Does Creatine Go Bad?
The short answer is this: Creatine doesn`t go bad easily at all! However, on the plus end, Creatine is much more stable than many other similar products. That means that they won`t go off immediately like many other diet products do. However, studies reveal that you can safely use them over for an extended period of time, without worrying about whether they`re going to affect your body`s chemistry in a negative way.
A good example of how long creatine lasts is Prohm. They`ve been on the market for a long time, and their powder version is still as popular as ever. But, even if their powdered product is good, how long does it last? It depends on a number of factors, such as the type of creatine used (ethylene glycol), the particular kind of manufacturing process used (solid creatine / liquid creatine) and even the quality of the ingredients.
Most dietary supplements contain a substance called creatinine, which is a combination of amino acids. Creatine itself is usually a naturally occurring substance in the body, as is glycolysis, which is a major chemical reaction in the body that breaks down glycogen (stored fat). Glycolysis itself does nothing more than speed up the breakdown of glycogen – it doesn`t produce any excess fluid or mess around with any of the body`s other functions. So why would anyone wish to increase Creatine`s potency?
People have different reasons to increase their Creatine intake. Some want to build more muscle mass, whilst others may desire to improve their athletic performance. So, how long does Creatine last when taken as a supplement? In short, not very long – about 50 percent of the amount is absorbed by the body within an hour of consumption, so if you consume a larger amount at one time you won`t see much of a change in your body, but over time you could see a slight increase.
The main problem lies in the way in which Creatine is manufactured. There are two main ways in which Creatine can be made: through the diet, and through the use of injectables. The diet route is favored mainly because it is cost effective, easy to administer and fairly easy to quantify (you know how much creatine your body produces based on how much water and food you consume). Although it generally retains its natural peak strength and power levels, Creatine has been widely documented to go bad in a matter of months, sometimes years.
Unfortunately, most dietary supplements tend to fall foul of one critical problem – the phosphocreatine (PC) amino acid that is naturally found within the Creatine molecule itself. When taken as a supplement, the levels of PC quickly diminish, often by half within just a few weeks. The decline is most dramatic during intense exercises such as power lifting, where the muscle responds fastest to stimulation. Although creatine supplements will still give the user good gains in his or her current level of physical fitness, they have no real lasting effect on strength or muscle size. And with regular use, the damage to the PC that results from continual use can render the supplement essentially useless.
Another issue with typical creatine supplements is that it isn`t really known whether or not they`re actually doing their job. To many of us, the question of how much cheating goes bad is simply an academic one: if you take Creatine, do you see the same results? But the truth of the matter is that scientific research doesn`t always agree. Most studies show that Creatine does increase muscular size, while others show no effect whatsoever. This suggests that the supplement may actually be doing little more than adding to the potential degree of difficulty for a person to work out.
One of the main ways that Creatine goes bad is in its handling of the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) within the muscles. When Creatine replenishes the ATP in your muscles, there`s a sudden boost in performance. Because Creatine replenishes ATP, it also replenishes the cellular hydration that all of your muscles need to work. Once again, this means that any Creatine side effects will likely come from dehydration.