Creatine is a popular dietary supplement in the world of sports. Although his discovery dates back to almost 2 centuries ago, large-scale diffusion occurred only at the end of the 70 ‘s, when thanks to figures such as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, an increasing number of individuals has embraced the world of so-called “physical culture”.

This organic compound synthesized naturally by the body in the liver, can also be found in foods such as meat and fish.

Creatine, inside the human body, lies in its almost entirely within the skeletal muscles, in the form of phosphocreatine, whose main role is to, through a process called phosphorylation, risintetizzare ATP (adenosine triphosphate), which is a macromolecule responsible for energy production. This concept makes us easily understand how the accumulation of stocks of phosphocreatine in muscle increase “working capacity” in sports performance.

Studies have shown the significant increase athletic performance after only a few weeks of administration, in anaerobic-type disciplines, that can range from weightlifting to jumps and sprints. However, although there are many studies that analyse its incidence in long-term activities, creatine supplementation appears to have a positive effect in increasing the anaerobic threshold and lactate tolerance.
In addition to the benefits in terms of efficiency of energy systems, however, another aspect to be noted is that of body mass gain, mainly due to two phenomena: the rise of water inside cells and improvement of contractile protein synthesis.

Ultimately we must treat the common conception that the assumption of long-term creatine is harmful to kidney function correctly, probably due to the fact that a compound can nitrogen over time cause excessive fatigue. However, there are no scientific studies that show such a thought.

Roberto