creatine

I just got back from hearing a trainer speak on creatine at a clinic. He stated that creatine is not harmful if the athlete drinks 56 glasses of water a day. Hea also suggests that they do not sart it right before 2 a days. there is a risk if the player uses it in the heat without getting this much fluid in the summer heat.

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Originally posted by: goldberg6995
Ill be gentle here. haha. Creatine has been studied more than just about any compound ever made. It has never been shown in studies to be detrimental. Although it wont help everybody(some dont respond) it is cheap and it wont hurt anybody. Just be sure not to use too much at once because it will give you diarrhea. No more than 5grams per serving is necessary.

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The literature does not support this and it doesnt make sense physiologically. Who was this trainer?

We don't recommend creatine for our guys. Personally, even though there has been alot of research done, it is nowhere near one of the 'most studied compounds' that one post says it is.

You do have to be careful about WHO is funding the study, most of them are the creatine companies themselves. Doubtful they'd fund or release any study that negatively impacts their products.

There are NO long term studies on creatine or most 'magic' supplements that are currently on market. It defintely does help - at least short term. Most studies only study creatine for a year or less, and that is NOT enough to find long term impacts on the liver and/or kidneys. Several INDEPENDANT doctors have raised questions about the impacts of long-term creatine use on the kidneys and liver. Keep in mind these are questions, not concerns or criticisms. Another thing to keep in mind is that often these kids become their own nutritionalists and 'self-dose' the creatine. I can tell you the attitudes teens have in my experience teaching -- 'if a little is good... more must be better'. A dangerous tenet.

Again, we don't recommend it for our guys. We even tell them to stay away from it and other supplements. Instead we focus on healthy and balanced eating - no special diets; which for growing teenagers is important. We've sent a number of players to DIV 1A and they've always been in the stronger end of the incoming recruits. We rather have a guy with a great work ethic than thinking that power comes from a bottle. IMO we need to be real careful what chemicals we condone our athletes putting into their bodies; I look at it as if it was my son... would I want him taking a product that we don't really know the LONG term effects on teens?

Just my 2 cents