Creatine Monohydrate Essay, Research Paper

Everyday a new nutrition supplement or a new diet is introduced to the public. In recent years and months, many people have started to take a larger interest in their personal health and exercise. Creatine Monohydrate is still the most popular and controversial nutrition supplement on the market today. This paper will include a background for creatine monohydrate because not everyone knows what it is. The paper will also include information and criticisms from a recent nutritional article on creatine monohydrate that was researched for this paper.

Creatine monohydrate was introduced to the public approximately two years ago. When it first came out on the market it made a name for itself, because it allegedly caused bodybuilders who consumed it to pack on ten pounds of muscle in two weeks and add twenty-five pounds of weight to their bench press. It also helps people who take it to run faster, jump higher, and recover from exercising faster than normal. Now creatine monohydrate is the most popular supplement in bodybuilding, and its catching on like wildfire in other sports like; football, hockey, and basketball. One source recently reported that three out of four medal winners at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games were using creatine monohydrate.

A French scientist named Chevreul in 1832 discovered creatine. He named it after the Greek word for flesh. In 1923, a scientist discovered that the average human body contains over 100 grams of creatine and over 95% of that creatine is stored in the body?s muscle tissue. Creatine is a compound that is naturally made in our bodies to supply energy to our muscles. The chemical term for creatine is ?methylguaindo-acetic

acid. ?Creatine is formed from the amino acids argentine, methionine, and glycine through a chemical process. It is manufactured in the pancreas and kidneys. It is transported in the blood and taken by muscle cells, where it is converted to creatine phosphate (Bill Phillips, p. 49).?

Now you should have a basic overview of what creatine and creatine monohydrate is. The article that will be examined for this paper was written by Richard B. Kreider who has numerous credentials. He is an Associate Professor and Assistant Department Chair in the Exercise and Nutrition Laboratory within the Department of Human Movement Sciences and Education at The University of Memphis. Mr. Kreider?s article originally came from The Journal Of Exercise Physiology Online. The article was full of good statistics and information, but left out important details that a reader should know.

The main point of this article was to encourage supplement users to choose creatine over other supplements. The article included many statistics that could persuade a user to buy creatine. For example, Mr. Kreider included information that ?short-term creatine supplementation has been reported to improve maximal power/strength by 5 to 15 percent, work performed during sets of maximal effort muscle contractions by 5 to 15 percent, single-effort sprint performance by 1 to 5 percent, and work performed during repetitive sprint performance by 5 to 15 percent.? He also included information about the long-term supplementation. This information is overwhelming and very persuasive. For a person who is looking to enhance their body, seeing this will encourage creatine usage.

There is impressive information in this article, but it lacks many key details. The article

included only positive information on creatine monohydrate. The author included possibilities that creatine monohydrate might have long-term side effects, but did not specify what they might be. Mr. Kreider said that it is possible they may exist and left it at that. For a person who is considering using creatine monohydrate, it is important to not leave it at that. The author also did not include how he got his information or statistics. The reader is supposed to take his word for it. He is credible by means of his profession and associations, but he did not say where these studies came from. It is obvious that the results came from human subjects, but it should have included how the product was tested with the subjects. The article also lacks testimonials from current users. Testimonials would help for the credibility of the research. In general, the author based all of his research on other studies, but once again did not go into detail on those studies. For example, Mr. Kreider says, ?most studies indicate that creatine is an effective and safe nutritional supplement.? This brings about some questions. What studies indicate this and what about the studies that have evidence that creatine monohydrate is not an effective and safe supplement? To effectively inform a reader, the author should have answered these questions and given more detail on certain issues such as side effects for example.

This article was not intended for people who have no idea what creatine is. The author writes this article for people who already know about the creatine in the body and also uses large and confusing words. You need some sort of scientific background to understand all of the information included. For example, Richard B. Kreider is quoted in saying, ?Short-term creatine supplementation has been reported to increase total creatine

content by 15 to 30 percent which is 127 to 149 mmol/kg dry mass.? For a person without a scientific background, this information is confusing and unhelpful.

The article is somewhat misleading because the author says that creatine monohydrate is basically safe. He states that not all studies prove this, but the way that he words the article makes it seem as though taking creatine monohydrate is harmless. For the author to be more helpful, he should have stated that a prospective user should do research to find out all of the possible side effects and to make sure that it is right for them.

There have been studies that conflict with the information that Richard B. Kreider used. Other studies say that some creatine monohydrate users experience muscle cramps, muscle spasms, and pulled muscles. Some organizations like the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguard and Medical Aspect of sports wants research to be done to determine whether long-term use is safe and do certain individuals have negative side affects. It also is not known whether people with an inadequate dietary intake run the greatest risk of trouble with the supplements. (Nutrition 98/99 p.206) Richard B. Kreider could have included information such as this in his article.

The only side effect documented in clinical studies is weight gain. However, some athletes have complained of muscle cramping, muscle strain, temporary nausea, and loose stools. Some questions that are out there is about safety of large doses and long-term use of creatine monohydrate. Clinical studies have limited the intake to 25 mg per day, so it is unclear whether higher daily doses are safe. (Alison Morantz, p149) Since clinical research has focused only on the short-term side effects of creatine monohydrate,

the possibility of side effects from long-term use such as liver or kidney damage, have not been studied. All of this information shows that Mr. Kreider obviously is misleading readers. With all of these questions left unanswered, it is hard to believe that he can say that creatine monohydrate is ?safe.? These possible problems would have to be proven wrong before one could say that creatine monohydrate is safe.

In conclusion, this short article written by Richard B. Kreider was informative yet lacking in many areas. It is obvious that creatine monohydrate cannot be considered to be 100 percent safe because not all questions have been answered. Creatine monohydrate is the most popular and readily available nutritional supplement for enhancing performance on the market today. The main question that needs to be answered is whether or not creatine monohydrate is safe or if it is going to do more harm than good in the long run.

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