Creatine Monohydrate

Creatine is a natural nutrient found in our bodies. Most of the needs of creatine of the human body can be fulfilled through a balanced diet. However, bodybuilders, athletes and a vast majority of individuals following a fitness regime, resort to creatine supplements because it has proven to increase body mass and lean muscle formation, in a very short span of time.

Though creatine supplements allegedly do not have side effects, users have reported that they suffer from mental mood swings, anger, and increased aggressive behavior among other short term side effects. There have been reports from users of upset stomach, diarrhea, cramps, and bloating of the body when starting off on creatine monohydrate, but these side effects become fewer as the body gets used to the supplement. Due to the property of creatine by which lean muscle mass is increased by water retention, some users have experienced obesity and reports of dehydration are also there.

Anger and aggressive behavior seems to be one of the most reported side effect among users, both male and female. Independent users have claimed that they suffered from bouts of depression, and increased aggressiveness when they took creatine. When they stopped taking it, or when they took a break from creatine, they felt “happy” and “light”. The bouts of depression returned when creatine intake was resumed. A reason for this could be the increase of testosterone levels in the users. Testosterone – a male hormone, besides being responsible for growth of muscle mass, increased bone density and development of sex organs, is also said to increase aggressiveness in behavior.

To alleviate such mood swings, users are advised to take lots of water. This also prevents from dehydration which the body suffers due to creatine intake. Creatine should be used responsibly and physicians suggest that the ideal way to do this would be to limit dosages during the cycling of creatine. Users should limit intake to 3 to 5 grams almost every day for three weeks followed by 3 grams two to four times a week. It is also recommended that users take a break from creatine for at least a week, in a month.

Most physicians are of the opinion that not enough studies have been completed on the long and short term effects creatine may have on teenagers. Even when such studies are conducted, the period of study remains, on an average, around two weeks, which physicians claim is a very short span of time to actually adjudge whether creatine is harmful or beneficial.

Not all creatine supplements have obtained the FDA approval. FDA approval to creatine is termed as “loose” by many industry experts, since though creatine is approved, a lot of marketers add more chemicals to pure creatine to lessen side effects and increase effectiveness. For example, one seller alleges that its product does not get converted to creatinine in the human stomach, a compound which is nullify all expected benefits from ingesting creatine. The company claims that it does this by addition of chemicals to prevent conversion of creatine into creatinine. The effects of such additives on the human body haven’t been studied.

Over the years, numerous nutritional supplements have been purported to affect physiological responses to exercise, enhance training adaptations, and/or improve exercise performance. Although research has generally indicated that many of these nutrients do not affect performance, creatine has consistently proven to be one of the most effective nutritional supplements available to athletes. To date, over 200 research studies have evaluated the safety and effectiveness of short- and/or long-term creatine supplementation in various untrained, trained, and diseased populations. The majority of these studies indicate that short-term creatine supplementation (0.3 g/kg/day for 5 to 7 days) increases muscle creatine and phosphocreatine content by 10-30%, has the ability to improve the ability to maintain high-intensity single effort and/or repetitive sprint performance, and may improve work output during repeated sets of muscle contractions. There is also evidence that creatine supplementation may affect exercise bouts involving anaerobic glycolysis (30 to 150 sec) and high-intensity endurance exercise (150 to 600 see). The improved exercise capacity has been attributed to a creatine­stimulated enhancement of the phosphagen energy system, the buffering of acidity, and the shuttling of mitochondrial ATP by phosphocreatine into the cytoplasm. Additionally, long­term creatine supplementation during training (e.g., 0.3 g/kg/ day for 5-7 days followed by 0.03 to 0.3 g/kg/day) has been reported to increase strength, sprint performance, and training volume, and promote greater gains in fat-free mass and muscle fiber diameter. These findings suggest that creatine supplementation may improve the quality of training, leading to greater training adaptations. Although not all studies report ergogenic benefit, it is my view that, with the exception of carbohydrate, creatine is the most effective nutritional supplement for athletes involved in high-intensity exercise bouts that rely on anaerobic energy systems.

