Most of the body's creatine supply resides within the skeletal muscle, where it is used to fuel movement and explosive energy. Humans obtain creatine naturally from meats and fish, as vegetables do not contain creatine. That being said vegetarians who supplement with creatine have found they respond very well.
A commonly asked question about creatine supplementation is weather the 'loading phase' is actually necessary and should creatine be cycled. Of course this comes down to personal preference and trial and error. As mentioned non vegetarian humans do ingest adequate amounts of creatine in their diet for day to day activities. Should you load creatine? Most products on the market that suggest a loading phase contain high amounts of simple carbs (sugars) therefore you can expect to gain weight somewhat suddenly. Along with the fluid retention characteristic of creatine it wont take long to add several pounds when incorporated into a high caloric diet and intense training. Personally, loading creatine wasn't for me. I've always found that using a creatine product consistently first thing in the morning (around 5-10 grams)it gave my muscles a feeling of 'fullness' and hydration. This hydration of course helps with recovery and reduces chance of injury.
Should Creatine be cycled? Some reports would suggest so, advising courses of 2 weeks on 2 weeks off to 12 weeks on 1 week off. Again for me, as long as it's working I will continue to use a product, once I'm not noticing advantages I will 'cycle off'.
Creatine quick points:
* Creatine has been shown to assist in mental energy
* Creatine Mono hydrate is the only type of creatine actually proven to give results
* Creatine is not a pharmaceutical, rather a 'food supplement'.
* Creatine is not specifically a banned substance, however checking with your associated governing sports body would be recommended before supplementing
* Some side effects of creatine supplementation have been reported, including, gastrointestinal complications and water retention.
