Build Muscle With Creatine Supplements

Creatine was first discovered in 1832 by a French scientist named Michel Eugne Chevreul who identified it as a component of skeletal muscle. The muscle building benefits of creatine were unknown for almost one hundred years with the first known use of it to enhance performance during the 1992 Olympic games in Barcelona, Spain.

Creatine is an amino acid which is produced in the body by the liver and kidneys, and is derived from the diet through meat and animal products. Creatine (creatine monohydrate) is a colorless, crystalline substance used in muscle tissue for the production of phosphocreatine, an important factor in the formation of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the source of energy for muscle contraction and many other functions in the body.

In the body, creatine is changed into a molecule called “phosphocreatine” which serves as a storage reservoir for quick energy. Phosphocreatine is especially important in tissues such as the voluntary muscles and the nervous system which periodically require large amounts of energy.

Taking creatine as a supplement increases the amount of phosphocreatine available to the body not only to create energy for activities that need bursts of power but also can help the muscles to recover faster. Endurance is not necessarily enhanced by creatine but muscle mass is increased due to the retention of water.

Several studies have confirmed the muscle enhancing benefits of creatine supplements. Researchers at McMaster University Medical Center in Ontario found that creatine can cause small increases in strength in people with a variety of disorders of the neuromuscular system. Studies done at Cornell University showed that patients with Lou Gehrigs Disease, or ALS, were also found to benefit with increases in muscular strength by taking creatine supplements.

Adverse side-effects among athletes taking creatine are relatively rare, although there have been a small number of reports of kidney damage linked to creatine usage. Dehydration is the most common problem reported while taking creatine. Athletes generally take a “loading dose” of 20 grams of creatine a day for five or six days, then continue with a “maintenance dose” of 2 to 5 grams of creatine each day thereafter.

Most of the studies of the long term effects of taking creatine show that diarrhea is the most common side effect with some muscle cramping. There was no reports of serious side effects to any of the major organs or circulatory system. Creatine has been shown to be an effective and safe performance enhancing muscle development supplement.

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