Although creatine has been reported to be an effective ergogenic aid, there have been some concerns regarding the medical safety of creatine supplementation. Some reports, primarily in the popular media, suggest that creatine supplementation may adversely affect renal and liver function, cause long-term suppression of creatine synthesis, alter fluid and electrolyte status-promoting dehydration and muscle cramping, and/or increase the incidence of musculoskeletal injury in athletes. Additionally, some have expressed concern regarding possible side effects of long-term creatine use. Note that there is no evidence from well-controlled short­and/or long-term clinical studies (up to 5 yrs) to support any of these concerns. Furthermore, a number of recent studies that have attempted to evaluate the validity of these concerns have found no adverse effects of short- or long-term creatine supplementation on markers of clinical status.

This said, the question still remains as to whether athletes should take creatine to enhance performance. Adolescent athletes involved in serious training should consider creatine supplementation only with the approval and supervision of parents, trainers, coaches, and qualified health professionals. If the athlete plans to take creatine, quality supplements should be purchased from reputable vendors. Athletic administrators in organized sports who want to establish policies on creatine supplementation for teams should base such policies on the scientific literature. Any formal administration policy should be supervised by a qualified health professional. Although more research is needed, available studies indicate that creatine supplementation does not appear to pose a health risk when taken at recommended doses and may provide therapeutic benefits for various medical populations.

Creatine or methyl guanidine – acetic acid is a natural energy providing protein which is found in the bodies of vertebrates. Methionine, Arginine and Glycine combine in the liver to form the metabolite we know as creatine.  Ones diet also acts as a source of creatine. Health freaks, body builders and athletes take creatine as a dietary supplement to gain energy for workouts. Skeletal muscles store around 95% of the body’s creatine while the rest is stored in various other parts.

Though creatine is allegedly free of side effects, users have reported several counter effects of creatine. Though most of the side effects reported are not serious and not for a long term, it is advised that users carefully evaluate the use of creatine for their work out regime. Also, physicians and trainers should be contacted to ascertain the dosage and the time of taking creatine.

There have been reports from users of upset stomach, diarrhea, cramps, and bloating of the body when starting off on creatine monohydrate, but these side effects become fewer as the body gets used to the supplement. Due to the property of creatine by which lean muscle mass is increased by water retention, some users have experienced obesity and reports of dehydration are also there.

Anger and aggressive behavior seems to be one of the most reported side effect among users, both male and female. A reason for this could be the increase of testosterone levels in the users. Testosterone – a male hormone, besides being responsible for growth of muscle mass, increased bone density and development of sex organs, is also said to increase aggressiveness in behavior. Independent users have claimed that they suffered from bouts of depression, and increased aggressiveness when they took creatine. When they stopped taking creatine, or when they took a break from creatine, they felt “happy” and “light”. The bouts of depression returned when creatine intake was resumed.

An independent study proclaimed that increased mood swings, depression and anger in creatine users is found because creatine users fail to drink enough water while taking creatine. The study stated that dehydration was the main reason behind such mood swings and, though creatine users are usually advised to drink lots of water, few comply with the advise. It has been recommended that to mitigate side effects, creatine should be taken in a cycle. In the 1st phase or the loading creatine should be taken in large quantities to ‘shock’ the body into accepting it. In the 2nd phase or maintenance phase intake should be lower. After this, creatine intake should be stopped for a period, and then the cycle should be renewed.

To alleviate such mood swings, creatine should be used responsibly and and physicians suggest that the ideal way to do this would be to limit dosages during the cycling of creatine. Users should limit intake to 3 to 5 grams almost every day for three weeks followed by 3 grams two to four times a week. It is also recommended that users take a break from creatine for at least a week, in a month.