Creatine is a compound found in meat and fish that is popular as a dietary supplement . A dietary supplement is any product taken in addition to a normal balanced diet that is not a food or a drug. In humans, creatine is produced naturally in the liver . Athletes take creatine supplements to improve strength and power. Such supplements are sold in powder, capsule, and liquid forms. The French scientist Michel-Eugène Chevreul discovered creatine in 1832. Creatine consists of three amino acids (the building blocks of proteins ). They are arginine, glycine, and methionine.
The body stores most creatine in skeletal muscles . These muscles help provide shape to the body and enable movement. Scientific studies have shown that taking creatine supplements can enhance strength and improve capacity for high intensity exercise. It can help increase lean body mass in athletes. Research shows that creatine enhances the body’s production of the compound adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Cells use ATP for many functions, including the powering of movement.
The performance benefits of creatine are associated with specific types of muscular activity. Researchers have found that creatine works best to improve performance in activities that involve high intensity, explosive movements. Such activities include football , sprinting, wrestling , shot put, and weightlifting . Creatine can enhance the quality of resistance training and improve overall strength and power. Resistance training involves working the muscles against weights, springs, or other external resistance. Creatine does not improve performance in sports that involve endurance. Such sports include long-distance running , bicycle riding, cross-country skiing , and swimming .
In the United States and most other countries, creatine supplements are not considered illegal performance-enhancing drugs (PED’s). Creatine is not banned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Nor is creatine prohibited by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) or by any major professional sports league. Medical experts have not found substantial evidence that the short-term or long-term use of creatine has any harmful effect on healthy individuals. Scientists have observed that some people naturally have higher levels of creatine in their skeletal muscles. Oddly, such people appear to gain little or no performance enhancement from naturally high creatine levels.
