Borgio, before you give up, I have a good counter-statement I want you to read. Since I feel that you're frustrated because everyone is attacking you and not your opinion, I will try to make a valid argueable statement. (For those of you that dont wish to read all the details and data, just read the bold for the main points of my arguement.)
Contrary to what you said about creatine is like cigarettes, its not. Creatine has been used and studied over a long period of time, and around our generation, they have almost completely guaranteed that it is safe. And likewise, we use it. Here is my evidence to support my statement.
1) History of creatine -
- A french scientist named Chevruel, who named it after the Greek word for flesh, discovered creatine in 1832.
- In the early 1900s, creatine supplementation studies began.
- In 1923 scientists discovered the average human body contained over 100 grams of creatine and of that 100 grams, 95 grams were stored in muscle tissue. Scientists also proved that creatine was naturally occuring non-essential amino acid.
- It was not until 1926 that the first scientific study was published about the bodybuilding effects of creatine. The journal of Biological Chemistry indicated that creatine promoted safe weight gain and increased nitrogen balance, which associated with muscle growth.
- In 1960s, Atheletes all over the world noticed creatine and reported to be using it as an ergogenic aid. Atheletes including those that were competing in the Olympics. (They were the first ones to try supplemtary creatine, and im pretty sure they would say its safe.)
2) Long and short term Side Effects -
Throughout the years, constant research has been going on about the side effects and long term worries about taking supplemtary creatine. These are some of the researches and the side effects they discovered:
- weight gain.
- Upset Indigestion
- Diarrhea
- Cramping
- Dehydration
(obviously if you didnt know these, then you dont belong here)
- No medical side effects reported in infants/small children with inborn errors in creatine synthesis supplemented 4-8 grams daily for 25 months.
- No medical side effects in gyrate atrophy patients administered 1.5grams daily for 5 years.
- No medical side effects of IV PCR administration in ischemic heart failure patients.
- No medical side effects observed in retrospective studies of athletes taking creatine for 5 years.
3) Further Research -
To insure the medical safety of the long term use of Creatine, 100 NCAA football players volunteered to participate in the research and had no long term side effects.
Players intake an average of 5grams of creatine containing supplements daily for two years. Then, players were administered during the workouts/practices and all accounts were documented. There were some variations amoung each player such as reduced catabolism and increase in dehydration and cramping.
4) Concerns -
There are medical concerns still about creatine:
-Suppressed creatine synthesis
-Muscle/Liver damage
-Increased blood pressure
(these are just concerns that were probably floating around ever since athletes started using creatine ; to this day, we have found that these are nothing more than words and statements.)
Believe it or not, the human body needs creatine. The daily requirement for creatine is 2-3 grams. Diets such as meat, fish, and other animal products is where the human body mainly gets it's daily dose.
Pork has 2.3g of creatine per pound.
Beef has 2.0g of creatine per pound.
Salman has 2.0g of creatine per pound.
Tuna has 1.8g of creatine per pound.
5) Creatine Controversy -
- Those are not often familiar with creatine are the ones call themselves medical experts.
- Side effects have never been reported in scientific/medical literature.
- Comments about creatine should be based on the scientific research and not on false reports, untested hypotheses, and/or speculation.
- They have no solid evidence and research to support their speculation about the bad views on supplemtary creatine.
all my sources were from :
Balsom etail. (study from 1994)
The Biochemists and Human Movement Sciences and Education group at The University of Memphis.
Creatine: The Power Supplement.
and from various other places including personal knowledge.
Ive been taking creatine on and off for about 1.5 years now, and I know that its nothing bad or else I wouldnt be using it. I was very skeptical and unsure if I should be using this stuff, but I think I've done enough homework about this subject. What I found is that it is safe but costly for some. I dont think people take creatine because its cool ; Infact, I'm almost 100% certain.
I think a reason why almost everybody here is against what you said, because you come here without any solid backup to state your opinion ; trying to convince others to see your point of view. Maybe its time you should see it from our point of view.
