Is creatine safe?
Creatine is possibly the most researched supplement on the planet and is one of the very few supplements I recommend to clients. However, as it’s a supplement the general public is largely unfamiliar with, I often get asked: “Is Creatine safe?”.
Let me start by explaining what Creatine actually is - Creatine is an endogenous amino acid found naturally in the body, predominately in muscle cells, it is not a steroid! It helps your muscles produce energy during heavy lifts and high-intensity training. Which is why it’s so popular among athletes, as it helps develop strength, performance and muscle mass.
Its primary role is to increase the phosphocreatine stores (stored Creatine) within your muscles. The additional stores can then be used to produce more ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate), which is the key energy source your body uses for lifting weights and doing high-intensity training. Creatine also helps develop muscle in other fantastic ways like improving cell signalling, increase cell hydration, reducing protein breakdown, lowering myostatin levels and some studies even show an increase in anabolic hormones, awesome right?!
The most popular form of Creatine supplementation is Creatine Monohydrate as it’s incredibly affordable and is supported by hundreds of studies. There are other types available and many claims to be superior, but until it’s been proven otherwise, I’ll stand by Creatine Monohydrate as being the best!
Now you know a bit more about Creatine we can jump back to our initial question “Is Creatine safe?”. The answer to that question is YES!! According to the findings of the journal of International Society of Sports Nutrition, after generously doing the leg work of going through the scientific literature they found that in both short and long term Creatine studies, consisting of different dosages, fitness levels and age groups, there are NO adverse health risks from using Creatine supplementation.
https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12970-017-0173-z
In summary, Creatine is one of the cheapest and most effective supplements you can use. After decades of research and over 1,000 studies covering its effects, it remains strong and stands proud of being one of the best supplements you can use! If all that isn’t enough to convince you that Creatine is safe, here’s a picture of Creatine and I, having a great time watching TV, reminiscing and talking about how we can make the world a healthier, leaner and more performance-enhanced place, full of sunshine and rainbows, this guy wouldn’t hurt a fly!
