Who doesn’t want to be that little bit healthier? Especially if improving your health involves minimal effort.
By Robert Carry
With this in mind we’ve made it our mission to bring you news each week of a product, a foodstuff, an exercise technique or a pill that promises potentially magical health-giving properties.
This week’s magic ingredient: Creatine.
Not to be confused with: Cretins, Croatians, Creosote.
Isn’t that the ancient Greek word for ‘flesh’? You are exactly right. Creatine was first identified way back in 1832 by Michel Eugène Chevreul who spotted it when rooting around in bits of skeletal muscle. Michel was an odd one.
And I’m expected to eat this stuff? Not exactly. Scientists have found a way of producing a synthetic version of the creatine found naturally in our bodies.
So what’s the craic then, what do you get out of it? Quite a lot if you’re the type to exercise. Although it has no proven effect on aerobic, low-intensity exercise, there evidence that short term creatine use can boost power and performance in high-intensity anaerobic workouts by between 5 and 15%. For the likes of sprinters, swimmers, cyclists or fighters, that’s a massive benefit.
Is that it? Nope. If you’re a bit wimpy looking and want to put on a few kilos, creatine might also be for you. It is often taken by those wishing to gain muscle mass, and all the evidence suggests it works. You can pile on as much as a kilo of muscle per week.
So what do you do, snort it? You could, but it wouldn’t actually do anything for you bar give you a nosebleed and sinus problems. Creatine is generally taken as a powder mixed into a drink or as a capsule or caplet.
Hang on, is this some sort of steroid? Is it safe? No and yes. It has no relation to anabolic performance enhancing steroids and multiple studies have shown that it is perfectly safe for both trained and untrained athletes. Except for people with renal disease. They should avoid it as it increases risk of renal dysfunction with people with a pre-existing condition.
Some users claim creatine makes their muscles cramp, but repeated studies have found no evidence of this being the case. The cramp claims, it is believed, are down to poor hydration, as you need to up your water intake when exercising with the aid of creatine.
Sold. So where do I get the stuff? You can pick up a creatine in most health-food shops and online. Be wary of buying from outside of Ireland, however, it might well get stopped in the post by customs.
Does it taste nice? Not particularly, no. Buy yourself a lollipop to go with it.
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