“Creatine Side Effects”Alright, we now know how great creatine is but what is the downside to taking creatine. Is there actually a downside? Are there any negative side effects of taking creatine? Let's find out...
Creatine is non-toxic and studies have been unable to find any serious negative side effects to its use. None of the studies carried out have shown creatine to be toxic substance. There is a lot of speculation as the whether or not creatine has any known side effects, and to date, there has not been any known, serious side effects (medium and long term) associated with creatine use.
As for kidney disease and creatine use, there hasn’t been one documented study done that suggests there is a negative relationship between the two. A study done by Jaques R. Poortmans and Marc Francaux, entitled “Long-Term Oral Creatine Supplementation Does Not Impair Renal Function In Healthy Athletes” compared kidney health and creatine use in healthy athletes for a period of 10 months to 5 years. According to their conclusions, supplementing with creatine did not have any adverse side effects on the kidneys.
However, in terms of short term use, some individuals may experience slight water retention and a little nausea when taking creatine in doses of 10 grams or more in one sitting. From my own personal use, I usually experience slight nausea when I take more that 10 grams of creatine in one dose. For that reason, I will split up my intake of creatine into 5 grams servings spread throughout the day. Having said that, a few words of caution. Since there is no documented evidence on any serious long term side effects associated with creatine use, you should use good judgement regarding your creatine use. Too much of anything will be bad for you, so remember, keep your creatine dosage to an acceptable level. Suggested use: Loading phase: 1 teaspoon (5 grams) of creatine mixed with a simple carbohydrate taken 4 to 5 times daily for 5 days. Maintenance phase: 1 teaspoon (5 grams) of creatine mixed with a simple carbohydrate taken 1 to 2 times daily. There’s really no need to start taking 50 gram dosages on a daily basis with creatine. The body has a cap on how much creatine it can store in the muscle. So remember, keep your creatine dosages to an acceptable level and you’ll keep seeing those positive results.
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