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building supplement (and if you are on a limited budget you

are probably interested in this) I would say creatine. Therefore I have included more information on this fantastic bodybuild- ing supplement.

What is the purpose of creatine? Creatine gained popularity

in the early 1990s for its ability to boost anaerobic power. A short time later strength athletes realized the enormous strength benefits from creatine use, and then it became appar- ent that muscle mass development could be accelerated with creatine use. While there is limited support in science for the ergogenic benefits of creatine for the endurance athlete, we suggest that they do exist, they are just not as significant as they may be for the anaerobic or power athletes.

More recent research suggests that creatine may also be able to improve blood lipid levels and increase metabolic rate.

How long has creatine been around? Creatine was

'discovered' in 1832, and has been subject to sporadic attention until the early 1990's, when it gained popularity commercially and in scientific studies.

Which category/s does creatine fit into? Creatine is another

multi-purpose supplement and we place it in the following categories :

If I had to select one supplement as the number one body- building supplement I would say creatine.

Muscle mass enhancement Strength/power enhancement Anaerobic power

Aerobic power

Recovery enhancement

What is creatine derived from? Creatine is synthesized

within the body from the precursor amino acids arginine, gly- cine, and methionine.

The traditional ap- proach has been to commence with a loading phase of be- tween 20-30 gms/ day for a week, and then revert to main- tenance dose of about 5-10 gms/day for about 4-6 weeks.

Is creatine formed naturally in the body? Yes. This creatine

production occurs in the liver, pancreas and kidneys. This production may occur more-so when the dietary consumption of creatine is inadequate to meet the bodies needs.

How is creatine proposed to work? Creatine is proposed to

work in the following ways :

• Muscle enhancement : it is theorized that the rate of fast twitch fiber hypertrophy is accelerated in the presence of supplemental creatine; and increased strength potential provides another mechanism for hypertrophy;

• Strength/power enhancement: creatine draws fluid into the muscle cell, increasing cell leverage, and increases the in- tra-muscular stores of the energy substrate involved in muscular contraction - creatine;

• Anaerobic power enhancement : creatine increases the in- tra-muscular stores of the energy substrate involved in muscular contraction - creatine;

• Aerobic power enhancement : the mechanisms are unclear due to lack of support in literature, but in the least it will ensure higher levels of stored creatine when shorter, higher intensity efforts are required in the aerobic (endurance) ac- tivity;

hancement issue. Additionally, the effect on metabolic rate and blood lipid profile referred to in the opening paragraph are newer claims, perhaps requiring more research.

Who might benefit from using creatine? I believe that this is

one of (if not the) most effective nutritional supplement avail- able - one of the true breakthroughs in nutritional supplemen- tation science. It's application is broad, and therefore I believe every person using strength training should consider it. And it is one of the few supplements that may give you that 'pick up' that many people are looking for - it is potentially a 'feel good' supplement (e.g. often included in a supplement stack for chronic fatigue syndrome sufferers).

What form is creatine available in? Creatine monohydrate is

found mostly in powder form, but is available in capsules.

What is creatine's availability? Creatine is available over the

counter in most health food stores or similar.

How much creatine should be taken? The traditional ap-

proach has been to commence with a loading phase of between 20-30 gms/day for a week, and then revert to maintenance dose of about 5-10 gms/day for about 4-6 weeks. This is based on approximately a 0.3 gm of creatine per kg of bodyweight during the loading period, and as low as 0.03 gm of creatine per kg of bodyweight during the maintenance phase. More advanced methods are available, taking into account the ath- letes bodyweight, and averaging 0.3 gms creatine/kg of body- weight throughout the full duration of the cycle on a varied dose (ascending and/ or descending).

Should creatine be taken at any particular time of day? Dos-

ages should be divided equally throughout the day, with some suggestion that an intake 30-60 minutes before training and another one immediately after training may increase utiliza- tion and uptake respectively. There is a lot of debate about optimal timing.

Are there any foods/supplements that creatine should or should not be taken with? There has been a popular recent

trend towards consuming creatine with simple carbohydrates. The rationale is that the carbohydrates in the fruit juice will

Considering it's ef- fectiveness, creatine

has been found to be relatively free of side-effects.

cause an 'insulin response', often described as an 'insulin spike'. Insulin is credited with enhancing the transportation of creatine into the muscle cell. Grape juice is highly recom- mended as having one of the highest 'insulin releasing' effects of all juices e.g. mix the creatine with three to six ounces of grape juice.

Is creatine commonly combined with any other supple- ments? More 'advanced' creatine products are currently being

presented with other nutrients that may either increase the ef- fectiveness of transport (e.g. insulin mimickers) or promote cellular swelling (e.g. taurine, glutamine, and glycine).

Any other user suggestions for creatine? Make sure you di-

vide the dose rather than taking it all at once. Too much creatine in one intake is an invitation for gastro-intestinal dis- turbances. Multiples of 5-10gm per intake are suggested, with a strong recommendation not to exceed 10-15 gm per intake for the over 90 kg person, and to be safe, not to exceed 5-10 gm per intake for the less than 90 kg person.

Are there any side-effects from using creatine? Considering

it's effectiveness, creatine has been found to be relatively free of side-effects. The side-effects generally associated with creatine supplementation include gastro-intestinal reactions and weight gain (if you call that a side effect!). Special meth- ods can be employed to reduce the risk of gastro-intestinal re- actions.

I have heard on a lesser number of occasions athletes report- ing muscle cramping, and this needs further investigation.

Is creatine an IOC banned substance? No.

Here are more further issues relating generally to supplement use :

So how do I know if any supplement is working for me? The only way to really know is to use it, and use it in isolation i.e. with no other supple- ments.

your life is 'usual', i.e. no unusual stresses, training is 'usual'. This is the only way to conduct your own assessment of a sup- plement. Provided you are objective about it, after a few weeks you should be able to come to a conclusion. Having said that, some supplement have a longer term effect e.g. an anti-oxidant, so maybe you won't feel the effect of these within a few weeks. But if the supplement is promoted as having a noticeable short-term effect, then judge it in this light. There is nothing wrong with concluding 'hey, this supplement did nothing for me'.