Creatine: Good or bad?

My family is concerned about me taking it. (I already do, and have read up on it plenty) They are basically citing a response to a question by a user named "tickle" who is clearly misinformed IMO. Can I get some serious responses to show my family?


[url]http://www.askmehelpdesk.com/nutrition/creatine-bad-you-93060.html[/url]

Quote of post:
[quote]When creatine supplements were tested after activation with fluid, a disturbing discovery was made. It was found that almost immediately after adding water to creatine monohydrate that the majority of it rapidly converted to the toxic by-product creatinine. This held true no matter how "unique" the formulation was claimed to be, or the purity of the assayed dry creatine content.

In the past, some companies pointed to the virtual lack of creatinine in their powders, calling them "creatinine free". What was not considered is that the tests were conducted with dry creatine monohydrate. Once fluid is introduced, creatinine conversion occurs.

A number of negative side-effects can arise from increased creatinine levels, among them; stomach cramps and bloating, diarrhea, indemia, water retention, dehydration, headaches, liver and kidney problems and creatinine poisoning. These side-effects are caused by the body's internal self-defense mechanism reacting to save itself from the ingested toxins by diluting it with water.[/quote]

If your over 18 and feel you need it then go ahead

I was hoping for some unbiased opinions on it, maybe comparing pros vs cons?

[QUOTE=madman340;575048191]I was hoping for some unbiased opinions on it, maybe comparing pros vs cons?[/QUOTE]

How about I've taken it for almost 30 years, and all of my sons have taken it as well. All are Division 1 athletes. I can't believe we still have creatine good or bad threads. It's the most studied and vindicated supplement in existence.

Take it. Two 5 gram doses a day is plenty.

I do take it, it's just my family is trying to convince me not to; which I'm not having. I just want them to shut up about it and protein is all really. Don't worry, if they ever bring it up again I'll just tell them to pls go.

Can cause male pattern baldness.....I took it and started to thin.

That was the deal breaker for me. Sucks because it DID work beatifully. I'm actually amazed at how well such a dirt cheap supp can work. Stength, endurance and recovery were amazing on it (I think i just talked myself back into taking it).

5 grams a day. Feels good man.

[QUOTE=Yamar1;575060191]Can cause male pattern baldness.....I took it and started to thin.
[/QUOTE]



That's because of DHT, right? I also heard that, but only when people take more then 5-10g's a day. From what i've heard/read.

[QUOTE=madman340;575048191]I was hoping for some unbiased opinions on it, maybe comparing pros vs cons?[/QUOTE]

There's really no downside. It's good for your body, your brain, strength, endurance, recovery. Even 2-3gr a day are plenty good.

Creatine monohydrate is plenty stable in liquid, even up to a day, IIRC. Creatinine is not the devil, in and of itself; it's simply a marker doctors use as a signal of potential kidney issues. Elevated creatinine from kidney disease = bad. Elevated creatinine from creatine supplementation = just fine, in healthy individuals.

Ask some of the men who have taken it for 30+ years and are still absolutely fine.



Just drink about a gallon of water a day and boom liver/kidney problems solved.(Depending on how hard you are on your liver)




Pros= increased strength, my cardio went way up as well, overall you'll get better gains.
Cons= Nothing for me because I like the water weight.


Take 5gs a day, loading saturates you quicker but is BS in my opinion.

If you are over 18 and healthy and taking creatine in recommended dosages there is nothing unhealthy about it! In fact, creatine has been shown to have several health benefits!

I don't even use it everyday to be honest. I've read around a lot that taking it everyday isn't even necessary to maintain saturation levels.
5 grams per day for 5 days of week should be plenty. Anymore than that and it's probably money down the drown.

So want to know something?
A good creatine (that is, not stuff like CEE or kre alkalyn, the latter which is just damn expensive for what you get) will be fine. That's right, FINE. It will not cause instant death, will not cause you to go into a coma and wont make you throw up your lunch everywhere.
Your family just has an irrational fear about it.
Personally, I use Green Magnitude. Headaches, bloat, cramps and diarrhea, none have happened to me ever. Funnily enough, I tend to actually find if I take it when my head is a bit stuffy and I don't feel the best, I actually feel BETTER after about half an hour.
I don't take many supplements because I'm a very questioning and skeptical person who wants to be sure I'm getting what I paid for, but creatine is one of those that has worked for me.

[QUOTE=madman340;575041131]My family is concerned about me taking it. (I already do, and have read up on it plenty) They are basically citing a response to a question by a user named "tickle" who is clearly misinformed IMO. Can I get some serious responses to show my family?


[url]http://www.askmehelpdesk.com/nutrition/creatine-bad-you-93060.html[/url]

Quote of post:[/QUOTE]

Pop some popcorn. Show this to your peeps. Enjoy.

[url]http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=127703873&highlight=creatine[/url]

[QUOTE=sixthsense;575086041]If you are over 18 and healthy and taking creatine in recommended dosages there is nothing unhealthy about it! In fact, creatine has been shown to have several health benefits![/QUOTE]Agreed....

[QUOTE=EDcellent;575076681]That's because of DHT, right? I also heard that, but only when people take more then 5-10g's a day. From what i've heard/read.[/QUOTE]

Yeah. There is only that one study, and they did use a loading protocol. Not sure what would happen on 5 grams per day but I'm guessing the same because 5 gr per day saturates your muscles the same way loading does it just takes 4 weeks as opposed to 5 days.

The true details on creatine are a bit sketchy. Not "enough" studies done on it to prove or disprove all the theories out there. Search around you'll find rare cases of werid side-effects like acne, hair loss, insomnia and I even seen one guy proclaim creatine gave him prostate cancer. Some people will simply dismiss these side-effects as there doesn't seem to be "enough" proof, but I have seen too many consistencies among these subjective findings to write them off completely- personally. Acne and hairloss seem to be heavy hitters even though it doesn't completely make sense just yet from a scientific stand point.

I think what we do know from objective findings that creatine causes water rententiion (though it's not a true 'fat' bloat as some people 'women' beleive, because the body draws water from organs and stores it within the muscle cells themselves, not outside the skin), it can cause muscle cramping, dehydration and possibly kidney problems if not consumed with enough water daily.

The thinning hair is the only negative I have identified with personally which can be a complete coinicidence....and maybe it's just the cheap shampoo I have switched to...I dunno. Otherwise it's an amazing supplement from my limited experience with it.