Creatine

About Creatine

Creatine is a nitrogenous organic acid first identified in 1832 by the French chemist Michel Eugene Chevreul, who named it after the Greek kreas, meaning meat. It is synthesized in the body from the amino acids arginine, glycine and methionine in a two step process that takes place mainly in the kidneys and liver, and is also obtained from meat and fish. Most of the creatine in the body is stored in skeletal muscle. Through the creatine kinase reaction, phosphocreatine rapidly regenerates ATP during brief, high intensity activity, acting as an energy buffer. It breaks down spontaneously to creatinine, a clinical marker of kidney function. Creatine monohydrate is one of the most extensively researched sports supplements and has consistently been shown to raise muscle creatine stores and to improve performance in repeated high intensity exercise and training gains in strength. Research on roles in brain energy metabolism, cognition and neurological disease is preliminary. Studies in healthy people have not shown harm to kidney function, and creatine is not prohibited in sport.