Biocreatine’s Himalayan Pink
Biocreatine’s Himalayan pink salt ensures the optimal absorption of creatine in the digestive tract and uptake by cells while providing you with over 40 trace elements. Research has shown that creatine transport is dependent on sodium and chloride ions. Himalayan pink salt provides the sodium chloride required for this, so you can gain the maximum benefit from Biocreatine. However, unlike processed, refined table salt, this is not all that it provides. Himalayan pink salt is mined in Khewra mines at the foothills of the Salt Range in Pakistan. It is completely unrefined. The pink tinge is thought to be caused by the presence of iron oxide ore.
Although the benefits of creatine in terms of increasing endurance and muscle gain during exercise have been very well documented in numerous studies, there is wide variation in how it affects different people. Scientists put this down to individual variations in how well creatine is absorbed in the digestive system and how well it is taken up by cells. If you cannot get most of the creatine you ingest into muscle and brain cells, you will not receive much benefit from it. It is therefore advisable to take creatine with substances that improve its transport across cell membranes, and salt, or sodium chloride is one of such substances.
Studies have shown that the protein that transports creatine across plasma membranes, CreaT1, requires two ions of sodium and one ion of chloride for every molecule of transporter to function. It is thought that creatine is best taken directly after a workout, and at this time your body might be low on sodium and chloride ions as well as other electrolytes, due to sweating and the diluting effects of drinking water during exercise. The addition of Himalayan pink salt to Biocreatine will ensure that you have enough salt ions in your body for optimal CreaT1 function, and therefore optimal uptake of creatine into cells.
The salt beds within the foothills of the Himalaya mountains formed from crystallised sea salt hundreds of million of years ago. They were subsequently covered by lava, snow and ice. In this pristine state the salt is perfectly preserved and protected from all pollution. On the other hand the unprocessed salt is rich in minerals. It is thought that about 2% of the crystals consist of trace elements other than sodium chloride. This is reflected in the multiple hues of the salt crystals, pink, but also red and yellow.
Himalayan pink salt is a naturally good source of iodine, there is no need to add iodine to it, the way normal table salt must be iodised to help prevent iodine deficiencies in the population. It is a pretty well established rule in nutrition that micronutrients that are present in the food naturally are better absorbed, and more beneficial to the body than the same nutrients added artificially, and that rule holds for the minerals in salt as much as it does for the vitamins in fruit.
Normal table salt is purified, bleached and heated. It is stripped with all elements other than sodium chloride. It then has iodine artificially added to it. This is because it was noticed that when populations were fed purified salt with no minerals, iodine deficiency, which can be very obviously diagnosed by the enlarged goitres, which people develop. However, iodine is not the only mineral missing from normal table salt, and deficient in large sections of the population. It is just that other mineral deficiencies are not as obvious as that of iodine.
Biocreatine’s Himalayan pink salt naturally has over 40 different minerals, all of which have pivotal roles in the healthy body, even if some are only present in trace amounts. These include sulphate, magnesium, bromide, borate, and strontium ions. Ingesting Himalayan pink salt as part of the Biocreatine complex, not only improves the absorption of creatine by insuring the CreaT1 transport protein has the sodium and chloride ions it needs to function, but also creates an electrolyte balance, increases hydration, and prevents muscle cramping.
Further Reading:
Creatine uptake into cells is dependent on sodium chloride:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10383488
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2129152/