Creatine Supplements - is it Dangerous ?

Whenever there's a new supplement that sounds "too good to be true," people always have one major concern about it: What will its side effects be? People want to learn about the creatine facts because they're worried about common steroid effects such as rage, acne, hair loss, and smaller testicles. The good news for you is that creatine doesn't have effects that are as bad as that. There are different negative and positive side effects, so in this article, I will tell you various creatine facts and their side effects.

Creatine Facts #1 - What exactly is creatine?

Some of you may not know what exactly creatine is. It is something that humans produce naturally in their body, and the purpose of creatine is to give our muscles and nerve cells energy. Thus, when you're taking a creatine supplement, you're taking something that will give your muscles more energy to work. Of course, creatine doesn't magically build muscle for you... the way it works is that you will get more energy for your muscles. This will allow your muscles to then do more work. With the extra work they can do, it will allow you to lift heavier weights for a longer period of time.

Okay, so you're thinking "These creatine facts sound good... this supplement might actually help me out. But what's the catch?" Well now are some creatine facts regarding its side effects:

Creatine Facts #2 - The Negative Side Effects

Well, they're not really that serious. Nothing really bad has ever been found in over ten years of studies. The negative side effect that occurs the most is that you'll take on extra water weight. Due to this extra water weight, you may look bloated. And because your muscles have more water, they'll feel a lot softer. Your muscles will hard right after the workout, but they'll feel pretty soft a few hours after you've spent some time resting.

There have also been some minor reports that creatine causes muscle cramps and upset stomachs, However, these two effects usually happen due to improper use of creatine. If you follow the directions carefully, you can avoid these two effects.

One last negative side effect that you should be aware of is what will happen if you stop using creatine (after you've been using it for a long time). For a short while, you will feel a significant decrease in energy and appearance. As you're body is losing its extra water weight, you may "deflate." You'll recover from this feeling eventually though, as soon as your body gets used to not having creatine.

Now that we have the bad news out of the way, here are creatine facts regarding the positive effects:

Creatine Facts #3 - The Positive Effects

As I've said before, creatine gives you energy. When you take it, you won't feel fatigued or tired anymore. It's not like drinking an energy drink where you'll feel a sudden crash afterwards, but these supplements make your body get used to having more energy in the day. Now, when you wake up, you'll feel better in the morning and ready to head towards the gym. You'll have that extra boost to lift more weights and lift a few more reps. When you can lift more, you'll definitely gain more weight (this is great if you're skinny). Even though you'll gain some water weight, keep in mind that you'll be gaining much more weight in muscle.

The other positive side effect is that it will make you like bigger and more muscular. As I've said, it causes your body to keep more water. When it does this, it has the bad effect of making you feel soft, but it also makes it so that your muscles look fuller. Usually your chest and arms will look bigger due to this.