Creatine

(Berkeley Wellness)

The Creatine Craze

Creatine is one of the most popular sports supplements on the market. It’s also one of the most researched. But that hardly means you should jump on the creatine bandwagon.
What it is: Creatine monohydrate is a compound made from three amino acids, which are building blocks of protein. It’s found naturally in meat, poultry, and fish. Creatine is also made in the body, mostly in the liver, and stored, mostly in muscle. Creatine plays a role in energy production by helping replenish a compound called adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which supplies quick energy.
Who may benefit: Studies have found that creatine benefits athletes involved in repeated bouts of high-intensity exercise that last less than 30 seconds (anaerobic), such as sprinting, jumping, and weight-lifting. It provides a burst of energy that allows you to run a little faster, jump a little higher, or lift a heavier weight. Taking creatine during training can thus result in greater increases in muscle mass, muscle strength, and power.
Who won’t benefit: Creatine doesn’t seem to help in endurance (aerobic) exercise—that is, activities performed at low-to-medium intensity for longer periods of time, such as distance running and cycling. Studies have found no effect of creatine in young endurance cyclists or in tennis player, for example. This is a drawback, since most sports call for both aerobic and anaerobic energy.
Creatine caveats: There are still plenty of unknowns about creatine. Many studies have been small and short and have tended to include young, highly trained athletes. There are fewer studies in older people and women. Whether the benefits last if you take creatine for more than a couple of months is unknown. And if your creatine stores are already high, more is not necessarily better—any extra would be broken down and excreted.
Creatine—up to 5 grams a day—is thought to be safe—in healthy people, and past reports of cramps, strains, and dehydration have been questioned. But there are lingering concerns about its effects on the kidneys, especially in older people and people with existing kidney problems. It’s unclear whether weight gain, sometimes reported, is from muscle or water. Besides creatine monohydrate, other forms of creatine have not been tested, and supplements often come with other untested ingredients.
Bottom line: There’s no reason for most people to take creatine. It may give some competitive athletes a small edge, but this is meaningless for recreational athletes and exercisers. And it won’t have much, if any, benefit in endurance sports. People with kidney impairment or other diseases that affect the kidneys should be especially cautious with creatine.