Humans have had a fascination with being excellent at what they do, and athletics have been no exception. Many substances exist, and many have been criticized and analyzed for their safety, legality, and morality for athletes. With the banning of steroids from competitive sports, and the implementation of random drug testing in most sports, most athletes, professional, recreational, and would-be professionals are hoping to gain an edge. More recently, one such edge has been discover, and it has found itself in locker rooms across the country, in the hands of athletes, this product is called creatine.
             A French scientist discovered creatine in 1832. It was named after the Greek word for flesh "Kreash". In 1832 Professor Lieberg confirmed creatine was a natural substance found in the mammals body (Bamberger, 1998). In 1847 his research proved that in order for muscles to work they need creatine. Creatine was not put on to the market until 1970, but it became really big in the 1992 Olympics when several athletes reported that they had used creatine to prepare themselves for the games (Sahelian, 2000).
             Creatine is an amino acid used in muscles to supply energy to the muscle cell. It is not a building-block amino acid used to build muscle protein. The chemical name for creatine is methyl guandine-acetic acid (Anonymous, 2000). On an average a 160-pound person would have 120 grams of natural creatine stored in their body. We also get some of our Creatine from our diet (Anonymous). Fish and meat are very good sources of creatine. Creatine is formed naturally from the amino acids argentine, methionine, and glycine through a chemical process. During this process creatine is changed into a molecule called phosphocreatine, which serves as a storage reservoir for quick energy. Phosphocreatine is important in tissues such as the voluntary muscles and the nervous system, which requires large amounts of energy (Anonymous). The product creatine is...