Currently, one of the most popular sports supplements is creatine. Side effects of it do not give rest to everyone who is in one way or another connected with sports. So is creatine harmful, or is such information inaccurate? What is the real effect of creatine on the human body and who can take it without fear? This is what will be discussed below.
To begin with, in the course of research, creatine, whose side effects are negligible, was found to be practically harmless. Some of the identified disadvantages were associated with the substances taken in combination with it, and not with the drug itself. Part of the experiments even proved that creatine is not only able to improve the quality of human life, but also increase its duration. Many subjects took large doses of this dietary supplement, but side effects in these cases were very rare. Therefore, to prevent even this minuscule percentage of negativity, we will examine in more detail.
Creatine Side Effects
1. Creatine is able to retain fluid in the body.
This is perhaps the most common side effect associated with the use of this food supplement. Moreover, a delay in the body from half to two liters of fluid in the body does not affect the person’s well-being and is not noticeable externally, so a decrease in the amount of water consumed or the use of diuretics is completely unreasonable. As soon as the course of application of creatine is completed, the body will begin to remove all excess fluid in the previous mode and the weight will naturally recover.
2. The relationship of creatine and dehydration.
This side effect is directly related to the previous one. Strong osmotic activity of creatine provokes the fact that the liquid part of the blood passes into the muscles, and contributes to slight dehydration of the body. As a result, metabolism, body heat regulation and acid-base balance are disturbed. To eliminate this side effect, it is enough to increase the amount of water consumed per day to 3-4 liters.
3. Digestion and creatine.
Side effects associated with the gastrointestinal tract are called gastrointestinal distress. It manifests itself in abdominal pain, nausea, flatulence and diarrhea (only one symptom is possible). However, most often this side effect of creatine occurs with too high doses of the drug taken or with its low quality.
4. Cramps and cramping.
Such body reactions can be completely natural and completely unrelated to creatine intake. If nevertheless it was this drug that provoked them, then it is quite simple to use a slightly larger amount of water.
5. Acne, or acne and creatine intake.
This is a very rare side effect, but sometimes it does. The appearance of acne suggests that the production of testosterone hormone has increased dramatically, and an active set of muscle mass of the athlete has begun.
6. The effects of creatine on the liver and kidneys.
Numerous studies have clearly established that even large doses of creatine in healthy people do not adversely affect the functioning and condition of these organs.
In addition, I would like to note a few more established facts in order to dispel at least most of the myths about this food supplement.
So creatine:
- not able to lead to infertility and reduce potency;
- not able to increase blood pressure;
- does not have a carcinogenic effect;
- not addictive;
- Does not overexert the heart muscle.
Of course, whether or not to use creatine is a personal matter for every athlete who sensibly weighs all the pros and cons of the drug. And the manifestation of side effects is possible in those cases if there are already any health problems.