JOMC 50: Electronic Information Sources (EIS)
School of Journalism and Mass Communication
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Last updated: April 16, 1997
Research Project by Daniel Johnson

Spring Semester, 1997


Do Creatine Supplements Help Develop Muscles?

Introduction:

Over the past three or few years, a new dietary supplement known has creatine has gained increasing popularity with body builders and athletes. Some people are calling Creatine the best legal supplement for body building. This semester I got sick of being called skinny and decided to hit the gym. Some friends of mine had used Creatine, and, for the most part, praised it and guaranteed good results. The level of effectiveness of Creatine, however, is not agreed upon by all health experts, and several people expressed their skepticism about using Creatine. I decided to do some of my own research on the subject. The use of Creatine for body building is a relatively new fad and is a pretty narrow topic. There is not much information in libraries about Creatine so I decided that turning to the Web -- the best source for up to date information on just about any subject -- to see what I could find.

WWW Sources:

  • Muscle Marketing USA's Creatine Page
    URL: "http://www.mmusa.com/creatine.html"
    Muscle Marketing USA provides a FAQ page with a great deal of basic and background informatino on the use of Creatine as a dietary supplement. The page answers questions on how Creatine works metabolically and provides recommended dosages of Creatine.
    How much Creatine should I use?
    URL: "http://www.fortress-systems.com"
    This comercial site provides supplementary information to the information provided by Muscle Marketing USA. The site provides recommendage dosages for the use of Creatine. You can also order Creatine from this site so refer to my other references before making a final decision on the use of Creatine.
    Combining Creatine with other nutrients
    URL: "http://web.telepost.no/Santa/Claus.html"
    A research group discusses their new formula for a Creatine supplement that mixes the Creatine with other nutrients for maximum effectiveness. Once again, be sure to consult all of the sources that I have cited before deciding on whether or not to use Creatine.

    • Other Reference Sources:

  • Applegate, Liz. "Claim check: here's the lowdown on four well-known supplements. Runner's World. Vol. 30, November 1995, pg. 24.
    The article examines the benefits of Creatine on your running times. The article cites studies ivolving creatine and provides recommendations on the use of creatine. The story is much more critical than the web pages about the use of creatine as a dietary supplement. The article seems to be unbiased and balanced.
  • Dreyfus, Ira. "Creatine Said to Give Athletes Competitive Edge." The Record. September 30, 1996, pg. H12.
    A good article that examines the use of Creatine by athletes. The article includes an interview with the strength coach of the San Francisco 49ers and with a researcher at Penn State University. The article provides a balanced report and highlights some of the possible risks of creatine as well as the benefits and results of using creatine.
  • McKoy, Mark. "Creatine's Ability to Speed Recovery Time Has Made it Athlete's Choice." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. November 24, 1996, pg. D15.
    A great story that examines the two sides of the Cretine debate. The article starts with quotes from Olympic gold medalist, Michael Johnson, singing the praises of Creatine and advocating the use. The article then contains the skeptical viewpoint of a researcher in Toronto who says that Creatine may not be all that some athletes say it is. A good way to get the viewpoint of supporters and skeptics of creatine supplements. Also highlights the debate about whether or not creatine should be legal.
  • Williams, Jack. "Creatine supplement from beef is worth geting pumped about." The San Diego Union-Tribune. October 20, 1996, pg. D12.
    Not a completely objective article about the use of Creatine. Williams examines one recreational body-builder's experience with Creatine and provides some good background information on creatine. Williams, however, fails to provide any information from the skeptics that other articles provided. A good source for general information but be sure to read more objective articles before making a decision.
  • Strayton, Daniel Charles. "Creatine supplementation and it's [sic] effects on anerobic capacity, muscular strength and body composition." Physical Education Thesis, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill:1996.
    The best source that I found for examining the effects of creatine from a truly academic standpoint. Provides objective data and examination of people using the product and does not contain a bias for or against the use of cretine. The study simply examines how people's bodies reacted to implementation of creatine supplements into their exercise routines.

    • The IRTS Case Study

      What four strategies for utilizing the Internet would you recommend to the company in the IRTS Case Study?

    1. Strategy One: Olympia Media needs to get on the internet as soon as possible. Although utilizing the WWW to reach your customers is not necessary yet, within the next twenty years companies will be left behind that do not integrate the web into their business. Additionally, they need to ensure that all of their media divisions develop web pages.

    2. Strategy Two: Use the web to enhance and unify the various media sources that Olympia Controls. The web has the unique advantage of being able to link several media together at the same time. Customers will be able to customize how they utilize Olympia Media's publications.

    3. Strategy Three: Be sure to make your web pages as interactive and asthetically pleasing as possible. As the web grows in popularity, people will become more and more critical of web pages. Consumers will begin to choose their media sources based on the quality of their web pages

    4. Strategy Four: Identify ways to capitalize on the Internet. Create an advertising group that completly devotes themselves to examining effective ways to advertise on the web. Currently, the web is not extremly profitable. As the web becomes more popular, revenue from radio, television may decrease. To compensate for thes possible losses, Olympia Media needs to find alternate sources of revenue via the Internet.

    General Comments

  • Information on the web is more interactive, entertaining and efficient than print information. Utilizing links on the web enables you to quickly and efficiently jump to related information that you may not have found with a print source. Web information is often presented with complex graphical images that make the web more "user friendly." Most importantly, web information travels to you rapidly and is often presented hours or days in advance of the print copy of the same information.


  • I would prefer to use the World Wide Web to find more information on my topic. The web enables me to rapidly find out an enormous amount of information on my topic and related topics. Print sources are much more limited, bulky and difficult to find than information on the Web.
    • April 18, 1997
    All Rights Reserved
    Daniel Johnson, UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication, class of 1998

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    Mail your comments to: djohn@email.unc.edu