Your body produces a small amount of creatine; meat and fish contain creatine as well. Some athletes take creatine supplements in hopes of improving their athletic performance, and people with certain medical conditions take creatine to try to minimize symptoms of their condition. Although creatine's side effects are usually mild, there may be a risk for more serious side effects.
Function
Your body converts the creatine you consume into phosphocreatine, which your muscles use for energy. Taking supplemental creatine may increase the stores of phosphocreatine in your muscles. However, there is a limit to the amount that can be stored, and consuming more creatine after this point doesn't have any additional benefits, says Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center or BIDMC.
Benefits
Taking creatine may improve your performance in short activities that are of high intensity, slow Parkinson's disease symptoms, increase your muscle strength if you have a muscle disease and increase your endurance if you have heart failure, according to Medline Plus. Supplemental creatine may also reduce the amount of triglycerides in your blood, although it doesn't appear to lower overall levels of cholesterol, according to BIDMC.
Possible Side Effects
The more common side effects of creatine include diarrhea, muscle cramps, nausea and stomach pain. If you split up your dose during the day rather than taking it all at once, you're less likely to experience these side effects. Because creatine brings water into your muscles, you may become dehydrated if you don't drink enough liquids while taking this supplement. More serious possible side effects include kidney, liver or heart problems when you take creatine in high doses. However, there have been very few documented cases of serious side effects, according to BIDMC and MedlinePlus.
Warning
Because the kidneys process creatine, if you have kidney disease or diabetes you should avoid taking creatine due to the possible added stress it could cause to your kidneys. Pregnant and nursing women should avoid creatine as well. The safety of using creatine during these times hasn't been sufficiently studied, say MedlinePlus and BIDMC.
Expert Insight
Buy creatine from a well-known and reliable manufacturer, recommends Drugs.com. The Food and Drug Administration doesn't monitor the purity of supplements. If you take creatine for a long time or in high doses, any amount of contaminant will quickly add up in your system, so you want the purest possible formulation.
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