CREATINE |
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Creatine Creatine Safety: A Physician’s Prospective by Dr. Lynn Myers MD Dr. Lynn Myers is regarded as one of the country’s foremost experts on creatine. He has been interviewed by CNN Sports, heard on ESPN’s "One On One Sports". Dr. Myers has addressed the National Wrestling Coaches Association as a special guest speaker on nutrition. Dr. Myers is a practicing pathologist and Director of Research and Development for NuCare, an Oklahoma company that makes a creatine chewing gum and a chewable creatine wafer. Dr. Myers is available for interviews. There is now little doubt, when you study the scientific literature and talk to athletes, that creatine improves certain types of athletic performance. This is especially true in power sports such as football, baseball and wrestling that require short-term explosive muscle contraction. Creatine increases muscle mass, strength, explosive power, and stamina. Because of this creatine is our nation's most popular sports supplement. A recent study found that 48% of Division 1 NCAA male athletes take or have taken creatine. Last year, an estimated that six to eight million pounds were consumed in the United States. Although creatine has been widely used in the U.S. since 1992, and many scientific articles attest to creatine’s safety, some still caution that creatine has not been used long enough to determine it’s possible long-term side effects. Others seem opposed to creatine supplementation purely for philosophic reasons. A typical example of this often-expressed view is a French food safety expert who recently stated that creatine "is contrary to the rules, spirit and significance of sport." As a pathologist with a lifetime of experience in solving medical puzzles, I have learned the value of reviewing the scientific literature for myself and ignoring rumors and half-truths. Background Creatine is a protein made from amino acids. Our body makes one gram each day from protein. We also eat about one gram of creatine each day from meats such as beef, chicken or fish. Creatine is not a source of energy in itself, but stores energy you get from your food. Creatine acts like uncharged battery. When creatine is charged with energy from food, it becomes the major energy source for immediate muscle contraction. When extra creatine is taken to supplement the creatine consumed in meats and produced in our body, still more energy is available for muscle contraction. Creatine is a Vital Muscle Nutrient. Just as medical science learned what vitamins do in the body by studying vitamin deficiencies, we learn about creatine by studying creatine deficiency disorders. Two examples help us to understand creatine’s role in the body. First in animal studies, researchers have blocked creatine uptake into the muscle cells from the blood. The result is a loss of fast-twitch (type 11) muscle fibers. This is the type of muscle cell that is first called into action in power sports as football, baseball and wrestling. Secondly, several naturally occurring creatine deficiencies have been found in children. Because of a genetic defect, these children can not make creatine in their bodies. As a result they have low creatine levels with muscle loss and weakness. Creatine supplementation strengthens these children. Both these examples help us understand that creatine is necessary for healthy, strong muscle. High Dietary Intake of Creatine In times past, hunters such as the American Plains Indians, African Tribes, and Eskimos ate huge amounts of meat. During the winter season, they sometimes consumed an all-meat diet. Since meat contains about one gram of creatine per each half pound, these hunters easily consumed 3-5 grams of creatine per day. Remarkably this creatine dosage is similar to that recommended today by many scientists. Since mankind began and remained a hunter for thousands of years, it seems highly unlikely that heavy consumption of meat containing creatine is dangerous. Creatine Supplement Use Not New While creatine is "new" to many in the U.S., it is not "new" to the rest of the world. The Russians and other Eastern Block countries used creatine as a sport supplement for at least 20 years. Recently I spoke to a Russian Sports scientist who candidly told me that the Russians never found any injurious effects while using creatine. Creatine Use In the United States In the West creatine has been manufactured and sold as a sport supplement for about nine years. Creatine was used by successfully in the West in the 1992 Olympics. As creatine began to be readily available in the United States many bodybuilders began taking creatine in massive amounts. Thinking that if a little is good, more must be better they took twenty, forty and even sixty grams of powder a day, all without injurious effect on their health. If creatine were as dangerous as some would have you believe these human "guinea pigs" would have clearly demonstrated serious side-effects. This has not been the case. Physicians Using Creatine Have Found No Creatine Toxicity During the past few years medical scientists and physicians have begun experiments to learn if creatine can be used to treat various medical disorders. In these carefully done studies under close medical supervision, doctors have not reported any injurious creatine effects on the body. On the contrary, many of these studies show promise that creatine can be helpful in preventing or slowing certain disorders such as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, Huntington’s Disease, and Parkinson’s Disease. Creatine Not Found Injurious By Sports Medicine Roundtable The American College of Sports Medicine hosted a roundtable discussion by several top scientists interested in creatine. They reported in their abstract that "there is no definitive evidence that creatine supplementation causes gastrointestinal, renal, and/or muscle cramping complications." 1 Summary Despite all the rumor and speculation that we have all heard over the past few years, I find no credible evidence that creatine supplementation is harmful in anyway to our health. On the contrary, an ample amount of creatine is absolutely necessary for healthy muscle and other cellular function. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 2000 Mar; 32 (3): p. 706-17 Effects of Long-term Creatine Supplementation on Liver and Kidney Functions in American College Football Players. Mayhew DL, Mayhew JL, Ware JS. Exercise Science Program at Truman State University, Kirksville, MO 63501 and the Athletic Department at Truman State University, Kirksville, MO. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of long-term Cr supplementation on blood parameters reflecting liver and kidney function. Twenty-three members of an NCAA Division II American football team (ages = 19-24 years) with at least 2 years of strength training experience were divided into a Cr monohydrate group (CrM, n = 10) in which they voluntarily and spontaneously ingested creatine, and a control group (n = 13) in which they took no supplements. Individuals in the CrM group averaged regular daily consumption of 5 to 20g (mean SD = 13.9 5.8 g) for 0.25 to 5.6 years (2.9 1.8 years). Venous blood analysis for serum albumin, alkaline phosphatase, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, bilirubin, urea, and creatinine produced no significant differences between groups. Creatinine clearance was estimated from serum creatinine and was not significantly different between groups. Within the CrM group, correlations between all blood parameters and either daily dosage or duration of supplementation were nonsignificant. Therefore, it appears that oral supplementation with CrM has no long-term detrimental effects on kidney or liver functions in highly trained college athletes in the absence of other nutritional supplements.
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