Pure Creatine Monohydrate

Creatine: A Brief History

Creatine is, and Always has Been, a Natural Component of Skeletal Muscle

Creatine is such an integral part of skeletal muscle that its name is derived from the Greek word for flesh, or kreas, from where it was originally isolated nearly one hundred and seventy years ago (1835). The man credited with this discovery was the French scientist and philosopher, Michel-Eugène Chevreul. Shortly afterwards (1847) the German scientist, Justus von Liebig, helped promote a commercially available extract of meat that he claimed would help the body perform extra work. And yes, the secret ingredient in Liebig's "Fleisch Extrakt" was creatine.

Nearly all (~95%) of our total body creatine reserve is stored within our muscles. Here, creatine fuels the molecular machinery that generates force. And, as a significant portion of our daily creatine requirement is obtained by eating meats and fish (sources of skeletal muscle), dietary supplementation with synthetic creatine salts increases our physical performance. Expectedly, vegetarians typically possess lower than normal muscular creatine levels and consequently, respond quite robustly to creatine supplementation.

Creatine also plays an important role in the nervous system, where it provides the energy for proper nervous system functioning as well as for recovery from trauma and disease. Moreover, inherited conditions where cellular creatine levels are severely depressed inevitably give rise to neurodegenerative and muscular disorders. Because of creatine's broad physiological importance, creatine supplementation is currently being tested in clinical trials for many human diseases involving the body's nervous and muscular systems. In conclusion, if nothing else, this brief background should correct any misconceptions you might have had about creatine being something exotic to the human condition.

The modern day phenomenon of creatine supplementation simply takes a natural process to the next level by allowing an individual to take in more creatine than he/she could via a "normal" diet. In essence, what the athletic community was waiting for.

Creatine and athletic performance

Creatine is often taken by athletes as a supplement for those wishing to gain muscle mass (bodybuilding). There are a number of forms but the most common are creatine monohydrate - creatine bonded with a molecule of water, and Creatine ethyl ester (CEE). A number of methods for ingestion exist - as a powder mixed into a drink, or as a capsule or caplet. Once ingested, creatine is highly bioavailable, whether it is ingested as the crystalline monohydrate form, the free form in solution, or even in meat. Creatine salts will become the free form when dissolved in aqueous solution. With studies repeatedly reporting an upper maximal range for muscular creatine concentration, it is unlikely that the form of creatine ingested results in increased or altered final gains.[citation needed] Conventional wisdom recommends the consumption of creatine with high glycemic index carbohydrates, though research indicates that the use of high GI carbs in combination with protein is also beneficial.

There is scientific evidence that taking creatine supplements can marginally increase athletic performance in high-intensity anaerobic repetitive cycling sprints, but studies in swimmers and runners have been less than promising, possibly due to the weight gain. Ingesting creatine can increase the level of phosphocreatine in the muscles up to 20%. It must be noted creatine has no significant effect on aerobic endurance, though it will increase power during aerobic exercise.

Some studies have shown that creatine supplementation increases both total and fat-free body mass[citation needed], though it is difficult to say how much of this is due to the training effect. Since body mass gains of about 1 kg can occur in a week's time, many studies suggest that the gain is simply due to greater water retention inside the muscle cells. However, studies into the long-term effect of creatine supplementation suggest that body mass gains cannot be explained by increases in intracellular water alone[citation needed]. In the longer term, the increase in total body water is reported to be proportional to the weight gains, which means that the percentage of total body water is not significantly changed. The magnitude of the weight gains during training over a period of several weeks argue against the water-retention theory.

Also, research has shown that creatine increases the activity of satellite cells, which make muscle hypertrophy possible. Creatine supplementation appears to increase the number of myonuclei that satellite cells will 'donate' to damaged muscle fibers, which increases the potential for growth of those fibers. This increase in myonuclei probably stems from creatine's ability to increase levels of the myogenic transcription factor MRF4.

In another study researchers concluded that changes in substrate oxidation may influence the inhibition of fat mass loss associated with creatine after weight training when they discovered that fat mass did not change significantly with creatine but decreased after the placebo trial in a 12-week study on ten active men. The study also showed that 1-RM bench press and total body mass increased after creatine, but not after placebo.

Creatine use is not considered doping and is not banned by the majority of sport-governing bodies. However, in the United States, the NCAA recently ruled that colleges could not provide creatine supplements to their players, though the players are still allowed to obtain and use creatine independently.

Creatine and Mental Performance

Creatine administration was shown to significantly improve performance in cognitive and memory tests in vegetarian individuals involved in double-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over trials. Vegetarian supplementation with creatine seems to be especially beneficial as they appear to have lower average body stores.