall, I believe that the benefits of
macronutrient cycling as outlined in Natural Hormonal Enhancement - in terms of
health,
muscle
building, and fat burning - vastly outweigh the modest, and
compensable,
reduction in creatine absorption resulting from consuming it unaccompanied with
carbohydrate. Your overall diet is much more important than creatine and will have a much
greater influence on your health and physique. Therefore, to allow creatine-loading to dictate your diet, rather than your diet dictate
creatine-loading is a case of inverted priorities.
 Return to Index
|
|
|
