Creatine is a combination of three different amino acids, glycine, arginine, and methionine.
I don't usually like to write whole articles about
supplements because I believe diet and training to be
far more important than any combination of
supplements. However there are a few supplements that
work, creatine being the most notable of all of them.
It is the best selling supplement ever, period.
Creatine sales totaled over 100 million dollars in
last year alone! These sales were to everyone from
middle scholars to the elderly. With this recent rush
of creatine madness there has also been a wave of
misinformation. I cannot believe the things I hear
people say about creatine's effectiveness, about how
it works, and about it's safety. There is some
information floating around out there that is just
untrue, well never fear, I am here to combat
misinformation so here it goes.
What is it?
Creatine is a combination of three different amino
acids, glycine, arginine, and methionine. That's it,
it is nothing more than a combination of amino acids.
I don't know how many people I hear talk about
creatine and call it a steroid! I almost flip my lid
when I hear it. Steroid? If that were the case it
there would be a lot more 200+ pound people out there.
No creatine is not a steroid, it is totally different
and works in a different manner. Creatine is also
 produced by the body and found in high protein sources
of meat such as fish and red meat. It is NOT a lab
synthesized compound, it is natural.
How Does it Work?
After creatine enters the body (or after it is
produced by the body) it firsts binds with a phosphate
molecule to form Creatine phosphate. Now here is
where I'm going to lay a bit of biochemistry on you so
I'll do my best to keep it simple. ATP (Adenine
Tri-Phosphate) IS the body's energy source. When your
body oxidizes carbs, protein, or fat it is doing this
process in order to produce ATP. ATP is responsible
for driving almost every body process there is. Hell
ATP is even involved in creating ATP. ATP works like
this... Energy is needed to drive bodily process. ATP
provides this energy by hydrolyzing a phosphate group.
When a phosphate group is hydrolyzed, energy in the
form of heat is given off and this energy is used to
drive whatever process is being performed, for example
muscle contraction. Because one phosphate has been
lost from the ATP it is now called ADP (adenine
Di-phosphate). The reaction is as follows ATP
(hydrolysis)=ADP + Energy. Now you have free ADP as a
product from the ATP hydrolysis. ADP is pretty much
useless in the body unless it is converted back into
ATP. Now this is where creatine comes into play. The
phosphate bound creatine donates it's phosphate group
to the ADP to re-form ATP! I assume you see where
this is going now. By allowing you to return ADP to
ATP creatine will increase your ATP stores, thus
allowing you to train harder and longer.Creatine is a combination of three different amino
acids, glycine, arginine, and methionine.
Another
benefit of creatine is that creatine itself is a fuel
source. In fact your body's first choice of energy
when performing anaerobic activity (such as
weightlifting) is your creatine phosphate stores. By
supplementing with creatine phosphate you will
increase these stores, thus giving you more energy for
your workouts. There is another anabolic property
that creatine holds and this is it's ability to
hydrate muscle cells.1 When muscle cells are hydrated
a few things happen. The most notable being an
increase in protein synthesis. The second being an
increase of ions into the cell. Since the cell is
holding more water, it can also hold more ions since
the ions will follow water into the cell in order to
keep the concentration the same. When more ions are
present in muscle cells (the most important being
nitrogen) muscle protein synthesis also increases. 
How Safe is Creatine?
Since creatine has only been recently introduced to
the market it is hard to determine whether or not
there will be long term health effects from it's use.
However it must be noted that to date there is not
one, I repeat not one reputable study that shows
creatine has any dangerous side-effects. 2 After
eight years with no severe side effects I believe that
one can begin to assume that creatine is relatively
safe. I find it funny that most people I meet that
are concerned about creatine's safety are also people
who like to go out and drink and smoke on
weekends...try to find the irony in that.
Is it Necessary to Load on Creatine?
No it is not necessary to load but it can help you see
results faster. You see to get the full benefit of
creating you must saturate your muscle cells with it.
