Creatine: Its Discovery and Applications

Creatine is one of the most popular supplements taken by body builders and those who want to build muscle mass. But why do they take it and what affect does it have on the body?

The Discovery of Creatine

Creatine was discovered as a substance way back in 1832, and in the early part of the 21st century scientists found that it was part of the skeletal muscle. Approximately 95% of the creatine naturally found in the body is found in the skeletal muscle and the remaining amount is found in other cells in the body.

In the late 1980’s it was developed into powder form to be taken as a dietary supplement - also commonly known as creatine monohydrate. It wasn’t, however, until the 1990’s that it became popularised as a supplement, after several gold medal winning Olympic athletes (including Linford Christie and Sally Gunnell) were reported to be using it to boost their athletic performances.

Creatine’s Applications

Creatine has been found to be effective in improving the performance of short term, intense exercise and has been shown to increase total muscle mass by the Scientific Committee of Food (SCF).

Creatine is created when the amino acids methionine, arginine and glycine react together chemically. Our bodies use the result of this chemical reaction as a source of energy during high intensity exercise, despite the fact that our natural stores of the substance only last for around 10 seconds. As workouts are generally for much longer periods than this, many athletes tend to take creatine as a supplement.

Aside from muscle mass, creatine is also thought to have some effect on memory, as found by researchers at the Universities of Sydney and Macquarie in Australia. Their research found that people who took the supplement over a period of time were able to recall more numbers in a long sequence in comparison to those that had not taken creatine.

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