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.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 20th, 2008 at 5:37 am and is filed under Creatine. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.