There is a lot of misinformation concerning creatine and more specifically the benefits of creatine versus reported creatine side effects and other creatine dangers. In this article we’ll go over both sides of the creatine debate and look at just how accurate the information available is.

Creatine is one of the very few supplements that actually has years of extensive research conducted on it by countless university and medical centers world-wide. The following  are three proven facts about creatine; Creatine can help you increase your strength, it can make you leaner, and it can improve your speed. Possibly the most common reasons for using it as a part of an over-all exercise program, is to significantly improve muscle strength, size and speed

Before getting into any more creatine facts and discussing any potential creatine dangers or creatine side effects you have to understand what creatine actually is.

Your muscles need something known as Adenosine Triphosphate or ATP for energy in order to produce movement. In most individuals, muscles only have a  limited supply of ATP that will allow for a short duration of work lasting about 6 seconds.

Unfortunately, most exercises and activities require more than 6 seconds to complete. One of the main benefits of creatine is that it acts as an ATP charger for your muscles. Additional creatine allows the muscle to store more potential short burst energy.  This allows your muscles to continue working at maximum capacity for another 12 seconds or so. Look at it another way; think of your muscles as a car engine. The Adenosine Triphosphate is the fuel and creatine is an octane booster or a “turbo” that allows for a much improved level of performance.

Most people find the greatest benefits from using creatine during high intensity, short duration muscle work such as for example weight lifting and sprinting. This doesn’t mean that people who jog, compete in marathons, bike races and other endurance sports won’t benefit from creatine . It’s just that high intensity activities have  a lot more pronounced results because creatine work specifically on the short burst energy systems. During endurance activities it appears that creatine will only help your ATP system as much as it needs to and no more.

Creatine has been proven to reduce what’s known as “Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness”(DOMS). This is the  sore, stiff feeling you have in your muscles up to 2 days after lifting weights. Another benefit of creatine is that it drastically reduces recovery time. This means you can work out harder without the risk of overtraining.

Discount creatine is all you need to achieve noticeable results. There’s no need to waste money on the numerous “designer creatine” brands and products that are much more expensive and don’t offer any additional benefits over regular creatine. This will save you a lot of money if you want to try out this supplement

Creatine is found naturally in our bodies. Our bodies can manufacture it’s own creatine but not enough for significant improvements in health and fitness.

Creatine is also found in foods such as beef, pork, salmon, cod, herring and tuna.You might be asking yourself, if creatine occurs naturally in the above listed meats why not just get it through your diet? There are a few good reasons why this will not work.

First, vegetarians need creatine too. If you don’t like eating meat you can’t get creatine from a food source. Next, no one is able to eat the required amount of meat each day it would take to get enough creatine in your system to make a difference. Even if you could eat enough it still wouldn’t do you any good because you would be very overweight and unhealthy. By getting your creatine from a quality supplement you can make sure you are getting the proper amount in the easiest way.

Most companies producing and selling creatine suggests a dose of about 2 - 5 grams each day. This would equal approximately ½ to 1 full teaspoon.

If you have a larger frame and more muscle mass you should stick with the 5 grams per day to see the best results.

Some reports have suggested certain creatine side effects such as extreme dehydration. However the fact is, it actually “super-hydrates” your muscles making dehydration almost impossible.The only proven negative creatine side effect occur in people with pre-existing kidney problems. Creatine is excreted through the kidneys and because of the “super-hydration” will cause your kidneys to work harder.

Hopefully these creatine facts will help you make an informed decision on using it to help you reach your health & fitness goals.

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