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Clues about creatine
CREATINE IS that rarest of rare things: a muscle building supplement that is not a steroid. After it first came into prominence for its steroid-like effects on athletic performance, it soon became a must-have for every full-time athlete.
Ads for creatine supplements fill magazines, and some of the claims manufacturers make have little basis in science. Besides, as the recent Greg Rusedski scandal shows, contamination of supplements with anabolic steroids is common. So is creatine worth the risk? What is it really? And who needs it? Creatine, in its phosphated form, prolongs by a few seconds the ability of muscles to contract maximally. It does this by donating a phosphate group to ADP, an intracellular molecule, and converts it to ATP, which is the chief energy currency of cells in the body.
Every muscular contraction, from the twitch of an eyelid to the pumping of the heart, takes place from the energy released when ATP splits back into ADP and a phosphate molecule. The extra contraction time afforded by creatine phosphate might not seem like a lot, but in some situations like a rugby scrum, a weightlifting competition, a high jump, or a 100 m sprint, it might make the difference between winning and losing. Creatine supplementation is of no use if you are jogging, walking, swimming or doing other aerobic activities.
About 120 gm of creatine is present in the muscles of a 70 kg adult. The body produces its own creatine from glycine, arginine and methionine amino acids when the diet is deficient in creatine (vegetarian diets).
These processes fine tune each other — the more creatine in the diet, the less the body produces on its own and vice-versa. The kidneys excrete creatine, and those who suffer from renal diseases should not be taking creatine supplements. Children, adolescents, pregnant women, nursing mothers and diabetics should also avoid it.
Caffeine eliminates the performance benefits of creatine, so stop all tea, coffee and cola beverages.
It is funny how many manufacturers still advertise and sell powder mixes containing both creatine and caffeine! It makes you wonder what else they are ignorant about. Results vary, but average improvement in performance is about 10 per cent.
If the creatine supplement ad seems too good to be true, it means there is a high chance the product is spiked with anabolic steroids. So beware of what you buy and who you buy it from.
RAJIV. M
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