Creatine – Is It Safe?
When training for explosive, energetic sports such as rugby or weight lifting, many players take creatine to enhance their performance. Creatine is an amino acid that is most often sold in today’s market as a flavoured powder. Athletes will mix this into drinks or shakes, giving it more flavour and making it easy to drink. Creatine has the ability to help with weight gain and gain in muscle mass, though it is not illegal and is very much different from steroids or the other performance-enhancing drugs that are being abused today in some sports. Creatine does not build one’s muscles up by itself, but gives more energy, especially in sports like rugby where bursts of speed are required to play at the top level. With this energy, one can lift more weight and train harder. Taking creatine alone will not help, but taking it along with training can have huge results. There are some concerns, however, as creatine is a substance that one puts into one’s body. One complaint that people have had is that they get cramps from taking creatine. This can be very hindering in any sport, and shows an adverse effect on the human body. Others have complained of diarrhoea — though researchers are quick to point out that this could also be caused by taking too much of other vitamins, such as Vitamin C. Still others have complained of dehydration and muscle pulls, two things that are very closely linked. Again, however, these could be caused by other things, such as the training itself and inadequate water intake. These problems may not be serious, but could hamper one’s athletic career considerably, especially if they occur in the middle of the season.
There have been incidents of other complaints as well, sometimes more serious problems. One of these is kidney damage, something that should not be taken lightly. This can lead to other ailments if left unchecked, and should be treated immediately should it occur. Other creatine users have complained of heart problems. Many sports are very hard on the heart already, with an increased heart rate happening so frequently during both training and participation in the sport itself, and so having a weakened or damaged heart could be disastrous. Many large-bodied athletes are already prone to over-worked or over-sized hearts, just from having their big frames, and so further complications can be even worse.
The biggest thing to note about all of these complaints is that they are not consistent from one test to the next, or from one athlete to the next. Also, as was the case with too much Vitamin C, which can lead to diarrhoea, or taking too much iron, which can lead to stomach problems, there is often not conclusive proof that creatine itself is responsible for the complaints. It is a good way to get more energy and thus more muscles mass, but if one does not want to take the risks, however small they might be, creatine should be avoided. These things should all be considered and taken into account, as many people can get bigger with training alone and do not need creatine. Without supplementing with Creatine, there are many meats which are high in creatine and protein and can provide all of the nutrition that one needs to perform in the gym. It is possible, though less convenient, to obtain an optimum intake of protein and creatine from food alone, without taking any additional supplements.