Using a small dose (5g), this will take up to thirty
days depending on the individual's lean body mass.
However using a loading dosage of 15-25g per day for 5
days, one can quickly saturate the muscle cells in
this time period and then use a maintenance dosage
(3-5g) for the remainder of their time taking
creatine.
Is it Necessary to Cycle Creatine?
Once again it is not necessary to do so but it can
help. Your body has an internal equilibrium which you
can swing in your favor for a duration of time, but
over time that equilibrium will eventually swing back.
Meaning taking excess creatine for a short period of
time (4-8 weeks) may temporarily increase your
creatine phosphate stores but after awhile your body's
feedback mechanisms will likely place some time of
control on creatine phosphate storage to bring the
levels back down to normal. This mechanism may be to
decrease your body's own production of creatine or to
downgrade the number receptors that admit creatine
into the cell. Taking time off from creatine can help
bring your body's equilibrium back into a state where
in taking excess creatine will be beneficial again. I
would like to make clear at this point that I know of
no studies to back this theory up with, it could be
right or wrong, I am just merely applying my knowledge
of biochemistry to a frequently asked question to
which there is no good answer to yet.
What is the Best Time to Take Creatine?
There has been much discussion on this but I believe
taking creatine post workout is the most beneficial
time for several reasons.
 - Insulin helps drive more creatine into muscle
cells, if you are a smart bodybuilder then in your
post workout meal you should be eating foods that help
spike your insulin, if this is the case, then taking
creatine with this meal will help it's uptake into
muscle cells.
- The body absorbs many nutrients better after a workout.
- Creatine will help refuel your body's low creatine
phosphate stores.
Will Taking Creatine Before a Workout Give Me More Energy?
No, not exactly. Once again for creatine to work your
muscle cells must be saturated with it. This takes at
least a week to do, so doing it once before a workout
will not make a difference. Now if your cells are
already saturated with creatine then it will still not
make a difference if you take it before you workout.
Your body must process it first and that takes time.
The creatine your body will use in the upcoming
workout will come from the creatine phosphate stores
already in the cells, not from the creatine you just
ingested.
Does Liquid Creatine Work?
 Most certainly not. Creatine degrades over time in
water into it's waste product creatinine which is
useless in the body and will simply be excreted.
Companies who claim that they have stabilized creatine
in a liquid are flat out lying to you. One of these
companies (I believe Muscle Marketing USA) had a lab
assay done on their liquid creatine and the assay
found that it only contained 15% of the creatine on
the label claim. I would like to further de-credify
these companies by noting that one of the reasons they
claim their product is so good is because their
creatine does not make your retain water. WHAT? As I
have stated earlier, this is one of the biggest
benefits of creatine, this clearly shows their
eagerness to prey upon the ignorance of the public.
What is the Best Type of Creatine?
Well if you want the most bang for your buck do not buy
the creatine transports! These are enormously
overpriced and you can make them yourself at half the
price by buying your own dextrose online! A little
tip... a mix of 50g whey protein and 50g dextrose has
been shown to elicit the same insulin spike as a
serving of Cell-Tech, and it is much cheaper I might
add.
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I hope this article helped clear up some confusion and
if you have any questions I missed e-mail me at
biolayne@yahoo.com or find me on the message boards.
Ask for str8flexed!
MORE INFO:
Big Cat's Creatine Update: The Latest Creatine Studies. Go
Creatine Products: What Are The Best For The Money? Go
The Safety Of Creatine. Go
References
1. Stoll B, Gerok W, Lang F., Haussings. Liver Cell
Damage and Protein Synthesis. Biochemical Journal
287 (Pt 1) 217-222, 1992.
2. Kreider et. al. Perceived Fatigue Associated With
Creatine Supplementation During the Fall Collegiate
Baseball Series of Division I Players. Journal of
Athletic Training. April-June 2001 v31 i2 pS 83.
biolayne@yahoo.com
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