Creatine supplements will become one of the most valuable compounds in your antiaging arsenal! Once thought only as a natural performance enhancing substance, it has now been proven to offer important benefits for your health and longevity!
It provides high-energy phosphates for the regeneration of atp, in the atp energy systems of your body. This is critical for cellular energy production that powers your muscles.
There are over one thousand research papers on this fascinating supplement, which has now permeated the sports nutrition market. British sprinters first used this compound in the 1950’s as a performance enhancer.
Creatine supplements have now gone mainstream and are being used at all levels of sports and athletic competition. Lets take a look how they are used and what their specific benefits are for you!
Increased Stamina During Intense Exertion
During vigorous exertion the atp energy systems can synthesize required phosphates to regenerate your atp levels, however when we supplement creatine it makes it easier and faster for your body to just grab the available phosphate and create what’s needed by the atp energy systems to power your body.
Obviously this means that your body can sustain more sub maximal force production within a given period of time. This is of great benefit in sports where you must perform multiple intense exertions before stopping.
The best example of this is a weightlifter or bodybuilder lifting a heavy weight several times in succession. He or she will be able to perform more repetitions before fatigue requires them to stop. Thus creatine supplements have their most dramatic effect on the abilities of strength athletes.
Antiaging Benefits
However the benefits of this amazing supplement do not stop there! The most impressive benefits involve helping you maintain lean muscle mass and strength, and support your atp energy systems as you age. This is perhaps the single most important factor in antiaging!
Although muscle wasting disease can strike young people, it more characteristically affects people as they age. This condition is called sarcopenia, and it involves loss of lean muscle tissue, which can threaten your health and life itself if it is not counteracted.
As I have mention previously the maintenance of your lean body mass is the most critical factor in longevity, and creatine supplements help to do this in a number of ways.
Research on older individuals has shown benefits such as
- Increase in your fat free muscle mass
- Increase in isometric strength
- Increase in muscle creatine levels
- Reduced cell damage and inflammation after exercise
- Increase in mitochondrial energy production
- Improvement in cognitive function
- Protective effects on your nervous system
This is an impressive list of health benefits from creatine supplements and I have a feeling that with continued research the list of benefits will grow longer! This is one more example of a supplement originally used by athletes that has been found to be beneficial for aging individuals to help maintain cellular energy production.
Form and Dosage
From all indication the monohydrate form seems the most effective. Look for the Crea Pure designation, which indicates it is the higher quality source from Germany. This is also known as German “micronized” creatine, which is reportedly the easiest to absorb.
Dosages for the average healthy individual should be in the 3-5 gram range per day. Some experts feel a “loading phase” is beneficial where you take larger dosages for several days to a week and then pare down to a maintenance dose.
However this is somewhat subjective and depends upon the person, how their body responds, and what their exercise/training intensity is. The 2-3 gram dosage level should provide sufficient levels for atp energy systems, and this can be increased as needed as the exercise intensity levels increase.
To Sum Up…
In light of the many challenges to health and longevity in the form of diminished cellular energy production with age, creatine supplements are a vitally important addition to your antiaging strategy, and will help provide more physical and mental vitality far into your advanced years.
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