Creatine

Bill Romanowski, Shannon Sharpe, and Mark McGwire, are just a few of the professional athletes that use and endorse fitness supplements such as Androstendione, Creatine, and other products. Every on camera interview that you see Shannon Sharpe he is wearing an EAS mock turtleneck. EAS is one of the leading manufacturers of Creatine and other supplements. The hottest supplement in Hollywood is Ephedrine; a herbal-based drug designed to increase fat loss. Why do so many athletes use supplements? Who is using the supplements? How can I get supplements? Those are a few of the questions I have tried to answer in this report. The purpose of this study is to educate. To educate not only the athletes using the supplements such as Creatine and Ephedrine but to also educate the governing bodies of collegiate sports. Answers were sought to the following questions: 1. Who is using Creatine and/or Ephedrine based products? 2. Why are they using supplements? 3. Are these products easily available? 4. Should the NCAA increase regulations on supplemental usage? I used the Internet as a focal point for my research. There were many sites devoted strictly to supplement usage and education on subjects related to the supplements, Creatine and Ephedrine. I also used muscle magazines and books for research.

When I think of Creatine I don't think of a body building supplement I think of an aid to recuperation. Like an aspirin you take if you have a headache, an athlete takes Creatine if they have chronic sore muscles from continuously working out. Creatine is a compound that can be made in our body. It is taken as a strength supplement. The chemical name for Creatine is methyl guanidine-acetic acid. The organ that produces the bodies Creatine is the liver. The amount of natural Creatine in the body can be increased or decreased depending on our diet. How much Creatine do we have in our body? A 160-pound person would have approximately 120 grams of Creatine stored in their body. The reason Creatine is such a hot commodity is because 95-98% of the Creatine in our body is stored in our muscles.

There are four known jobs for Creatine. (1) Provide additional energy for your muscles. This is the biggest reason athletes/weightlifters use Creatine. By using Creatine for additional energy for the muscles you are able to recover quicker from a strenuous workout or a tough game. (2) Volumization of Muscles. Studies have shown that Creatine pulls water into the muscles cells increasing the size of the muscle. (3) Buffer for Lactic Acid build-up. Lactic Acid gives that burning feeling in your muscles while you work out. Creatine keeps the Lactic Acid out of the muscles for a longer time allowing the user to lift more, thus increasing size and strength in the long run. (4) Enhances Protein Synthesis.

The more protein synthesis there is the more muscle mass the user will attain (The Beg...). Creatine is used by most for the first benefit, providing additional energy for your muscles. For example if I don't take Creatine and I go to the gym and I go through my normal workout, I will be sore the next day and not be able to lift as much. However, with the use of Creatine I will either not be sore or not as sore the next day, allowing me to lift more and increase my muscle mass. Creatine is the best selling sports supplement of all time. In 1998 alone over two hundred million dollars worth of Creatine based supplements were sold. According to Absolute Creatine.com a supplement becomes very popular for one of three reasons. (1) The supplement industry did a great job marketing the product. (2) The supplement actually delivers benefits to athletes. (3) A combination of the first two, good marketing and benefits. Absolute Creatine believes that the third reason best describes Creatine (Creatine as...). I would also add word of mouth to those reasons. A gym is a very sociable area. Athletes are always looking for that edge to get them to the next level. In 1998 you could not go into a gym without someone in that gym being on Creatine. I know about 3 people in my graduating High School class of 2002 that were using Creatine. Creatine was by far the largest supplement in the United States everybody who was using it was taking pure Creatine. Now with Creatine Technology getting better, Cell-tech, which is marketed as "An advanced Creatine Formula!" is the new fad. Out of the 3 students that were taking Creatine in my graduating class, 2 of them were girls on the track team. I would have presumed that more men would have used Creatine because those who use Creatine want to bulk up more than take weight off. Most women want to take weight off and get tone. Men want to put weight on and get "ripped". It has been said that if you're not on Creatine then you're not serious about taking your game to the next level. I wouldn't take it that far, for one reason, the risks involved with taking Creatine. Natural Creatine is produced in the Kidneys. Questions have been raised about Creatine possibly damaging the Kidney's if it is used for an extended period of time. Absolute Creatine raises a good point, anything can become dangerous if it is used for long periods of time and or abused. For example Vitamin C can have harmful effects if you take too much of it. (Absolute) Creatine is not currently on the banned substance list. But, should an athlete die of dehydration due to Creatine or the FDA finds that there are long-term effects to using Creatine I think that the NCAA will have to put it on the banned substance list for fear of liability, not because it gives the player an unfair advantage, but because it can be hazardous to their health.

Ephedrine is one of if not the hottest over the counter drug on the market today. Ephedrine is also known as Ephedra, and Ma Huang, which is the source of Ephedrine. According to Tom Venuto of Atozfitness.com Ephedrine is a bronchodilator and a potent stimulant when combined with caffeine or aspirin the effects are amplified. Ephedrine has been proven to reduce appetite, spare lean body mass, increase fat burning and increase metabolism through a process called thermo genesis (Venuto). That is music to athlete's ears. Ephedrine is one of the most common weight loss supplements used by Hollywood actors and actresses. It is also at the center of a controversy concerning an all-pro offensive Lineman for the Minnesota Vikings who passed away in August 2001, and a relief pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals who passed away in 2002. Xenadrine is the most common Ephedrine based supplement and is its pill form. There are many side effects listed on the side of a Xenadrine bottle. They include increased blood pressure, jitteriness, insomnia, increased heart rate, heart palpitations, muscle tremors, nervousness, irritability, and dry mouth. However, according to Venuto, Ephedrine has an outstanding track record