Creatine?

M

Mico

0
Hey, I'm a 16 year old male, and I've been working out for about a year now. I used to be 5'1 about 200lbs so I've lost quite a bit of weight :D (now 5'10 150lbs) and I'm very happy with my physical fitness, however my muscles aren't quite as defined as I would like them to be. I'm curious about creatine and would like some advice as to whether or not it's fine for someone my age to take it. I hear it's fine as long as you are intaking a lot of water. Would just love some imput from people who know what they're talking about :).

Thanks.
 
Its safe to take, however its not a mirical worker. Just to estimate a number I would say that creatine will increase muscle growth by 10%. Thats not very much if your not already building muscle.
I advise you look closely at your diet and training. If you post your typical workout and daily diet We will prob find the answer to your question
 
um im 15 and im scared to take anything that warns about being too young to take the stuff. my advice to you: DO NOT TAKE IT PLZ!

ANYWAY: when we are this young, our bodies already make tons of creatine itself!!! its true! its for 18+ because after adolesence, it becomes harder for the body to create the creatine : ). I dont know any dangers but why take it and use money when you dont even need it???

you got all those results without creatine; do it again : )
 
I would wait a few years because your body is still growing, get your diet down solid first too.
 
creatine doesn't stunt your growth.. and your body does not produce anywhere NEAR enough to rival the amounts you have when supplementing. It's night and day.
I don't mean to sound like a dick proteinboy, but what are you talking about bra..?
 
when we are this young; we just dont need powerful suppliments like creatine.

however

i have just done some research and you are right: there are no KNOWN side effects that effect teens or anyone for any matter. but listen to this. THERE HAS BEEN NO LONG TERM STUDIES DONE ON CREATINE and there are some unknown factors that may still exist. it is not proven safe yet. you are jumping into something that you dont know is safe yet...its a risk.

after all this research i have heard a lot of good stuff about creatine too. i have to say; i want to take the stuff now ><. i can wait until im 18 though.
 
There has been long term studies, since about 1990. My dad has taken it since then, and I have been on&off since 1998.. And so have thousands of other people. You can have your beliefs, that's fine. But please do not make them sound factual when explaining to others.

What AJP said is correct, he probably thinks (if not, I do) that someone your age probably doesn't have their diet on key yet so creatine will do little to nothing. Therefore, grow up, get some experience, and then supplement. But if you feel you've got everything else down, I definitely suggest it.
 
mreik said:
There has been long term studies, since about 1990. My dad has taken it since then, and I have been on&off since 1998.. And so have thousands of other people. You can have your beliefs, that's fine. But please do not make them sound factual when explaining to others.

What AJP said is correct, he probably thinks (if not, I do) that someone your age probably doesn't have their diet on key yet so creatine will do little to nothing. Therefore, grow up, get some experience, and then supplement. But if you feel you've got everything else down, I definitely suggest it.
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you're right; there have been little long term studies. not enough though; they dont KNOW it is safe. ya i understand why people want to take creatine(i do too) but i am ganna wait. :D
 
Either way, creatine isn't some miracle 'makes you huge in a week' supplement.

All it does is makes sure your body can use stored energy as efficiently as possible...which means you get better workouts. So if your training and diet are good, creatine can be a big benefit because it helps you maximize your potential.

Because a mid-teenage boy is going through growth spurts and other bodily changes to bone size and density, I'd say it's hard for a typical teen to have everything 'spot on' to make good use of creatine. Thus I just wouldn't waste my allowance on it until I was done growing.

Just eat right, take a daily multivitamin, drink plenty of water, and keep up the exercise.
 
Proteinboy said:
you're right; there have been little long term studies. not enough though; they dont KNOW it is safe. ya i understand why people want to take creatine(i do too) but i am ganna wait. :D
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Of course he's right, that's why he said it.
 
