how to take creatine?

**enoola** · 01-23-2004, 03:58 AM

Guys, i am totaly confused about how to take creatine. I have read threads and also read info about it. It says to take creatine after you work out. The creatine i have is made by body science and it says take 1 heaped scoop (40g) 30 mins before your workout.

Can any1 clear this up for me?

**znak** · 01-23-2004, 04:48 AM

Originally Posted by enoola

Guys, i am totaly confused about how to take creatine. I have read threads and also read info about it. It says to take creatine after you work out. The creatine i have is made by body science and it says take 1 heaped scoop (40g) 30 mins before your workout.

Can any1 clear this up for me?

Doesn't really matter when you take it. Yeah, I can hear the debate already. When I use TRAC, I take it before the workout to get the pump from the NO2, if I am just taking creatine, I mix it into my after workout shake.

Just take it. 5 gram a day.

**DARKSEID** · 01-23-2004, 06:22 AM

each creatine seems to recommend different things, I've had ones that specify before and some after. I personally don't care too much for creatine, never noticed much from it. Just follow what the jar says.

**DBarcelo** · 01-23-2004, 10:55 AM

Different studdies suggest different things. The basic idea is to take 5 grams per day, because any more than that can increase your serum creatine levels, wich is not good for you.

It's good to take creatine before you work out because it's already in your system when you start to work out your muscles. Down side is that most people lose their stamina because of the dehydrating effects of creatine.

It's good to take the creatine right after your work out because your heart is pumping hard and your body is moving all kinds of things into and out of your muscles, so the creatine will be absorbed quickly by the body. Down side is that your muscles can absorbe the creatine more deeply into the muscles while they are under stress.

Like darkseid, a lot of people don't see much use for creatine because creatine is in the food that we eat, especially red meat. If you eat a lot of red meat every day, chances are, your body can't use or store any more creatine anyway. And taking that extra little 5 grams can increase your serum creatine level.

**groverman1** · 01-23-2004, 03:18 PM

Just follow the directions on the label, like Dark said every manufacter has fdifferent instructions.

**enoola** · 01-24-2004, 03:04 AM

Thanks guys. But like i sad the label says take 40g. I was thinking to take 20g before my worl out and 20g after my work out. I dont eat much red meat so i think i'll need it plus i spent alot of $$$$ on it so im gonna use it.

**DBarcelo** · 01-24-2004, 11:56 AM

If you plan on taking that much creatine, let your doctor know that's what you plan on doing. He should want to do a blood test on you. He should do a urine test on you after you've used it for a little while. The blood test can tell if your creatinine level is too high, which will show if there is any kidney damage being done and the blood test would see if your serum creatine level starts to go up.

If your serum creatine level goes up and your doctor doesn't know about it, if you end up in the emergency room, they may not be able to figure out what's wrong with you before you end up with some mild brain damage.

The studies done on creatine are limited. They have only been done for a short period of time and using low dosages. They verified there were no growths on the brain after a couple months and deemed it safe for human consumption. The only problem is with the creatine raising the serum creatine level. There has beeb at least one case were a girl had an elevated serum creatine level after drinking one of those energy boosters, so people have different tolerances to it.

Just be careful with taking 40 grams per day or even 20 grams per day. I would hope the only reason the manufacturer suggests that much is because they know the product doesn't do well passing the digestive system. If not, then they just want you to use more of it so you can go buy more sooner, because your body can't use any more than 5 grams at a time, which is why the serum level will increase.

**enoola** · 01-24-2004, 07:48 PM

DBarcelo, stupid me didnt read the label properly. 40g contains 3g of creatine monohydrate. Thanks for you help

**enoola** · 01-24-2004, 07:49 PM

Hey DBarcelo can i ask you howe much dextrose i should be taking after a work out? Also can you give me a little run down on what dextrose does?

**DBarcelo** · 01-24-2004, 08:03 PM

Taking dextrose alone after a workout doesn't do much for you. If you mix dextrose, an electrolyte and some protein, then the dextrose will help the protein get into your system quicker.

I assume you mean mixing dextrose with creatine. Dextrose is just a simple carbohydrate and causes an insulin spike. The insulin helps shuttle the creatine into your muscles. Insulin's main purpose is to get things in the blood to go where they're supposed to be (to put it simply).

As far as how much to take, I would say two teaspoons should be plenty. For a quicker insulin spike, you can eat a hand full of jelly beans or drink some OJ. The jelly beans gives the quickest and highest insulin spike.

I hope that answered your questions.

**enoola** · 01-24-2004, 10:04 PM

Thanks alot for that DBarcelo. Just one more question so dextrose is the same as glucose? So after a work out i should add about 2 two tea spoons of it in my protein shake after my work out?

**DBarcelo** · 01-25-2004, 09:59 AM

Dextrose is refined Glucose from corn starch. So, they are basically the same, the only difference is that Dextrose has been acted on by an enzyme.

And yes, adding that to a protein shake will help with the dilevery of the protein.