Creatine

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Creatine

Creatine is an amino acid derivative; it is also know as a-methylguanidino acetic acid. Chevreul, a French scientist, from a sample meat extract, discovered it in 1832. Creatine is derived from the Greek word Kreas, which means flesh. Typical creatine users take about 20 g/d as a “loading dose” and 5 g/d as a maintenance dose. An average 70 Kg adult stores about 120 g of creatine, turning over 2-3 g per day. A vast majority of total body creatine is stored in skeletal muscles, 60% of which is in the form of creatine phosphate. It’s produced in the body naturally, but most is acquired from dietary sources. The liver, pancreas, and kidneys synthesize 2% of the total body creatine. Creatine is synthesized by three different amino acids: arginine, glycine, and methionine. It is eliminated from the kidneys after its converted into creatinine. Creatine is a non-protein amino acid found in animals and plants but there are less in plants then animals. Creatine is synthesized in the kidney, liver and pancreas from the amino acids L-arginine, glycine and L-methionine. Following its biosynthesis, creatine is transported to the skeletal muscle, heart, brain and other tissues. Most of the creatine is metabolized in these tissues to phosphocreatine (creatine phosphate). Phosphocreatine is a major energy storage form that is in the body. Creatine is a supplement that can make you stonger by taking it correctly and doing excersises(Who Invented Creatine?, 1).
There are three basic types of creatine. They are Creatine Monohydrate, Creatine Phosphate, and Creatine Citrate. Creatine monohydrate essentially creatine bound with water. Every molecule of creatine monohydrate is made up of 88% creatine and 12% water. In other words- 1 gram of creatine monohydrate has 880 milligrams of creatine. This means that if you take 5 grams of creatine monohydrate you will really be putting 4.40 grams of creatine in your body. Creat...