Dangers of creatine

I use to have kidney failure and my kidney doctor told me creatine supplements can slowly shut your kidneys down. Your body makes the amount that it requires naturally, no matter what. I would consider doing research for yourself on the possible effects of what it can do to your kidnrys overtime, before making a choice.
 
shiloh23 said:
I use to have kidney failure and my kidney doctor told me creatine supplements can slowly shut your kidneys down. Your body makes the amount that it requires naturally, no matter what. I would consider doing research for yourself on the possible effects of what it can do to your kidnrys overtime, before making a choice.
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Yes, you have bad kidneys, so creatine, coffee, soda pop, and a million other things are bad for you because you have kidney problems.

Technically pure creatine is fine for your kidneys, its the excess that breaks down into creatinine that is bad for your kidneys (and is why 5g per day is ALL ANYONE NEEDS for creatine supplmentation).

Way too much protein is bad on your kidneys too.

for healthy people, 3-5g of creatine a day, and 1g of protein per poudn of bodyweight isn't going to cause kidney/liver problems.
 
shiloh23 said:
my kidney doctor told me creatine supplements can slowly shut your kidneys down.
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Sounds like your kidney doctor is not well versed in creatine use to make a blanket statement like that.

shiloh23 said:
I would consider doing research for yourself on the possible effects of what it can do to your kidnrys overtime, before making a choice.
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Since I've used creatine and have done my research I can help out here.

Nutrition. 2004 Jul-Aug;20(7-8):609-14.

Scientific basis and practical aspects of creatine supplementation for athletes.

Volek JS, Rawson ES.

Department of Kinesiology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut 06269, USA. jeff.volek@uconn.edu

In summary, the predominance of research indicates that creatine supplementation represents a safe, effective, and legal method to enhance muscle size and strength responses to resistance training.

Ann Pharmacother. 2005 Jun;39(6):1093-6. Epub 2005 May 10.

The effect of creatine intake on renal function.

CONCLUSIONS: Creatine supplementation minimally impacts creatinine concentrations and renal function in young healthy adults. Although creatinine concentrations may increase after long periods of creatine supplementation, the increase is extremely limited and unlikely to affect estimates of creatinine clearance and subsequent dosage adjustments.

J Herb Pharmacother. 2004;4(1):1-7.

Effects of creatine supplementation on renal function

According to the existing literature, creatine supplementation appears safe when used by healthy adults at the recommended loading (20 gm/day for five days) and maintenance doses (</=3 gm/day). In people with a history of renal disease or those taking nephrotoxic medications, creatine may be associated with an increased risk of renal dysfunction.

 
Curr Sports Med Rep. 2002 Apr;1(2):103-6.

Effects of creatine use on the athlete's kidney.

Despite relatively few isolated reports of renal dysfunction in persons taking creatine, the studies completed to date suggest that in normal healthy individuals the kidneys are able to excrete creatine, and its end product creatinine, in a manner that does not adversely alter renal function.

Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1999 Aug;31(8):1108-10.

Long-term oral creatine supplementation does not impair renal function in healthy athletes.

CONCLUSIONS: Neither short-term, medium-term, nor long-term oral creatine supplements induce detrimental effects on the kidney of healthy individuals.

I wish these doctors, trainers, etc would use caution instead of scare tatics when educating individuals about creatine. Making statements like creatine supplements will shut down your kidneys shows ingnorance.
 
i think a lot of it is also over-zealous and uneducated body builders who seem to have the opinion that more of anything is better. In this case, too much creatine IS bad for you. I think everyone agrees with that
 
junkfoodbad said:
i think a lot of it is also over-zealous and uneducated body builders who seem to have the opinion that more of anything is better. In this case, too much creatine IS bad for you. I think everyone agrees with that
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Completely agree. I think then is becomes a question of mental capabilities. We have too many taking 4 or more whey shakes a day, a ton of creatine plus other supplements and there they are doing leg presses, cable crossovers and curls and complaining about how they can't gain size and strength.
 
junkfoodbad said:
i think a lot of it is also over-zealous and uneducated body builders who seem to have the opinion that more of anything is better. In this case, too much creatine IS bad for you. I think everyone agrees with that
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do you think you can eat too much creatine in meat and from natural stuff b/c i eat a bunch of red meat/day.
 
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