Health News
Athletes’ creatine use climbs
The supplement is said
to increase strength,
energy and endurance
By Ben Romano
Higher Education Reporter
Use of the nutrition supplement
creatine has increased dramatical
ly in the past three years. Athletes
from Olympic weight lifters to the
1998 Super Bowl Champion Den
ver Broncos to amateurs are using
the supplement in record num
bers.
U.S. sales of creatine have dou
bled from $50 million in 1996 to
$100 million in 1997. This year’s
sales are expected to reach $200
million, according to an April 20
Sports Illustrated article.
Chris George, manager of the
General Nutrition Center at Valley
River Center, attributes the enor
mous popularity of creatine prod
ucts to their effectiveness.
“It’s one of the best-selling sup
plements,” George said. “I think it
works really well.”
Creatine is a substance found in
red muscle tissue. As well as oc
curring naturally in the body, crea
tine is also found in red meat and
fish. It is used in the synthesis of
adenosine triphosphate, the chief
molecule responsible for produc
ing the energy that muscles use to
contract.
Researchers have found that an
increase in the level of creatine in
gested can lead to marked increas
es in performance and body com
position. Higher levels of creatine
have been shown to increase avail
able instant energy and muscle
strength, improve endurance and
delay fatigue.
Many University students, such
Creatine statistics
■ Creatine was first Isolated in
meat In 1832 by a French
chemist.
■ Researchers discover in 1847
that creatine accumulates in
muscles as a result of physical
activity.
■ Experiments in the early
1900s prove that creatine is
stored in the body.
m Researchers find in 1912 that
ingesting creatine causes in
creased creatine content In mus
cles.
* Creatine is determined to be a
major part of muscle metabo
lism in 1927.
m Researchers are conducting
recent experiments on how crea
tine benefits sports perfor
mance.
source: Muscle Marketing USA
Journal
as freshman Jeff Davidson, have
used the supplement and experi
enced the benefits first-hand.
Davidson, 20, has been lifting
weights for about four years, he
said. He has used creatine for the
last six months.
“I noticed a big difference,” he
said. “I got a much bigger pump
with creatine. After a workout
[with creatine] your muscles feel
hard, as if you were flexing.”
Davidson guessed that he expe
rienced muscle gains 15 to 20 per
cent faster in the six months he
used creatine compared to another
six-month period when he was
not using the supplement.
“It wasn’t like a steroid, but it is
easily the best legal supplement
on the market," said Davidson,
who has used a variety of other
weight-training supplements.
Two weeks ago, Davidson
stopped using the supplement
“because there is no conclusive
evidence about the long-term ef
fects of the supplement,” he said.
“There’s potentially some signifi
cant side effects from taking it. ”
Like Davidson, many creatine
users are concerned about some of
the long-term side effects, includ
ing the increased risk of cancer
from using the substance, George
said.
“Nothing has been proven on
the long-term side effects,” he
said.
The only side effects he has
heard of involved improper use of
the supplement. Some people
who take too much of it have ex
perienced cramps, George said.
Davidson said some of his
friends who have used creatine ex
perienced insomnia during the
“loading phase.”
The loading phase is a period of
high consumption of the sub
stance, where users are encour
aged to take two to three times
their normal daily amount. This
phase is designed to raise the level
of creatine to a level that will pro
vide maximum exercise benefits.
After the loading phase, which
typically lasts four to five days, the
supplement must be taken daily to
maintain that level, according to
the Experimental and Applied
Sciences Web page. EAS is one of
many major producers of creatine,
and it supplies the Broncos with
creatine and other supplements.
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