Creatine is a popular supplement among athletes because it has purported performance-enhancing and muscle-building benefits. Supplementing with this amino acid may cause side effects such as nausea and cramps, however, and may be inadvisable if you have certain health conditions or use some medications. Check with a health care provider before trying creatine.
Significance
Creatine supplements are available over-the-counter and come in pill and powder form. While creatine is frequently taken by athletes, side effects such as nausea and stomach or muscle cramps can actually decrease your performance, according to MayoClinic.com. Diarrhea, dizziness, weight gain and gastrointestinal pain also are possible side effects.
Expert Insight
Creatine can cause side effects that are much more worrisome than nausea and cramps, according to “Physical Fitness and Wellness,” by Jerrold S. Greenberg, et al. These include kidney dysfunction, liver damage, dehydration and high blood pressure. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration also has received reports of irregular heartbeat, blood clots and muscle damage.
Interactions
Using creatine in conjunction with caffeine or diuretics raises your risk for dehydration, which in turn raises risk for muscle cramps. The most commonly affected areas are the back of your thigh, the front of your thigh and the back of your calf. Using creatine with such substances also raises risk for kidney damage. Creatine used with the gout drug probenecid and the gastroesophageal reflux disease drug cimetidine also raises risk for kidney damage. Creatine also interacts with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, raising risk for side effects.
Combinations
Whether creatine truly provides benefits is questionable – especially if your body already has adequate amounts of this amino acid, notes MayoClinic.com. Creatine is found in fish and meat. It’s also made by your kidneys, liver and pancreas. Your body converts this amino acid into creatine phosphate or phosphocreatine and stores it in your muscles. Your muscles use phosphocreatine, which is converted into ATP, for energy.
Taking supplements may decrease your body’s ability to create its own natural stores, notes University of Maryland Medical Center. Also, there are reports of contaminated creatine supplements. This may cause you to test positive for performance-enhancing drugs, notes MayoClinic.com. Supplements are not regulated by the U.S Food and Drug Administration because they are considered food and not drugs. Thus, supplement manufacturers do not have to conform to the same standards that drug manufacturers have.
References
- MayoClinic.com; Performance-Enhancing Drugs – Know the Risks – Creatine; December 2010
- “Physical Fitness and Wellness”; Jerrold S. Greenberg, et al.; 2004
- University of Maryland Medical Center; Creatine; June 2009
- American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons; Muscle Cramp; May 2010
- “Drugs Across the Spectrum”; Raymond Goldberg; 2009
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