Picture - Such adverts as this one featuring Wasps' and England's Josh Lewsey endorsing Creatine appear regularly in the rugby press. Creatine is popular with athletes the world over but the concern amongst experts has been for those individuals looking for a quick way to emulate their sporting idols. Athletes such as baseball's Mark McGwire, tennis star Mary Pierce and track ace Iwan Thomas have excelled on the world stage in their respective fields with creatine playing an acknowledged role. Although sold over the counter in many countries around the world it is banned altogether in France but their stance was recently undermined when former French skipper Pierre Berbizier who said use was widespread within the French Championship. The British Olympic Committee withdrew their endorsement of the supplement in 1996 although they refused to condemn it or ban it outright.
Creatine is without doubt big business.
Creatine is a natural product that the human form contains within it's skeletal muscle. We normally obtain creatine from our diets but in recent years it has become popular to supplement one's diet with synthetically produced creatine. The synthetic supplement favoured by athletes, creatine monohydrate, increases the energy content of muscle cells and thus should increase muscle strength. Unfortunately, although research has shown that supplementing your diet with creatine monohydrate generally increases muscle creatine content although increased strength is not an absolute consequence. It is the side effects of use that has the headline writers at the ready.