Creatine is a popular supplement among gym-goers who want to gain muscular mass and strength. It’s a great dietary supplement because it’s risk-free, inexpensive, and helpful. Is creatine legal and allowed in natty bodybuilding competitions?
Yes creatine is natty and considered a natural supplement just like protein and it is also PED approved.
Is Creatine Natty?
Creatine is a natural dietary supplement, yes. World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), International Olympic Committee (IOC), and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) all recognise it as a valid performance-enhancing drug (PED).
Natty is defined, is creatine a steroid, is creatine illegal, and much more is discussed in this post.
What Does Natty Mean?
The term “natty” is commonly used among bodybuilders to refer to anything or someone that is completely natural. Natty might imply different things to different bodybuilders. Some people have the opinion that vitamins and minerals are not natty at all. I just don’t see how this could possibly make any sense.
Why? The good news is that you can get numerous dietary supplements from food and drink already, including amino acids and caffeine. Therefore, you can’t legitimately label something as unsightly if it’s a regular part of the human diet.
But it’s generally accepted that if you want to be natty, you shouldn’t use performance-enhancing drugs (Performance-Enhancing Drugs). To put it another way, your body is the result of nothing more than a healthy diet, regular resistance training, and supplements recognised by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Is Creatine A PED?
The answer is yes, creatine is a performance-enhancing drug. However, this doesn’t mean natural bodybuilders won’t be able to handle it.
Since the International Olympic Committee, the World Anti-Doping Agency, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association all recognise creatine as a legal performance-enhancing drug, it is widely used in athletic competition.
Do Steroids Include Creatine?
Anabolic steroids, such as Deca, Dianabol, and Anadrol, are what people typically mean when they talk about steroids in the context of weightlifting.
These are artificial analogues of the male hormone testosterone, which aid with muscle and bone development. However, creatine is a natural chemical that may be found in foods like fish and red meat. Creatine, then, is not a steroid.
Is Creatine A Drug?
What constitutes a drug, though, is up for debate.
WordNet’s definition of “dictionary”
A drug is any synthetic chemical compound that has therapeutic, diagnostic, preventative, or performance-enhancing use for human health. Creatine improves physical health, hence it may be argued that it falls under this category, making it a medication.
Whereas drugs are defined by Yourdictionary.com as
Drugs that alter behaviour and frequently lead to addiction are called psychoactive substances. Since creatine does not produce any effects on the brain or spinal cord, it does not qualify as a drug under this criterion.
Is Creatine Legal Or Prohibited?
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) have all stated that creatine is not prohibited in competitive sports.
Bodybuilding.com, however, reports that the NCAA is looking at cracking down on the use of creatine. They attribute this to false claims about creatine’s safety.
Do Natural Bodybuilders Use Creatine?
Indeed, many natural bodybuilders use creatine to enhance their physiques because it is not outlawed by the regulatory bodies.
Boris from Boris Aesthetics, for instance, claims to have seen incredible results from using Staunch Nation Creatine. In the same vein, Mika Soltau is a major fan of Prozis Creatine.
Exactly what is natty creatine, then?
The kidneys and liver synthesise creatine in a natural process from the amino acids glycine, arginine, and methionine. The best sources of creatine include animal products (especially red meat, poultry, and fish) and creatine supplements taken by themselves.
Phosphocreatine stores “high-energy phosphate groups,” which are later transferred to adenosine diphosphate (ADP) to create adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the principal carrier of energy production in the body. Because of this, ATP levels rise. Because of the high energy demands of their activities, bodybuilders, athletes, and others participating in endurance training frequently make use of this.
To clarify, ATP is a molecule responsible for the intracellular transmission of energy. It’s useful for keeping up with workouts or endurance activities that demand a lot from you.
Why Is Creatine Considered Natural?
Creatine is often referred to as a “natural anabolic,” which may be a bit misleading given that it has nothing in common with anabolic steroids. Creatine is so well regarded that even Allmax Nutrition calls it “the most trustworthy natural anabolic.”
What exactly does this all mean?
- Let’s talk about steroid hormones. Sometimes, resistance training is paired with the usage of anabolic steroids, which are effectively a “synthetic” version of androgenic hormones like testosterone, to expedite muscle building and strength gains.
- Because testosterone enters muscle cells where it binds to the “intracellular androgen receptor,” gene expression is boosted. Because of this, ATP levels rise (adenosine triphosphate production).
- By supplementing with creatine, you can improve your ATP and energy output during strength exercise. As such, it is commonly called a “natural anabolic,” a term coined to describe a substance with similar effects to synthetic hormones.
- Consequently, we may argue that creatine acts physiologically similarly to steroids (and can assist performance in the same way); nevertheless, they are not the same in the way they do this, and are therefore not classified in the same way.
- Because of their distinct chemical makeup, the FDA classifies anabolic steroids as controlled substances that require a prescription.
- Because of this, several businesses and bodybuilders incorrectly label creatine as a “natural anabolic,” albeit they aren’t necessarily lying.
Conclusion
Finally, creatine is generally considered to be cool. Every clean-cut bodybuilder should be taking this because it is a safe, natural, and highly powerful supplement.
