Creatine: The Basics

What is Creatine?

Produced naturally by the body creatine is made up of three amino acids and is stored as phosphocreatine in muscles. Foods such as meat and fish provide most of the bodies creatine, the rest is produced by the liver, kidneys and pancreas.

Phosphocreatine is stored in the muscles and contributes to the bodies energy stores during intense exercise. Creatine helps to improve muscles’ performance during and recovery after exercise.

The Benefits of Creatine Supplements

Creatine supplements can increase the stores of phosphocreatine in your muscles, the exact level of increase can vary depending on the individual. Increasing the muscle stores of phosphocreatine by taking a creatine supplement theoretically improves the ability to maintain power output during intensive exercise. It is also thought to aid recovery between short bursts of activity. Creatine can be particularly beneficial if you are involved in sports that require short bursts of intense energy.

The most extensively used form of supplement is creatine monohydrate. It is a white powder that is almost tasteless and dissolves in water. For maximum benefit creatine monohydrate should be taken together with some carbohydrate-rich food. Carbohydrates increase the concentration of insulin in the blood stream which, in turn, helps the creatine to be absorbed by the muscle cells.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 12th, 2009 at 9:36 pm and is filed under NUTRITION. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.