creatine is perfectly safe to use. it is probably the single most studied sports supplement to date. first identified in the early 1800's and I believe first used specifcally as a nutritional supplement for athletes by the Soviets in the '70's.
for the "healthy" individual there are no dangers associated with proper creatine supplementation.
in the first post these side effects were listed: "de effects most commonly reported for short-term creatine use include nausea, stomach upset, dizziness or weakness, loose stools, diarrhea, muscle cramping, weight gain and dehydration." I will explain:
#1 nausea, upset stomach, loose stools and diarrhea: creatine monohdrate does not remain stable in solution. it will break down into creatinine which in large amounts causes GI upset. this causes the bowels to purge.
* you have to put your creatine in a liquid and drink it immediately. do not put it in your protein shakes. I typically wait 10-15 minutes after taking creatine before I drink my post workout shake.
creatine ethyl ester does remain stable in solution.
#2 - dizziness/weakness: most people train harder when taking supplements, etc. they want to get the most out of there money. but you have no know your limits.
#3 - muscle cramping - if you work out harder you have to increase your potassium intake.
#4 - weight gain/dehydration - creatine increases cellular hydration, it draws water into skeletal muscle. you have to increase water intake above normal if you are supplementing with creatine and increasing training intensity.
increased cellular hydration is not a side effect but a benefit. increased cellular hydration creates a better anabolic environment in the muscle cell structure.
when you first start taking creatine the "water weight" that is typically seen gained is in the first 7-14 days. when you come off creatine supplementation the reverse will happen.
Creatine action: ok, in layman's terms creatine helps to increase ATP stores. ATP is the cellular energy source used to perform musclular contractions and for all anabolic and catabolic processes.
when performing "all out" exercises like lifting heavy loads, sprinting, etc. ATP is the primary energy source. when ATP stores are depleted muscular contraction can slow or come to complete failure. when you are performing a set of exercises and you just can't squeeze out anymore reps, your muscles are failing because ATP stores have been temporarily depleted. you take a rest inbetween sets, ATP stores are replenished and you can do another set, sprint, etc.
How does creatine make be bigger?: it doesn't. creatine is only part of the puzzle. creatine allows your muscles to perform more "work". if you can pump out more reps and are following a properly designed strength program your working loads will increase. by being able to put a greater load on the muscles you can induce more micro-trauma to skeletal muscle. when there are sufficient nutrients and the body has a caloric excess those muscle fibers will adapt by increasing in size (hypertrophy).
* there are a LOT of bs supplements sold today. creatine is one of the good ones when used properly. many people do not take the time to learn how to properly use and utilize many nutritional supplements. to get the most bang for you buck tack the time to learn about the science behind the supplements that you use to optimize their effectiveness.
* I've been using it off and on since the mid 80's. it's one of the few supplements that I swear by when used properly.
2007-01-19 21:53:46
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answer #1
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answered by lv_consultant 7
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creatine, here's the basics about it. It increases ATP, which is basically the energy of your muscle cells. It is supposed to make you stronger and add muscle mass. Does it actually do that? From people I talk to and stuff I have read about it, yes and no. Lots of people swear by the stuff calling it great and saying it really does work. They say they get stronger and gain a few pounds of muscle. Actually, some people claim to gain something like 5-10 pounds in just a couple of weeks, although most, if not all of it is just water retention. However, other people say creatine had absolutely no effect on them at all. They took it, and nothing happened. Why? Honestly I have no idea why. So what do you believe? Believe that it may work for some people, and it may not work for other people.
Next is the ever so popular question about side effects. Is creatine completely safe? Does it have any side effects? Again, since I cannot speak from personal experience with it, I can only tell you things I have heard from people who have taken creatine, and things I have read about it. So first off, yes, people have claimed that it DOES have side effects. Some people experience these side effects and again, some people don't. I do not know what all of the side effects are. I have heard of people getting stomach and muscle cramps, and I have read something about it having some sort of effect on blood pressure, but I don't really know about that one. The best thing you can do is ask people who have used it, or read a trusted source of info. I say a trusted source because most of the crap you will read online and in magazines is written by some supplement company who probably won't mind leaving the bad stuff out so that you will still buy creatine from them.
One thing that I can tell you about the safety of creatine is it's long term side effects. What exactly are the long term side effects of creatine use? I don't know, and the real funny thing is, no one else knows either. Creatine has not been around very long, so there is no way to tell if it will cause any type of problems or side effects years and years from now.
