Busting 3 Creatine Myths!
It makes no difference who you are, where you live, or what you do for a living. Why? Because I’m almost certain that you’ve heard of creatine. Along with this, you’ve probably also heard one of two ideals about creatine. First, it’s bad for you and you shouldn’t come near it. Second, creatine is an awesome performance-enhancing supplement.
Unfortunately, anytime someone hears about a great “performance-enhancing” supplement they put it in a negative category. This is why creatine has several myths surrounding it. But if you were told creatine was legal and safe you’d change your mind. Hopefully, your mind can be swayed after we crack some myths about creatine.
Busting 3 Creatine Myths: It’s A Steroid
Anabolic steroids are completely illegal. The only legal way to obtain them is by getting a doctor’s prescription. Of course, you can illegally obtain them through the black market. The point is that you can’t get steroids from a supplement/vitamin store.
Creatine, on the other hand, is actually a dietary supplement. This means you can go into any supplement store and buy it. You might even try a grocery store because it’s that common! Also, you won’t find creatine on the banned substances lists of many sports governing bodies. People have been able to buy creatine for years because it is a safe supplement.
Busting 3 Creatine Myths: It Damages The Kidneys
I can sum this up in one sentence. If creatine caused any kind of organ damage it wouldn’t be on the market. That’s just commonsense! Plus creatine has been proven to be safe time and time again through numerous studies. However, you should check with your doctor about any pre-existing health conditions. This makes sense before trying it.
Busting 3 Creatine Myths: It Causes Cramps
The idea that creatine causes cramps or other injuries might be the biggest myth of them all. Unfortunately, this myth has been devastating to the reputation of creatine. It is accepted as truth by those who don’t know any better.
But in reality, cramping is most commonly caused by being dehydrated or having an imbalance of electrolytes. Still, when an athlete who uses creatine starts cramping, what do they do? They like to look for something more than just dehydration to blame. And this blame often falls on creatine.
Luckily, a recent study run on 1,500 athletes (Dalbo, Kersick, and Roberts) showed that creatine users were not at an increased risk for cramps. In fact, you may be surprised to know that the group taking the supplement experienced far fewer cramps than the group that didn’t use creatine. This study showed that athletes who think creatine causes their cramps are definitely mistaken.
Another study using 72 NCAA football players (Mayhew and Ware) set out to determine if creatine caused players to have cramps and dehydration. When the study was concluded, no abnormal cramps, dehydration, or strange injuries occurred. Creatine has even been able to speed up the healing process for people who’ve suffered from an injury.
So Are You Safe Using Creatine?
The point of busting these myths is to show that people are too quick to blame a popular and effective supplement. The problems listed here are often caused by something else. Hopefully, this inspires you to never let someone else dictate your opinion on a supplement. Instead, do the research on the matter yourself
When it comes to something like creatine it’s important to investigate for yourself. You’ll benefit more from finding the information on your own. Don’t listen to friends, coaches, and so-called fitness gurus.
Besides, creatine has had over 600 different studies done in order to prove that it’s a safe supplement. There is no reason to think it could harm you. As long as you’re healthy and looking to put muscle on, you should not avoid creatine. It’s an ergogenic aid you can use to increase strength, muscular endurance, and build muscle.
By Jeremy Olson