I briefly cover “side effects” of creatine. If you want more depth and detail, see the various creatine articles here on the site, and or read the full report I wrote up.
Will Brink is the owner of the Brinkzone Blog. Will has over 30 years experience as a respected author, columnist and consultant, to the supplement, fitness, bodybuilding, and weight loss industry and has been extensively published. Will graduated from Harvard University with a concentration in the natural sciences, and is a consultant to major supplement, dairy, and pharmaceutical companies.
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Thanks Will for the reassurance on Creatine. I have a question related to athletic performance (specifically Triathlon). In your opinion, would Creatine supplementation assist in any way Triathlon training and/or racing ?
Swimming: potential strength gains ? elbow,arm pull through
Cycling: potential strength gains ? quad strength
Running: any issues with cramping ?
Thanks Will !
Best advice is to try it off season and see what you think it does for your performance. Creatine has minimal effects on endurance activities.
Last month I went on a physical and I got a blood test in which my BUN levels were high. The doctor send me to drink tons of water and to stop taking creatine. And in a week I took the blood test again and then my levels went back to normal. Plus once I stopped taking creatine my insomnia went away.
I'm not saying creatine is dangerous, it is just that each body might have different reactions,
I appreciate anyways all the info you give away in this blog. It is excellent. Keep it on
Hi will,
I hope you have come across the article showing creatine use and increase in DHT. Not nearly conclusive, but something to keep an eye out for.
http://www.exercisebiology.com/index.php/site/art…
Saw it when it came out. It needs to be reproduced for me to have any faith in that study. As dozens of studies failed to ever show such changes, I suspect the effects of this study were due to some flaw of the study, be it design, or some confounding variables they didn't account for, etc. The title of that write-up you have posted is not accurate. It should read "Study suggests creatine may increase DHT" The way the title is written now, suggests it's a known and well established effect, and that's FAR from true.
I think it needs to be reproduced and that too in along term study. I haven't come across any study which has studied creatine and DHT. Do you have any?
I think the study was well done. There was a critique of the creatine used being not tested and the author responded well with some solid evidence of testing the creatine before the study.
I personally don't think it needs to be "may" since it is not an observational study. It is an experimental study with a control group and hence not just an association. "may" is used by science journalists who report observational studies.I probably would have worded it differently it it was in a journal.
Thanks for the comment!
Great info about biking. Will surely revisit.
hey will thanks alot for helping understand creatine monohydrate i have a question though that i cant find a straight anwser to. here it is do u take creatine monohydrate on ur rest days? i dont know if its a good idea or if im just wasteing my creatine thanks alot sincerely robert
Hey Will, thanks for all the info on creatine. Quick question for you, do you know of any side effects of creatine? I have been wanting to take creatine as I have hit a plateau with my work out; however, many websites list harmfull side effects such as kidney damage, liver damage, hair loss and your body will quit making creatine if creatine consumption continues for extended periods of time. Are any of these claims true?
Thanks,
Mac
Hey Will,
I was just reading about the effects of creatine & came across couple of websites where they say ” they experienced substantial hair loss with creatine”. What are your thots on this? Are these studies trustworthy?
Also there is a study on this one, but Im not sure how worthwhile it is.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19741313
I have not used creatine before, But I was planning to start, Would love your comments on this.
Thanks,
Rachit
I’ve heard that sprinters at the nerby university were taken off creatine because they were having
more pulled muscles because they were not drinking enough water with it.
Do you need to drink a lot of water while taking creatine?
If you don’t will that cause pulled muscles?
Thanks for all the good info,
Bob Crow
If you watch my other vids, I do cover the topic. There’s been a number of studies that find creatine does not increase muscle pulls, does not dehydrate, and actually improved thermo regulation. It’s not impossible creatine can cause some of those issue, but to date, a number of studies simply don’t support that as a side effect.
Hi,
I have heard people can get compartment syndrome taking creatine. Any ideas? Also I took if for 5 weeks at 2 grams after my workout 2 times per week. Got painful finger joints and stiff. Also sore muscles and tired. Still have these 2 months later off it.
Russ
Hello,
Could you comment on the brazil study that linked creatine and asthma?
Hi, Thanks for the videos. Regarding the side effects, I was curious as to the GI problems creatine can cause. I recently as of a week ago, started taking a Creapure Creatine product as recommended. However since starting (nothing else in my diet has changed) I have been getting consistent and terrible gas, and a slight pain in my upper stomach, both are probably related to an intestine issue with creatine. Today for the first day I mixed with hot water and am awaiting to see how my body responds. Will these GI issues go away once my body gets used to creatine over time (if so, how long?) or is this something that I will always react to? Thanks, I just cannot risk going to the office with this gas anymore.
Fully dissolving in hot liquid may do the trick. Vast majority of GI issues are cured by that, and or by lowering the dose and slowly ramping up to the needed dose over say a few weeks.