Creatine and Creatine Ethyl Ester - A Quick Summary

For information purposes only. Exercise at your own risk

In order for muscle cells to contract, a compound known as ATP is required. ATP is broken down to ADP which allows the muscle to contract. In order to provide energy again, ADP must be replenished again to ATP via the addition of a phosphate molecule. This comes from creatine phosphate.

This is called the ATP – PC energy system. This energy system is able to produce energy most quickly but is only available for the first 8 – 10 seconds of intense exercise. After this time period, the glycolytic or lactic acid system is incorporated in order to produce energy. During this transition, maximum output can no longer be maintained, and lactic acid is produced, which causes musclcular fatigue.

By supplementing with creatine, more creatine phosphate is stored within the muscle. This allows the body to stay within the ATP-PC system for a longer period of time. It also allows the ATP-PC system to recover quicker. For example, if an athlete is doing interval training, the ATP-PC will recover quicker during the rest peroids. Meaning that a greater mean power/strength output can be obtained through the workout.

In the human body, creatine is synthesized mainly in the liver by the use of parts from three different amino acids - arginine, glycine, and methionine. 95% of it is later stored in the skeletal muscles, with the rest in the brain, heart, and testes.

In humans, typically half of stored creatine originates from food (mainly from meat and fish). However, endogenous synthesis of creatine in the liver is sufficient for normal activities. For example, even though vegetables do not contain creatine, vegetarians do not suffer from creatine deficiency. Vegetarian creatine can be obtained via chemical synthesis using plant-derived amino acids.

Creatine Ethyl Ester
Creatine ethyl ester is slightly more lipophilic. This means that it dissolves and pentrates the muscle cell membrane a lot easir. Because regular creatine draws water to the cell, and because most ingested creatine monohydrate is not absorbed, unabsorbed creatine will sit outside of the target cell with the water, and this will result in the "creatine bloat." The main advantages of creatine ethyl ester are that they prevent creatine bloat, and less creatine needs to be taken in order to have the desired results. However, as far as I am aware, there are so far no long term studies on the safety of creatine ethyl ester, where as there are for creatine monohydrate.