Creatine Supplementation: Safe?

[Gunner S]

Dr. Steve

What are the Long Term and Short Term Effects of Drinking Creatine, and To Be More Specific, Cell Tech Hardcore.....

[Dr Steve]

Dr. Steve

What are the Long Term and Short Term Effects of Drinking Creatine, and To Be More Specific, Cell Tech Hardcore.....

Ok, this is a tough one, and you'll see why.

Creatine is a substance that facilitates energy use in muscle and nerve cells. Supplementation with creatine has been shown to improve some symptoms in ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) and improved cognitive (brain/thinking) function in a small study of vegetarians.

It's found in all vertebrates, and should be a harmless supplement.

HOWEVER...a French version of the FDA put out a warning that they think they have evidence that creatine supplementation increases the risk of certain cancers of the GI tract.(1)

Honestly, I can't find the evidence in the literature that they're citing. I have a funny feeling that it all comes from a pig study that showed mutagenic compounds in pork flesh in pigs that were fed creatine as a supplement. (2)

I did find this review article that covers your question pretty well. Let's analyse it:

Subcell Biochem. 2007;46:275-89.

Safety of creatine supplementation.

Persky AM, Rawson ES.

Division of Pharmacotherapy and Experimental Therapeutics, University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7360, USA.

OK, first off, this is a good review article, because it comes out of your old pal Dr Steve's alma mater, UNC Chapel Hill. Rah rah carolina-lina!

The literature on creatine supplementation supporting its efficacy has grown
rapidly and has included studies in both healthy volunteers and patient
populations.

So there are a lot of studies on this topic, and in a variety of settings
However, the first rule in the development of therapeutic agents is
safety. Creatine is well-tolerated in most individuals in short-term studies.

so, in the short term, it looks pretty good. However, there's always a "however"...


However, isolated reports suggest creatine may be associated with various side
effects affecting several organ systems including skeletal muscle, the kidney and
the gastrointestinal tract.

"Isolated reports" don't carry much weight. I have an "isolated report" that once I took ibuprofen and that afternoon I got my foot run over in the road by a car. I guess I could blame the Ibuprofen instead of my own stupidity...

The majority of clinical studies fail to find an
increased incidence of side effects with creatine supplementation.

so the evidence for a problem doesn't seem to be there, at least not in the literature published so far.

To date,
studies have not found clinically significant deviations from normal values in
renal, hepatic, cardiac or muscle function. Few data are available on the
long-term consequences of creatine supplementation.

This is the most important concept...there really aren't any LONG TERM studies on the safety of creatine supplementation. We just don't know the answer.


So there's your answer; so far it looks safe, but we don't have much evidence either way that it actually IS safe for long term use. For short term supplementation, it looks ok.

Regarding Cell Tech Hardcore...the website states that it's an "advanced creatine supplement" which means it's probably just creatine. :-)







FOOTNOTES:

(1) http://www.foodnavigator.com/Science-Nutrition/AFSSA-calls-for-creatine-ban

(2) Food Chem Toxicol. 2006 Dec;44(12):2086-91. Epub 2006 Aug 8.
Formation of mutagenic heterocyclic aromatic amines in fried pork from Duroc and
Landrace pigs upon feed supplementation with creatine monohydrate.

[Contra]

The short answer is NO

[Rake]

I know someone who has been taking such supplements for years. Thus far he is very healthy with no major side effects. Of course one person doesn't represent all of the possible effects but I would hope it gives you some semblance of comfort.

[Dr Steve]

The short answer is NO


ha!

well said

:-)

[SP1!]

So another follow up, would creatine be the reason for having indigestion or urinary tract infections?

I took it for years and only stopped when I had my shoulder surgeries and I am just now getting back into hitting the gym so I was going to get more supplements but now Im kinda scared to take it again.

[Dr Steve]

So another follow up, would creatine be the reason for having indigestion or urinary tract infections?

I took it for years and only stopped when I had my shoulder surgeries and I am just now getting back into hitting the gym so I was going to get more supplements but now Im kinda scared to take it again.

I'm not aware of creatine being associated with indigestion or urinary tract infections...here's the most academic study I could find on adverse effects of creatine supplementation:

Adverse Effects of Creatine Supplementation: Fact or Fiction?

Leading Article

Sports Medicine. 30(3):155-170, 2000.
Poortmans, Jacques R. 1; Francaux, Marc 2
Abstract:
The consumption of oral creatine monohydrate has become increasingly common among professional and amateur athletes. Despite numerous publications on the ergogenic effects of this naturally occurring substance, there is little information on the possible adverse effects of this supplement. The objectives of this review are to identify the scientific facts and contrast them with reports in the news media, which have repeatedly emphasised the health risks of creatine supplementation and do not hesitate to draw broad conclusions from individual case reports.

Exogenous creatine supplements are often consumed by athletes in amounts of up to 20 g/day for a few days, followed by 1 to 10 g/day for weeks, months and even years. Usually, consumers do not report any adverse effects, but body mass increases. There are few reports that creatine supplementation has protective effects in heart, muscle and neurological diseases. Gastrointestinal disturbances and muscle cramps have been reported occasionally in healthy individuals, but the effects are anecdotal. Liver and kidney dysfunction have also been suggested on the basis of small changes in markers of organ function and of occasional case reports, but well controlled studies on the adverse effects of exogenous creatine supplementation are almost nonexistent.

We have investigated liver changes during medium term (4 weeks) creatine supplementation in young athletes. None showed any evidence of dysfunction on the basis of serum enzymes and urea production. Short term (5 days), medium term (9 weeks) and long term (up to 5 years) oral creatine supplementation has been studied in small cohorts of athletes whose kidney function was monitored by clearance methods and urine protein excretion rate. We did not find any adverse effects on renal function.

The present review is not intended to reach conclusions on the effect of creatine supplementation on sport performance, but we believe that there is no evidence for deleterious effects in healthy individuals. Nevertheless, idiosyncratic effects may occur when large amounts of an exogenous substance containing an amino group are consumed, with the consequent increased load on the liver and kidneys. Regular monitoring is compulsory to avoid any abnormal reactions during oral creatine supplementation.

So again, they are loathe to commit..."it looks safe, but get checked for stuff just in case" seems to be the general sentiment from the literature.