As a way to gain muscle mass many athletes take
creatine as a supplement to help them do this. You see it more commonly in
bodybuilding more so than other sports. The question is whether taking creatine
supplements is a safe thing to do regardless of the sport they are in?
Creatine is a supplement that can be taken either in
a capsule form or ingested as a powdered mix into a drink. It is a proven fact
now that taking creatine can increase athletic performance depending on the
sport.
For example cyclists have shown to benefit from it on
an anaerobic level where swimmers and runners have not shown to benefit from it
as much. This just goes to show that there is really much more testing needed
in terms of athletic benefits.
What is interesting is that creatine is not
considered to be any type of doping at this point. The majority of sports
governing bodies have not banned creatine in any form. In the United States
the NCAA has ruled that colleges cannot provide creatine supplements to their
players but if a player wants to get it and take it on their own is not banned.
In terms of safety studies have recently shown that
short term creatine use is healthy and proven to be safe. Different people
react differently to creatine.
For example, some people were report muscle cramping
when they take creatine. his is not true in all studies and may be caused due
to dehydration. So it's recommended that people taking creatine supplements
should increase their water intake, especially when working out.
Another interesting study has shown that creatine can
improve memory in vegetarian individuals. Since meat is a primary source for
dietary creatine it makes sense vegetarians will benefit from taking a creatine
supplement because they do not have much of this stored in their body anyway.
It's understandable that bodybuilders would look to
creatine as a way to build body mass because there is no real evidence that
it's unsafe. Anything that they can do to increase their muscle is going to
appeal to them.
When you add in the fact how easy it is to take and
how easy it is to get, this is only natural that they would be willing to try
it if they feel is going to give them an edge. Because creatine supplements are
considered to be a safe thing to take you will continue to see it being used in
various sports.