Another VERY interesting thing you may want to know about creatine, and again, this is from things I have heard and read about it, once you stop taking creatine, you lose the results you got. After you stop using it, it will take about 1 month for the natural creatine levels in your body to return to normal. So if you use this supplement, gain some muscle and strength from it, and stop taking it, you will lose at least some of the muscle and strength you gained while using it. I honestly don't know if you will lose ALL of these gains, but from what I've heard and read, you will lose at least some.
And now the last question, do you need creatine? NO! I don't care if you choose take it or not, that is your choice, not mine. But I'm just letting you know that it is not needed. I get so many emails like this, "I just started working out 3 months ago and was thinking of taking creatine, what do you think?" At 3 months into working out, the word creatine shouldn't even be in your vocabulary! In about 4 years of consistent weightlifting, you can start to think about creatine if you want. But by then, you will probably realize what I have realized, you don't need it! Do you want to get stronger? Do you want to increase muscle mass? Do you want results? If you answered yes, then all you need is hard work, not creatine. To get these results, you need 4 things, the correct information, constant dedication to make progress, consistency, and hard work. And guess what, none of these 4 things have any known short term or long term side effects except RESULTS!
2007-01-19 20:30:38
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answer #2
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answered by Rmprrmbouncer 5
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I have been using Creatine for about 8 months, i did lots of net research first and have found nothing anywhere about any detrimental side effects. I have experienced strength gains and my muscles are fuller. The only odd thing i found was increased thirst, but creatine does increases water retention. Creatine has been used for decades all over the world, if it was bad for you it would be banned. Its not a miracle drug, you still have to work to get the benefits.
2007-01-19 20:40:48
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answer #3
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answered by Anonymous
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Side effects most commonly reported for short-term creatine use include nausea, stomach upset, dizziness or weakness, loose stools, diarrhea, muscle cramping, weight gain and dehydration. These generally occur with dosages greater than 5 grams a day. So try to keep yourself from blasting mega doses of this stuff or you’ll be sitting on the pot for a long while.
Negative creatine side effects in the form of strains and sprains can occur or perhaps even muscle tears when over enthusiastically individuals rapidly increase their workout regimen before their tendons and ligaments have adapted to the increase in muscle size and power. I can relate to that situation from the tendon torn in my bicep a few years ago. Every so often, the pain returns from that injury and still bothers me to this very day
2007-01-19 20:22:44
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answer #4
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answered by ( Kelly ) 7
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wikipedia is always a good place to start
creatine is fairly inoccuous but you should maintain proper diet while on it and focus on staying hydrated.
it's cheap and it's supposed to help. you probably should quit all caffeine first. that may be why i don't like creatine; i never stop caffeine.
there are some harmful effects (especially for some) so only use it when you are investing a lot of energy in your workouts, and if you are using poor form any good effect will just be that much worse for you.
supplements - i say buy things in this order, until you run out of cash:
twinlabs multivitamin (or better if you're rich)
flax oil
calcium-magnesium
fish oil (if you're rich, get mercury-free)
protein supplement (if you need to patch holes in steady intake)
try creatine
amino acid support (my big favorite is A-AKG, but only had luck with MRI brand "NO2" - others who have tried it had mixed results and it's expensive)
2007-01-19 20:28:35
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answer #5
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answered by Anonymous
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I do not know a whole lot. I did look into it while I was in high school because I was an athletic trainer. You do have creatine in your body already. I know that creatine supplements ask you to drink alot of water and that is because it fills your muscle with water. That is why I do not like it. I think that it is kind of like falso advertising. Your muscle is enlarged with H2O. I may not be totally correct I only looked into it breifly and that was a couple years ago. I did have a science teacher who said he used it when he was surfing ( had to have that nice surfer bod) and he said that he didn't have a lot of postives from it. He got alot of body cramps. I would look up GNC the supplement store they could halp you find something to achieve what you are looking for. Good luck
2007-01-19 20:25:08
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answer #6
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answered by Megan 2
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uknowme states that creatine can cause congestive heart failure yet her link from the Mayo clinic states that it can help patients with congestive heart failure.
All kelly did in his answer was copy what was printed in his link. I guess that is an ok way to answer, who am I to judge. From everything I have read it seems this is pretty safe as long as you keep yourself hydrated and do not overuse it.
2007-01-20 05:38:52
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answer #7
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answered by tomofosh 1
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2015-01-24 09:48:46
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answer #8
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answered by Anonymous
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Dehyrdration
2016-10-11 13:17:07
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answer #9
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answered by abramir134 1
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2016-05-17 12:19:37
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answer #10
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answered by william 2
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