Creatine supplements have become controversial in recent
years, thanks to a large group of sports writers who are willing
to sensationalize any subject if they think it will appeal to
their readers’ biases. Creatine is an amino acid made by the
body on a daily basis but in differing amounts in different
people. Muscle cells maintain a reservoir of creatine and its
derivative, phosphocreatine; the phosphocreatine reservoir can
be drawn upon rapidly when muscles contract. The phosphate
in phosphocreatine is used to make ATP, the biological world’s
main
Creatine supplements have been shown to be effective in increasing muscle strength, improving endurance and delaying fatigue. Creatine is now being suggested as an antidote to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). Work at Temple University has confirmed what was suspected from previous studies: that creatine helps to regulate the activity of mitochondria — the organelles responsible for extracting energy from fats and sugars and storing it in ATP molecules. Researcher Sinclair Smith suggests that creatine could prove useful in treating CFS.
Link to news story:
Link to the research study (the abstract doesn’t mention CFS):
