While experts like Close advocate for seeking to meet nutritional needs through food in the first instance, it may not always be possible or practical to do this – and that is where supplements come in.<\/p>\n
Take, for example, creatine, which is found naturally in meat and fish.<\/p>\n
“You would need the best part of a kilogram of raw chicken a day to get the amount of creatine you need,” says Close. But it is unsafe to eat raw poultry because of the food poisoning risk from harmful bacteria.<\/p>\n
Creatine is a natural compound in the body produced in the kidneys, liver and pancreas. It is a quick source of energy for muscles, which is especially important for short-duration, high intensity activities such as sprinting.<\/p>\n
Its big break as a supplement came in the 1990s when two scientists who had been researching it for two decades shared their findings with Steve Jennings, whose Maxim sports nutrition company supplied products to the British Olympic team.<\/p>\n
During the 1992 Barcelona Games, investigative reporter Doug Gillon had learned of a ‘secret trial’ involving British athletes and seen a box of their Ergomax C150 \u2013 effervescent creatine tablets. He wrote that if the scientists’ claims – that creatine could improve explosive athletic performance by 1-3% – were true, then “sport may never be the same again”.<\/p>\n
In terms of sport supplements and nutrition, he was right. By the time of the next Olympics in 1996, an estimated 80% of athletes were taking creatine, and since then it has become mainstream, with research suggesting there may be cognitive benefits as well as physical.<\/a><\/p>\n According to the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, the creatine breakthrough of the 1990s had “launched a new era in sports nutrition” and “sparked exploration into other supplements”.<\/p>\n