Creatine (methylguandine acetic acid) is one of the most popular sports supplements.

Creatine is an amino acid compound which occurs naturally in the body, 95% of it in muscle. It is found in many foods, mostly in meat, fish and other animal products.

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What are the effects of creatine?
Creatine phosphate is involved in a number of functions in exercising muscle. It provides a limited, but rapidly available source of fuel to regenerate ATP, which is the most important fuel source in the performance of all-out sprints of 5-10 seconds.

Creatine also buffers the hydrogen ions produced within the muscle cells and transports the ATP to that part of the cell that causes muscle contraction.

The effects of creatine include increased power and strength and increased muscle mass, which gives a distinct advantage in sports that involve resistance training, repeated bouts of high-intensity sprints (football and tennis) separated by short rest periods (interval sessions of running, cycling and swimming).

By decreasing the recovery time between repeated bouts of exercise, creatine allows the athlete to train more intensely and for longer periods of time, hence becoming bigger and stronger. Creatine can, however, be disadvantageous in endurance sports such as marathon running and long distance cycling, because of the increased muscle bulk, affecting power-to-weight ration.

Side effects
There is no scientific evidence of major health risks associated with short-term creatine supplementation. There is anecdotal evidence of high blood pressure, kidney damage and muscle cramps. The safety profile of its long-term use still needs to be established. However, creatine supplementation should be avoided by athletes with impaired kidney function and/or elevated blood pressure.

Its use by children is of growing concern, because of the potential damage that can occur to growth plates and the imbalance that will exist with the increase in muscle mass and muscle strength.

General advice to athletes
Creatine should be taken after exercise and should be dissolved in adequate fluid. Note that caffeine impairs absorption.

Previously a rapid loading of 20-25g creatine per day (for 5-7 days) followed by a maintenance dose of 5g per day was recommended, as this increases the creatine stores in the muscle by 10-30%. However, it has been shown that a slow loading of 3g per day has been shown to have the same effect in a given time. Any extra creatine is excreted via the urine.

A break of one month is recommended after creatine has been used for three or four months.

Creatine, which is taken in the absence of appropriate training and a dietary regime, will have no effect at all on muscle building.

Weight gain within in the first few days is probably as a result of water retention.

Creatine should be avoided if there is thermal stress.
 

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