Is using this renowned supplement essential while following the keto diet?
As fitness enthusiasts and bodybuilders always aiming to excel in our goals and improvements, selecting the right supplements for muscle building and perfecting a diet strategy are crucial to achieve success. When dealing with the most popular supplements or trendy diets, we often fall prey to just imitating what others do. With countless individuals online praising the benefits and efficacy of various supplements and diets, it can be challenging to sift through all the hype and identify what truly works for you. Among those on a keto diet, a common question that surfaces is whether incorporating creatine on keto is essential.
Creatine is a highly favored and extensively utilized supplement, supported by substantial research regarding its effectiveness and safety. For individuals adhering to a ketogenic diet, ensuring the intake of a high-quality multivitamin and other supplements is vital to furthering their goals. The question of whether to take creatine on a ketogenic diet is frequently posed, and for good reason. Given that keto demands low carb consumption, creatine can step in to aid with issues like muscle growth and cramping, which can arise during the initial phase of adopting a low carb diet.
Let’s delve into the discussion on creatine and keto to equip you with the best information for advancing your bodybuilding journey while maintaining optimal health. While each can be effective individually, together, they might give you that extra push to reach the next level.
What Is Creatine?
Creatine is an immensely popular and widely used supplement, naturally present in the muscle cells of our body. The mechanism of creatine involves consuming protein, after which the kidneys and liver produce their own creatine supply, which is then converted into creatine phosphate in the muscles. This substance subsequently becomes adenosine triphosphate (ATP), ideal for energy utilization. Sharing similarities with amino acids, creatine can stimulate growth and accelerate recovery, addressing your bodybuilding needs (1).
Advantages
The key advantages of creatine include:
- Enhance strength: Causes cells to swell for better pumps and boosts blood circulation.
- Boost athletic performance: Elevates strength and power output, replenishes energy reserves, and promotes explosiveness.
- Stimulate metabolism: Improves insulin sensitivity and glycemic control.
- Enhance cognitive function: Amplifies memory and processing speed while combating fatigue (2).
Discover our list of the Best Creatine Supplements here!
What Is The Keto Diet?
The ketogenic diet, commonly known as the keto diet, is a low-carb, high-fat diet that aids in weight loss and offers numerous health benefits. This diet minimizes carbohydrate intake, relying on fats instead, leading the body into ketosis—a metabolic condition where the body efficiently burns fat. Featuring various keto diet types and supported by well-researched studies, keto has gained popularity among athletes, gym-goers, and individuals aiming to enhance their body composition and overall lifestyle (3).
Advantages
Some notable benefits of the keto diet are:
- Facilitate weight loss: Induces ketosis to promote more effective fat burning.
- Improve healthy cholesterol levels: Raising HDL cholesterol levels helps mitigate several serious health issues, like reducing heart disease risk.
- Enhanced mental clarity: The brain utilizes ketones as a fuel source, maintaining focus over extended durations.
- Elevated energy levels: The body actively burns fat for continuous energy throughout the day.
Is Creatine Necessary While Following Keto?
When considering supplementation with creatine while on keto, it is crucial to assess any potential conflicts where one might hinder the other. Let’s begin with ketosis. For keto to be effective, ketosis must persistently occur, enabling continuous fat burning for energy and achieving the desired physique. Creatine does not affect blood sugar levels in a manner that would disrupt ketosis (4), meaning that creatine could indeed be beneficial, enhancing exercise performance and allowing for more extended, intense workouts while on keto.
During the initial phase of keto, the body undergoes several adjustments, often resulting in mental fog and diminished workout performance. These symptoms are a response to the body’s adaptation to a low-carb diet and its new dependence on fat for energy. Creatine can potentially counteract early drawbacks by boosting mental function and alleviating cramping, making it a valuable addition at the start of a keto diet.
As you begin shedding fat on keto, your workouts will be powered by increased energy, leading to noticeable progress. Creatine can further augment your strength gains by promoting muscle building and maintaining lean muscle, providing a significant boost in overall strength and power output.
Conclusion
Deciding to use creatine on keto ultimately requires personal experimentation. If you opt for this route, consider creatine monohydrate as it is the purest form available, ensuring no artificial additives compromise your product and progress. Creatine and keto seem to complement each other effectively in achieving bodybuilding goals; however, always read labels and follow directions while doing additional research. Remember, it’s your body, and you understand its needs best. Leveraging available resources is highly advantageous, particularly concerning your health. Explore creatine, delve into keto, and thoroughly contemplate what aligns most with your bodybuilding aspirations.
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*Images courtesy of Envato
References
- Kreider, Richard B. (2003). “Effects of creatine supplementation on performance and training adaptations”. (source)
- Avgerinos, Konstantinos I.; Spyrou, Nikolaos; Bougioukas, Konsantinos I.; Kapogiannis, Dimitrios (2018). “Effects of creatine supplementation on cognitive function of healthy individuals: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials”. (source)
- O’Neill, Blair; Raggi, Paolo (2020). “The ketogenic diet: Pros and cons”. (source)
- Gualano, Bruno; Painneli, Vitor; Roschel, Hamilton; Artioli, Guilherme G.; et al. (2011). “Creatine in type 2 diabetes: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial”. (source)