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| Energy Resevoir
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| Health and fitness-minded consumers in the U.S. spend hundreds of millions of dollars annually on creatine, the dietary supplement of choice among a significant percentage of high performance athletes.
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“The data showing creatine is effective at increasing strength and performance in certain activities such as weight lifting and short-duration explosive sports such as sprinting is quite clear. Its effects on endurance activities, long distance running for example, are less impressive and or contradictory,” says Will Brink, sports nutrition expert, personal trainer, and author of Priming the Anabolic Environment (available on Amazon.com) and Diet Supplements Revealed (available at www.brinkzone.com).
A nutrient derived from amino acids produced by the kidneys, liver and pancreas, creatine travels via the bloodstream to the muscles — 95 per cent of the body’s creatine is stored in
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skeletal muscle — and helps provide energy needed for dynamic movement.
“Creatine supports the creatine-phosphate/ATP energy-producing system in the body, which is used in the first few seconds of exercise. That’s why it seems to be so effective with short-duration activities and not so effective in long-duration activities where other fuel systems are used. I still personally think creatine has a place in the endurance athlete’s supplement regimen, but probably won’t affect performance directly,” says Brink.
While creatine occurs naturally in the body, it’s also found in milk, meat and fish, and especially salmon, beef, cod, herring and pork. The average person consumes one gram of creatine per day through food. In supplement form — chewable tablet, powder and capsule — creatine is routinely, if inconclusively, touted as a natural aid to athletic performance, increasing muscle creatine by 20 to 30 per cent in some individuals.
It may also have important medical applications.
“Though additional research is needed, there is an ever-growing body of studies showing creatine may help with diseases affecting the neuromuscular system, such as muscular dystrophy, and may have therapeutic applications in aging populations, wasting syndromes, muscle atrophy, fatigue, myopathies, Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s disease,” says Brink.
Some studies also suggest creatine may reduce cholesterol by up to 15 per cent and may be useful in regard to congestive heart failure.
“Creatine may be the most extensively researched supplement on earth and both long and short-term studies have found the side effects to be virtually non-existent and the benefits far outweigh the risks in most populations,” says Brink, who acts as a consultant to several major supplement, dairy and pharmaceutical companies.
What You Can Expect From Creatine:
“Creatine doesn’t have zero risks as nothing we ingest including water has zero risk,” says Brink. “What matters is does this thing we ingest have potential benefits that outweigh any known risks? In the case of creatine, the answer is a resounding yes.”
- Effectiveness and side effects are highly individualized. Creatine supplementation appears to increase the ratio of muscle creatine stores in some people, but not others.
- Long term effects haven’t been clinically evaluated. In general, creatine supplementation, when supervised by a health care specialist, demonstrates no adverse effects.
- Many people report weight gain. Some people report muscle cramping, nausea, gastrointestinal disturbance and bloating.
- People suffering from kidney problems shouldn’t take creatine.
- It’s a good idea to increase fluid consumption while supplementing with creatine, which shouldn’t be ingested immediately before or after exercise.
- Advocates report feeling stronger and less easily fatigued. Studies involving sprinters and rowers noted excellent improvement in their performance after creatine loading.
“The average person already has approximately 120 grams of creatine stored in their body as creatine phosphate and free creatine,” says Brink. “So, at best we could say it was designed by nature or God and made into a rather effective supplement by man.”
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