Pharmacist Warns of Common Mistake with Popular Supplement Creatine

Creatine, a substance naturally produced in the body and found in foods like red meat and fish, plays a key role in rapid energy production for muscles. It's commonly used to boost strength and muscle size during intense workouts. Older adults also use it to help slow age-related muscle decline, though it should be combined with physical activity.

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Additional creatine use is most often used for high-intensity, short-term physical exertion, such as lifting weights or sprinting. This substance helps increase muscle strength and muscle size during strength training.

Marta Rutalė, a pharmacist at "Eurovaistinė," explains that while creatine increases water content within muscle cells due to its osmotic properties, this is distinct from subcutaneous swelling. This intracellular water retention actually aids protein synthesis and muscle volume growth. A temporary weight increase of 1-2 kg is possible initially, but typically stabilizes within weeks.

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Creatine increases the amount of water inside muscle cells because it is an osmotically active substance, but this differs from subcutaneous swelling – creatine use does not cause visible water retention under the skin.

Rutalė also advises caution for those with diagnosed kidney conditions, stressing the importance of consulting a doctor before using creatine supplements. Separately, she notes that collagen, the body's most abundant protein, declines with age. While collagen supplements are broken down into amino acids, their effectiveness relies on other nutrients like Vitamin C, zinc, and copper, underscoring the need for a balanced diet rich in fruits, seafood, nuts, and grains.

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It is important to emphasize that collagen supplements themselves are not directly absorbed into tissues; the body breaks down collagen supplements into amino acids – using these substances where they are most needed, for example, for new collagen synthesis, tissue regeneration, and other bodily functions.