The superlative athletic performance encased in the perfect body. We spend our lives enthralled by and aspiring to attain both. The popularity of Instagram posts, exemplified by Paulina Porizkova’s, a supermodel in her previous life, attempt to resurrect her pre-eminence as an ageing scantily clad nymphet, busses adorned with finely sculpted, nearly naked images of photo-shopped beauties, indeed the survival and extinction of civilisations are a testament to the enduring power of this maxim. ‘The Substance’ a recently released movie which ironically showcases an aging Demi Moore desperately clinging to her rapidly evaporating employability in a world which embraces preternatural youthful beauty, only to be tragically deceived when she is lead to believe that imbibing ‘the substance’ would allow her to recapture that evanescent fantasy without any bitter, self-destructive denouement, is another testament to the seductive force of this premise.
Shelving Demi Moore’s disillusionment and disappointment for just a second, in creatine we have a magical substance that might help us achieve the heights of athleticism and anatomical magnificence that was once the exclusive realm of the elite athlete. It has long been embraced by the athletic community and gym enthusiasts as a supplement that could significantly enhance energy, physical performance, the growth of muscle mass and endurance. For those who wanted to run faster, further and longer, with bigger muscles and super-charged stamina taking creatine has been their passport into the gilded realm of extraordinary accomplishment with untold rewards.
Aside from boosting exercise capacity and muscle mass creatine can also augment cognitive performance and protect our brains which is especially important for athletes engaged in contact sports who are constantly subjected to the incrementally damaging effects of recurring brain trauma. In fact the International Society of Sports Nutrition considers this supplement to be so vital for athletes who need all the brain protection they can get that they consider it to be a dereliction of duty and care not to advise them about the wisdom of adding this supplement to their daily regimen.
But it’s not only elite athletes who would benefit from continuous creatine supplementation. Who wouldn’t enjoy an energy boost and enhanced mental powers! Aside from an energizer and muscle builder it’s also a weight loss promoter, In addition to which creatine is loaded with a veritable smorgasbord of capabilities. It can lower cholesterol, help reduce rising blood glucose levels, improve bone strength and reverse osteoporosis, alleviate the crippling effects of osteoarthritis and lower homocysteine, a protein that increases our risk of getting heart disease, stroke and Alzheimer’s. In can also help to reduce anxiety and depression, stimulate the immune system and reduce wrinkles when applied as a lotion. In short a multitalented wonder potion we all need to protect us against the ravages of ageing.
We obtain creatine from red meat, fish and poultry, if we’re lucky about 1-2 grams per day, but experts advise that we need at least 3 grams per day as we get older, which would suggest that we need to supplement to enjoy its benefits. Vegetarians who consume no animal protein would certainly have to augment their supplies if they wish to be graced with all the advantages of saddling up with creatine.
Sadly as is often the case in life any product that appears to be exclusively salubrious might portend hidden caveats. Certainly until now taking creatine was thought to be entirely good for us. Even with regard to that old chestnut, the black box cancer warning, research appears to have demonstrated that it protects us against the big C and can even be utilised to shore up our immune defences and help eradicate cancer cells. Unfortunately studies are now starting to emerge showing just the opposite that creatine can facilitate cancer cell growth and migration by providing an energy source for these errant and pernicious cells. In the test tube creatine appears to stimulate the growth of a number of cancers, including pancreatic, bowel, breast, lung and liver cancer.
The authors of this research end by indicating that in the past creatine was seen entirely as an energy source for muscle health. They caution that as we understand more about of the behaviour of creatine the more complex the field has become. As creatine could also support energy for cancer migration and metabolism, consuming supplementary creatine for body health should be viewed more conservatively. Aside from this test tube evidence we should derive comfort from the fact that all the human trials which have witnessed creatine being taken as a supplement over a number of years haven’t demonstrated any rise in the incidence of cancer.
Nevertheless, how should these fresh findings be integrated into our daily supplementary programme? I’m going to keep taking creatine when I go to the gym 2-3 times per week and hope that any budding cancer cells I might have residing in my unsuspecting body do not latch on to their stimulating potential and that I do not end up like Demi Moore’s ravaged cinematic effigy.
