While we're on amino acids - Creatine's useful too

Ok - the Science In Sport quote in the previous post on Glutamine made me realise that a discussion on Creatine was probably also called for. Creatine is the other common protein supplement taken, and in my view the only other one you should consider. Everything else you need you should be able to get from your diet.

However - and this needs some heavy caveats along the lines of "research into long term use of amino acid supplements is still anecdotal, and even short term research is often poorly done" - while there is no evidence of harmful results from taking up to 40g of Glutamine a day (that's against a daily protein requirement of conservatively 40-60g) - there is some research and anecdotal evidence of negative effects of Creatine, and its a little more tricky to use.

Creatine is made up of three amino acids - Arginine, Glycine and Methionine - but its a bit more clever than just a building block for protein. In the body, creatine is changed into a molecule called "phosphocreatine". Phosphocreatine is very cunning stuff - and provides 'free energy' which doesn't require food or oxygen to produce energy in the muscles. It is the first part of the energy cycle in your muscles when you go from a standing start into exercise - the energy cycle then heads into aerobic, anaerobic and back to aerobic all things being well and good. Creatine also pulls water into your muscles, appears to help with lactic acid, and muscle synthesis - and overall making it easier for you to train harder for longer. Sound good?! Its certainly great news for anyone who has issues putting on muscle or is training very hard.

The drawback is that there is some evidence, but mainly isolated or anecdotal, that Creatine can cause nausea, diarrhoea, cramping and serious renal problems. However, no comprehensive study has proven any negative effects of taking the recommended dose of Creatine. Something else to bear in mind is that the water Creatine pulls into your muscles has to come from somewhere – and also putting amino acids through your system will increase the load on your liver and kidneys, so you need to watch your hydration. While Glutamine can actually help your kidneys, Creatine just adds to the load. The increased load on your kidneys is partly due to the final products of amino acid catabolism, which include carbonic acid and urea and ammonia (which is a base if you’ve forgotten your chemistry). It is your kidneys that manage the acid-base level of your body. Glutamine helps in regulating this because when ammonia levels are elevated, the kidneys clear ammonia from the blood by synthesizing glutamine. If the blood is too acidic (pH too low), the kidneys can break down glutamine into glutamate and ammonia to increase the pH of the blood. So, if taking Creatine seems like a good idea in the context of your current training program, buy from a reputable source (Science in Sport as ever) – follow the instructions on the label, do a maximum 5 week load and then consider stopping taking it.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=10999421&dopt=Abstract

http://www.thefactsaboutfitness.com/research/creatinesafety.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creatine
http://www.absolute-creatine.com/http://www.scienceinsport.com/KR10.htm