Harmful Side Effects Of Creatine

What Is Creatine And What Does It Do?

For those of you who are new to muscle building, there is a supplement that is extremely popular with many athletes and bodybuilders called creatine.  This supplement, also called creatine monohydrate, creatine phosphate and creatine citrate, is actually a naturally occurring compound that is created in the liver and about 95% of this is stored in the skeletal muscles with the rest of the creating stored in other parts of the body.  Although creatine is created naturally, you can also find it in small amounts in meat, particularly in fish and red meat, which is lost mostly in the process of cooking.  So the main way to increase creatine is to take supplements you can purchase from a nutrition or bodybuilding supplement store.  With the intake of creatine, insulin is needed as well for creatine to be readily absorbed into the body.  This can be achieved by balancing good carbohydrates with the intake of creatine to maximize your absorption of creatine.

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So now that we know what creatine is, what does it do?  Creatine use has been observed in athletes and bodybuilders and has been known to increase performance as it increases the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP).   ATP is an energy source that helps performance in short duration and highly intense workouts such as short distance running and muscle building exercises, but it does not help in long duration workouts such as aerobics or long distance running.

Creatine is also beneficial in reducing tiredness in muscles as it helps reduce the lactic acid amounts in the body.  For muscle building, the main benefits observed in creatine usage are increased strength, stronger & fuller looking muscles and quicker recovery times after workout.

So now that we know what creatine is and the benefits associated with creatine, most people wonder if there are any side effects as with any supplements used in muscle building, there are large debates to the usage of supplements and the side effects many cause.

Harmful Effects Of Creatine

As far as research goes, there is a non-profit independent organization called the Cochrane Collaboration.  This organization includes over 10,000 people in over 90 countries who participate in reviews of high quality clinical trials on various treatments for diseases.  Anyways, this study was conducted on the usage of creatine in treating people with muscle disorders & diseases, such as muscular dystrophy.  This study was conducted on 12 trials with 266 patients.

Based on the results of this study, there was a noticeable improvement in muscle strength on people with muscular dystrophies, but severe long-term side effects were not observed.  The only somewhat bad side effect of creatine usage in high doses is increased muscle pain as observed in the Cochrane Collaboration study.  Other unconfirmed cases have linked creatine to kidney damage.  The results of these tests were inconclusive, but as a caution, people who do have kidney or liver diseases might want to avoid it.

Other observed minimal side effects of creatine usage are that it causes dehydration as it draws water away from other parts of the body and into the muscles.  Because your muscles are now retaining more water, this can also add to your body weight and make you look bloated as well.  Below is a list of other possible creatine side effects:

1.    Diarrhea

2.    Nausea

3.    Muscle cramps

4.    Stomach cramps

5.    Loss of appetite

As a final note, using creatine supplements are safe for the most part.  Although the above minimal side effects have been observed, these are most likely in the beginning usages of creatine as you are taking too much of it.  There are no recommended proper doses of creatine as stated in my previous guide Muscle Building Supplements, but as you begin your usage of creatine, make sure that you start off with a small amount and increase or decrease usage based on your results.  This should minimize the side effects you experience and always remember to drink lots of water to decrease dehydration.  If you want to know what the best supplements are and the best absorption rates of these supplements, check out Vince DelMonte’s No-Nonsense Muscle Building Program.