Creatine Essay, Research Paper
St. Louis Cardinals Mark Mcgwire and the Chicago Cubs Sammy Sosa stated: Creatine gives us more strength in our workouts, and has helped us produce a more powerful homerun swing. (Williams 1)
Creatine is an all-natural nutrient found in the bodies of all humans and most animals. 95% of the body?s Creatine supply is found in the skeletal muscles. The other 5% is spread throughout the body. People take this substance because it will increase your muscle mass and make you stronger by an intense workout. The short-term effects of Creatine are good, but the long-term effects still remain in doubt.
Creatine becomes very complicated when you talk about what it does to the body and how it works. It is the main player in the primary source used for muscle contraction. When muscles contract, there is an important fuel that is a compound called ATP. ATP is an enzyme common to all body cells, which helps sodium and potassium across the cell membranes. Creatine is responsible for 10-50% of the body heat energy production. It provides its energy by releasing molecules, which the ATP then converts to ADP. Adenine Dye Phosphate is what ADP stands for. There is only enough ATP in your body to provide energy for ten seconds. For muscle contraction to continue, more ATP must be produced. Creatine then comes to the rescue by giving up its phosphate molecules to ADP, repeating ATP. ATP can then be burned as a fuel for more muscle contraction. It sounds so complicated but its real easy to understand. Creatine simply makes you lift longer and harder through out your workout.
So now that you know the basis of what Creatine is, you have to know that there are two types of it. The first one is the all-pure Creatine Monohydrate. It comes strictly natural from the skeletal muscles and where the other 5% of Creatine is spread out. Creatine Monohydrate is the best selling of the Creatine?s pretty much because it?s all-natural and is purposively safer. The other type of Creatine is Creatine Phosphate. This Creatine is bought with different substances mixed in it. Creatine Phosphate is mostly mixed with types of sugars. Researchers have said taking Creatine with sugars works faster and more effectively. The new ESPN magazine had an article on Creatine and how you should take it. The writer said Creatine Monohydrate is the better one to take, bu
Creatine is taken by many different people with four different ways to take it. It can be taken in powder, liquid, capsules, and chewable form. The most popular is the powder form. It is said to get in to your system quicker. That means the faster you can start working out.
Right now you may think that Creatine is real good, which it is, but there are downsides when taking it. Here are the negative effects that may occur when taking Creatine: Nausea, upset stomach, dizziness or weakness, loose stools or diarrhea are the most common. Also muscle cramping, strains and sprains can occur. If you do not take Creatine seriously it can become fatal. A while ago three teenage wrestlers died and one of the reasons that came up was Creatine, but it wasn?t the Creatine that did it. If you take Creatine while your playing a sport that does a lot of conditioning and hard work it can cause you to dehydrate. Your muscles can cramp up real bad and you can pass out or even die from it. So you got to watch when and how you take Creatine to play it safe. There have been lawsuits all the time with Creatine, but the big issue is can Creatine cause any long-term effects. Nobody knows if Creatine is safe yet because it came out in 1991. Researchers are still experimenting hard on its long-term effects. ? The defensive coach of the NFL Tampa Bay Buccaneers said: I will not let any of my players take this substance because people do not know enough about it, to say if it?s totally safe.? (Sports Illustrated 1) On other teams they have contracts with the company that makes Creatine, (EAS) to ware EAS turtle necks during the game, like the Denver Broncos.
In conclusion Creatine is proven to effectively increase your muscle mass and help you gain weight by an intense workout. Everybody has his or her own opinions on whether Creatine is good to take. Some take it like bubble gum and others say no way, you decide. The short- term effects of Creatine are good, but researchers are still experimenting to see if any long-term problems will occur. Creatine still remains on trial while Mark Mcgwire and Sammy Sosa still remaining to hit 60 plus homeruns. ? But is it safe? Only one word can answer that question, and that word is time.? (Sports Illustrated 1)