Big Body Building Tips

The strength and mass building benefits of creatine are widely known. In this article I will address a few of the surprising benefits of creatine use.

Enhanced Cognitive Ability

Creatine has been shown to increase cognitive ability in vegetarians and the elderly. Vegetarians generally have low creatine levels because their diet provides them with virtually none. It’s not clear why the elderly would react well to creatine. My conjecture is that our bodies produce lower amounts of creatine as we age.

Young meat eaters haven’t shown improvement after taking creatine, in all likelihood because they have sufficient creatine in their bodies already. At any rate, it’ exciting that there seems to be a connection between brain health and creatine. I am betting that there will be more study in this area in the future.

Increased Endurance

New research suggests that creatine use improves endurance. In a research study of runners, creatine use resulted in faster running times in 300 and 1000 meter intervals. Endurance sports which could benefit from creatine use include medium and long distance rowing, swimming, cycling, running, cross country skiing, and many others.

If you plan on taking creatine to increase endurance, I suggest using a small daily dose of 2-5g. Larger loading doses (20g per day or more) usually result in weight gain due to water retention. Greater weight is more often than not undesirable in endurance activities. Studies have found that using a small dose results in almost no gain in water weight.

Chronic Heart Failure

People suffering from chronic heart failure frequently have low levels of creatine in their bodies. Research has suggested that using creatine may enhance heart muscle strength, endurance, and body weight in individuals with this disease.

Neuromuscular Disease

Creatine has been shown to enhance strength in people with a variety of neuromuscular diseases. Use of creatine has been studied for treatment of Parkinson’s disease, disuse atrophy, gyrate atrophy, McArdle’s disease, arthritis, Huntington’s disease, miscellaneous neuromuscular diseases, mitochondrial diseases, and muscular dystrophy.

Creatine was shown to be twice as effective as the drug riluzole in prolonging the lives of mice with ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Creatine has shown promise in other areas, but more research is needed. Here are a few:

COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), Depression, Increasing Bone Density, Infant Sleep Apnea, Lowering Cholesterol, Hyperomithinemia, Ischemic Heart disease, Myocardial Infarction (Heart Attack), Spinal Cord Injuries

Take a look at my site for more information on creatine supplements and creatine powder.

Related posts:

1. Rules To Follow When Taking Creatine
2. Choosing A Type Of Creatine
3. Creatine Benefits For You
4. Creatine And It’s Potential Side Effects
5. Advice On Choosing A Creatine Supplement
6. Pros And Cons Regarding Creatine
7. Creatine And Some Facts You Need To Know About Weight Lifting Supplements
8. Creatine Supplement Reviews – what exactly should I buy?
9. Amino Acids And The Aging Process
10. Endurance Grows With Creatine Use