Creatine is one of the most popular, best researched and most effective nutrients for athletes. However, much less known is that creatine can also increase muscle strength in people over the age of 55, when combined with muscle strengthening exercises. Maintaining good muscle strength is one of the main concerns in healthy aging. And it is nice that creatine can contribute to this extra, on top of doing your exercises regularly which is obviously the most important thing. The beneficial effect is obtained with a daily intake of at least 3 grams of creatine.

Because creatine is used so much, there are several providers of creatine supplements. Unfortunately, the quality of the creatine offered is not always as high. Vitals has therefore chosen Creavitalis®, very pure, optimally soluble creatine monohydrate from German manufacturer Alzchem. Creavitalis® is the micronized (refined) version of their widely known and praised Creapure®. Alzchem's creatines are therefore the most widely used in scientific research because their quality and purity are second to none.

Watch this video to see how well Creavitalis® dissolves in water.

Effects of creatine
Creatine is a molecule found naturally in all vertebrates. The name creatine comes from the Greek word "kreas" meaning meat. Creatine plays a key role in the energy metabolism of the cell. As a result, it is found mainly in tissues that consume a lot of energy, such as skeletal muscle. Creatine is a semi-essential nutrient. The body can produce creatine itself in the kidneys and liver from the amino acids arginine, glycine and methionine, but this is not always sufficient to meet its needs (see Figure 1). Hence, it is also necessary to ingest some creatine with food.

Creatine in food is always of animal origin. In particular, it is found in meat, fish and poultry. Therefore, people who eat vegetarian or vegan food usually have a lower intake of this nutrient. Creatine in supplements is not derived from animal sources and is therefore suitable for vegetarians and vegans.

Creatine can be converted to creatine phosphate (CP) in muscle cells under the influence of the enzyme creatine kinase. The phosphate group can then be linked to ADP (adenosine diphosphate) which thereby forms ATP (adenosine triphosphate), the main energy carrier in our cells. Taking additional creatine to contribute to energy delivery via CP is especially interesting during short and high-intensity efforts, such as strength training and sprint training.

In addition to contributing to physical performance by supporting energy metabolism, creatine as a supplement also plays a role in enhancing the effect of resistance exercise on muscle strength. Maintaining muscle strength is particularly important for people 55 and older. Therefore, it is very wise to do muscle-strengthening exercises several times a week.

Figure 1. Schematic representation of creatine metabolism.
SAM: S-adenosylmethionine, SAH: S-adenosylhomocysteine, ATP: adenosine triphosphate, ADP: adenosine diphosphate.

Micronized creatine (Creavitalis®) from Alzchem
Creatine monohydrate is the most common form in which creatine is found in supplements. This is the form that seems to be most effective and is best absorbed into the body. One disadvantage of creatine monohydrate is that it does not dissolve well in aqueous liquids. To improve this, German manufacturer Alzchem has developed a so-called micronized creatine monohydrate, branded Creavitalis®. 'Micronization' is a manufacturing process in which particles are made extra small to an order of magnitude of micrometers (one millionth of a meter). This provides a greatly improved solubility in water, which has benefits for the user. Creavitalis® from Alzchem has the same impeccable purity and quality as their trusted Creapure®, and is just as effective. The powder also has a very neutral taste, allowing it to be taken even with just water.

Suitable for elite athletes, tested for doping
For anyone serious about sports, it is very important to know what you are taking in. What ingredients are in your food, what are the nutritional values, but also: what is the composition and quality of the sports products you take. Just as important is to know what you are not ingesting. You don't want to ingest unwanted substances and have nothing to do with doping.

Creatine-CV has been tested for doping according to the NZVT system (Nederlands Zekerheidssysteem Voedingssupplementen Topsport). This is a system in which dietary supplements are checked to minimize the risk of a positive doping test. Every newly produced batch of Creatine-CV is checked according to this procedure. NZVT-tested products give the greatest assurance of not containing any doping-controlled substances. In the NZVT database you can check whether the product has been tested by means of the batch code and THT. Not all products are tested every batch. Products that are tested every batch can be identified in the database by the "infinity" sign. For more information see www.dopingautoriteit.nl/nzvt. Are you interested in a Vitals product that is not tested every batch? Please contact us. Our contact information can be found on the contact page.