Creatine

Creatine

Creatine Monohydrate is the common name for methyl-guanidine-acetic acid but you will usually hear the term ‘creatine’ encompassing a wide variety of sports supplements. Creatine supplements account for a large portion of the sports supplement market and there are numerous variations on the theme.

Creatine is not a drug, steroid or artificial aid. It is made in your body and every single person carries a significant amount of creatine around in their bodies at all times, with around 95% of this creatine stored in muscle tissue. By 1992 numerous athletes had begun to utilise creatine supplementation to boost muscle levels and enjoy an ergogenic (performance enhancing) effect.

What is creatine?

Creatine is made up of three amino acids – Arginine, Glycine and Methionine. These amino acids can be synthesized in the liver to produce creatine. It is also possible to ingest creatine from dietary meat sources, though vegetarians and vegans will generally have lower creatine stores due to lack of meat ingestion. Today’s creatine supplements are not derived from meat however; they are synthesized in laboratories from the three amino acids to produce a simple format of creatine powder.

The average male weighing 160lbs in bodyweight will carry approximately 120grams of creatine in their bodies. 95%-98% of this is stored in skeletal muscle tissue, with the remainder in various organs, primarily the brain, heart and reproductive systems.
Vegetarians and Vegans will generally ingest no dietary creatine monohydrate and their stores are produced entirely by synthesis in the liver from amino acid sources. Meat eaters may ingest anywhere between a few hundred milligrams up to 3 or 4 grams daily depending on the meat sources chosen.
Supplemental creatine use allows users to ingest in the range of 5 to 20 grams of creatine daily without high meat consumption in a directly usable form.

The Purpose of Creatine

Creatine is directly involved in the ATP-PC (adenosine tri-phosphate-phosphocreatine) energy system of the body. The body has various energy systems available to it to power activity and processes. Systems such as the aerobic and anaerobic energy systems involve the creation of energy from synthesis of carbohydrate and fat stores and fuel sources, although these are more complex processes that are efficient but slow.

Other Athletic benefits of Creatine

There are noted benefits from using creatine monohydrate tablets other than the direct replenishment of ATP.

Cell Volumization – When larger than normal levels of creatine saturate the muscles from supplementation, this draws fluid into the actual muscle cells themselves, creating a ‘super-hydration’ effect. This is not to be confused with the term ‘fluid retention’ which is the bloat caused by water retained under the skin. In the creatine scenario fluid actually swells the cells of muscles.

Creatine powder

Creatine Forms

Creatine supplements come in a wide variety of forms.
Creatine Monohydrate – This simple form of creatine bound to a single water molecule is the most common and widely available form of creatine. It is usually found as a simple white powder which may be mixed with protein shakes, beverages or come in specialised loading drinks which utilise fast action carbohydrates and other insulin stimulators to increase uptake of creatine to muscle cells.