Safety of using Creatine as a dietary supplement?

[Bibliovore]

What’s the straight dope on Creatine?

A few years ago, I started using this supplement as part of my weight-training programme because I had heard that would help me bulk up without shooting me full of hormones. I used to buy it from the supplement section of health-food shops, and would stir this powdery, flavourless white subtance into drinks before and after a workout. I had heard that it somehow helped you to retain water in your muscles, and that it was this that lead you to look bigger, rather than adding actual muscle mass.

Whatever the explaination, it certainly worked. I got so big so fast that I ended up with stretch marks on my biceps which I still have to this day. Now don’t get me wrong, I am not and never have been a vain “muscle freak”, I was just young guy who wanted to bulk up a bit, but do so safely. In any case, I later heard that Creatine might damage my liver, so i stopped immediately.

So what’s the straight dope? How does Creatine work, and is it safe? If it is safe, then how can I use it most effectively? Should I even bother?

[Ice_Wolf]

According to this site:

Creatine is found in amino acids (glycine, arginine, and methionine). It is synthesized from these amino acids in the liver, pancreas and kidneys. Muscles take up the majority of the creatine found in the body. It is in the muscle that creatine is converted to phospocreatine, which is necessary for ATP production. Research shows that taking creatine supplements can increase muscle creatine by 20 to 30%. Increasing the amount of creatine found in the muscle also increases the amount of phosphocreatine, which aids in producing greater amounts of energy. This is because phosphocreatine is the limiting factor in energy production in high intensity anaerobic exercise. Thus, it is believed that supplementing the body with creatine enhances athletic performance.

It is advised, though, that creatine has an effect on the renal system in some cases.

Some anti-Creatine info here.

[Bibliovore]

Hmmm…sounds like it might not really be worth it unless I want to seriously pack on the muscle. Has anyone else out there tried it and gotten results? Anyone suffered any side effects?

[pravnik]

I use it regularly and the effects are noticable, and no side effects I can detect. I think I gain around a pound or two of lean muscle from it, maybe more. Just to be safe I cycle off of it every once and a while. I’ve been off of it for a week or two now, plan to get back on today.

[UnwrittenNocturne]

I use it in six week on and two week off cycles. Load-On-Break-Load-On-Break etc. No side effects I noticed (after several years), but the gain in lean muscle tissue seems good (although it is now hard to judge as I am not sure what I would be like without it). I do know that it was effective early on - the same routine worked better with the Creatine. One thing I am fairly sure of with it, it helps with recovery times in a big way, at least in my case

[ultrafilter]

SupplementWatch on creatine. Bottom line: it seems to be very effective and very safe, as long as you take care to drink a lot of water while you’re using it.

Rather than loading or cycling, I just take a spoonful in a glass of water about 30 minutes before I work out. This seems to be as effective as any other method of taking it.

Note that creatine will have no effect on its own. It just allows you to work harder, to maybe squeeze that one last rep off. If your training and diet suck, creatine isn’t going to be much help.