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Supplements and Sports
Creatine
Creatine is what?
We’ve danced around this topic somewhat in earlier chapters but it’s time to
take an in-depth look.
First things first, creatine is an organic acid that is nitrogenous and occurs
naturally in vertebrates. It actually helps in supplying energy to the cells of
the muscles.
Believe it or not, creatine was first identified in the year 1832. A man named
Michel Chevreul discovered creatine as a skeletal muscle component that was
later renamed by Michel as creatine. The word came from the Greek kreas,
meaning flesh.
What is creatine for?
Basically, the function of creatine is within a system that is based on
phophoarginine/arginine that operates in a lot of invertebrates.
The presence of such a creatine serves as a shuttle that keeps ADP/ATP ratios
high thereby ensuring free ATP energy. This therefore minimizes adenosine
nucleotides loss causing cellular dysfunction.
How is creatine synthesized?
In the body, creatine is basically synthesized in one’s liver through using
different parts from the amino acids, namely glycine, arginine, methionine.
A significant ninety five percent is stored later on in the muscles of the
skeletal system, along with the heart, brain, and testes.
What are sources of creatine?
For humans, creatine is typically stored from any food taken in, specifically
from fish and meat.
But, the endogenous synthesis of such a creatine in one’s liver is actually
appropriate for any activities that are normal.
This is proven by the simple fact that even if vegetables contain no creatine,
vegetarians really suffer no deficiency from creatine.
However, when creatine is added to the diet of a vegetarian, their athletic
performance has been shown to improve.
Believe it or not, creatine that is vegetarian in nature could be obtained
through chemically induced synthesis using amino acids derived from plants.
Muscular disease treatment and creatine
It has long been considered that creatine is an effective supplement as well as
a positive treatment for diseases in the neurological, muscular, neuromuscular
area.
Diseases such as congestive heart failure and arthritis, as well as gyrate
atrophy, disuse atrophy, diseases in the mitochondrial, neuroprotection, among
others.
So far, there have been two valid studies that show creatine as beneficial for
disorders in the neuromuscular area.
One study was by Flint Beal from the Medical Center of Cornell University who
showed creatine as very effective as the prescribed drug riluzole in the
extension of the experimental mice’s life despite the presence of a neural
degenerative disease in its body.
Beal has long suspected that the creatine effects are basically due to the
availability of precious energy to its nerve injured cells or to the chemical
pathway blocking which ultimately leads to cell death.
Another study was by researchers from Canada, namely Tarnopolsky and Martin from
the McMaster University
in Ontario who discovered creatine could
actually cause an increase, albeit modestly, in the strength of people who are
suffering from various disorders that are neuromuscular in nature.
Creatine as used as a supplement
It was in the year 1912 when researchers discovered that taking in creatine
could boost dramatically the content of creatine in the muscle.
Creatine has since been considered as a major player in metabolizing skeletal
muscle. However, believe it or not, the value of creatine was only made known
to the public in the year 1992 during the Barcelona Olympics.
In a “The Times” article, the winner of the 100 meters gold medal – Linford
Christie – actually utilized creatine prior to going to the Olympics.
After that creatine as a supplement was made available commercially for the
first time. The product was called Phosphagen.
Creatine and athletes
Basically, creatine is now being used as an effective supplement for people who
wish to have muscle mass, specifically for those engaged in bodybuilding.
The most common form of such a creatine is creatine monohydrate.
Creatine comes in many forms. It could either be a powder mix, a pill or a
drink.
Evidence has shown that creatine intake has increased performance in athletes
marginally. However, studies performed in runners and swimmers were less
promising, probably due to weight gain.
All in all, creatine is an effective supplement that could help those who may be
having trouble in their muscle mass or for those who would want to build up
further their athletic performance.
It is best however to first consult with your doctor prior to taking in any
supplements, be it creatine or otherwise.
>>>
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