What exactly does Creatine do and what should I look for in a Creatine product?
Creatine is one of the few supplements that has stood the test of time. It has remained a dominant performance-enhancing agent (in a very competitive marketplace) throughout the last 10 years. While other supplements have come and gone, Creatine remains a staple in almost every competitive bodybuilder’s arsenal of muscle-building ammunition. Why is this compound so desirable and so effective in helping the bodybuilder in his daily assault on achieving increased muscle mass? 

From a biochemical standpoint, Creatine has a two-fold effect on influencing muscle gains. First, it has proven to be one of the most powerful natural volumizing agents on the market. By exerting a volumizing or “swelling” effect on the muscle cells, Creatine enables the muscle cells to grow at a much more efficient rate. As fluid enters the muscle cells, a tremendously anabolic environment is created by virtue of all the stretch being placed on the fibrous connective tissue sheath (fascia) surrounding the muscle. Muscles that are volumized and that have a continuous stretch being placed on their fascial sheaths are destined to be anabolically “primed” muscles (i.e. muscles that are most likely to grow in response to training and proper nutrient intake).Secondly, Creatine has proven energy buffering effects on intracellular ATP levels (thus giving the muscle cell a much greater resource of potential energy). ATP (adenosine triphosphate) is the energy source that all cells in the body use to perform work. In the case of muscle cells, ATP is what enables the muscles to perform the daily gym duties. It’s interesting to note that ATP is never at a loss in the muscle cell due to the energy buffering effects of the high-energy compound known as Creatine-phosphate. As Creatine enters the muscle cell (facilitated by the hormone insulin) or is synthesized, de novo, within the body, Creatine is transformed by the enzyme CPK (Creatine phosphokinase) into Creatine-phosphate. Creatine-phosphate then “donates” its phosphate group and regenerates ATP so that ATP supplies never run low.  Ultimately, the more Creatine that is loaded into the muscle cell, the more ATP is available to fuel muscle cell contractions. As I stated above, Creatine requires a carrier hormone to facilitate its entry into the muscle cell. Insulin (the blood sugar-regulating hormone) is also the hormone responsible for enabling Creatine to enter the muscle cell.  Without the presence of insulin, Creatine will not reach its target tissue and thus will not be able to exert its muscle-potentiating effects. Many supplement companies have taken this important fact and have designed Creatine formulations that contain astronomical amounts of simple sugars under the guise that, without these sugars, Creatine could not be properly absorbed.  Unfortunately, because of these sugar-laced Creatine formulations, many users are getting too much insulin release and are gaining significant amounts of unwanted body fat. Likewise, individuals who are currently on low carbohydrate diets are unable to utilize these sugar-based creatines. Additionally, not only is it ridiculous to take in so many simple sugars with a single five-gram dose of Creatine, it is also extremely moronic to pay so much money for a supplement that essentially equates to “Kool Aid.” (Add your own sugar if you want to stimulate such an intense insulin release).New dogma suggests that another way to stimulate an adequate insulin response and thus absorb Creatine is to combine Creatine with insulinotropic (insulin-stimulating) Amino Acids such as 4-hydroxyisoleucine. 4-hydroxyisoleucine increases glucose-induced insulin release through a direct effect on isolated islets of Langerhan cells found within the pancreas of humans. Because 4-hydroxyisoleucine is itself an amino acid, it will not dramatically disrupt blood sugar levels, thus finally providing a viable option for pre-contest bodybuilders who wish to add Creatine to their daily supplement regimens.When considering what kinds of Creatine to consume, one must be very aware of the fact that in order for Creatine to be absorbed through the intestinal mucosa, it must first dissolve in the intestinal fluids. Many granulated creatines on the market dissolve very poorly in liquids and thus cause intestinal distress for the user. Keep in mind that Creatine draws fluid wherever it may travel; therefore, if Creatine never gets absorbed into the bloodstream, and thus sits in the colon, fluid is going to diffuse into the colon (following the Creatine) and cause severe diarrhea. Anyone who has previously experienced this uncomfortable dilemma will gain great pleasure from the discovery that micronized Creatine (Creatine granules that are pulverized into a fine dust) is very rapidly dissolved in a liquid medium and thus helps facilitate Creatine’s absorption into the bloodstream and thus into the muscle cell itself. My suggestion to all potential Creatine users is to purchase a micronized Creatine formulation.One final point to consider is that most Creatine products look exactly alike (Creatine is a fine, white, tasteless and odorless powder). Their ingredients, however, often differ in quality. The three main known impurities present in some inferior Creatine monohydrate products are creatinine, dicyandiamide and dihydrotriazine derivatives. The first two substances are by-products of Creatine production (essentially, waste for the body) and are consequently excreted by the kidneys. Dihydrotriazine derivatives are by-products of unsophisticated Creatine processes. They are compounds with unknown pharmaceutical and toxicological properties— compounds you definitely should not ingest.Whenever choosing a potential Creatine product, ensure that, in addition to state-of-the-art analytical methods (HPLC, High Performance Liquid Chromatography) assuring a 99.99 percent purity of the Creatine, the final product is further tested for impurities that would indicate product instability, degradation and breakdown. 

            I'm a 20-year-old female recreational, bodybuilder. I wanted to know what prohormone I could use to enhance muscle building and fat burning with minimal virilizing side effects. Will 1-AD have more side effects than Androstenediol or 19-Norandrostenediol? Are the side effects from these prohormones similar to those of anabolic steroids, or are they much milder considering the lesser activity of prohormones?In my travels and experiences, I have noticed that women have more side effects from prohormones like 1-AD, androstenediol and 19-norandrostenediol than they do from synthetic anabolic steroids like Anavar, Primobolin and Winstrol. In my opinion, the best muscle-building hormone-like supplement for women to take is DHEA. Released from the adrenal glands, DHEA is the main anabolic hormone in a woman’s body. At a dosage of 25-50 milligrams DHEA per day, a woman can expect to experience significant changes in body fat levels, immune system function and lean muscle gains.             Is it ok to take antibiotics if the “juice” is giving me a fever or sickness, or should I just overload on multi-vitamins?First off, if you feel sick or you have a fever from taking anabolic steroids (“juice” as you called it), you are obviously taking too high a dosage and are experiencing something known as “serum sickness.” If you cut back the quantity (milligrams per day) that you are injecting and ingesting, you should see a dissipation of these fever-like side effects.            Secondly, taking multi-vitamins will not cure fevers, curtail nausea, or destroy cutaneous (skin) infections. If you do have an actual infection in your body, antibiotics would be a prudent course of action. Usually, Augmentin is prescribed at a dosage of 875 milligrams two to three times per day (for seven to 10 days).