creatin
...nhancing drugs. The other half is nutrition. Since one of creatine’s main side affects is dehydration, it is imperative that your fluid intake is constant. You also have to make sure that your diet follows a strict 40-30-30 nutrition, which means that 40% of your calories come from carbohydrates, 30% from protein, and 30% from dietary fat. There are many side affects that are associated with dietary supplements. Many of the beliefs, that creatine causes very severe side affects are wrong. As I stated earlier, one of the main risks with taking creatine is dehydration. Since your bodily fluids usually follow creatine into skeletal muscle, it can possibly deprive the remaining tissues of fluid . This can lead to heat exhaustion and even heat strokes. Reports of gastrointestinal distress, stomach cramps, nausea and diarrhea, along with muscle strains, cramps and tears1 have also been associated with creatine. However, these side affects can be greatly prevented by remaining hydrated. One of the main threats of creatine is renal stress, because creatine supplementation may place stress on both the liver and kidneys. Along with these risks, creatine also has some positive side affects, it may improve individual cholesterol levels and “volumizing may in itself stimulate the production of new muscle proteins”1. Along with the affects listed above there are many misconceptions surrounding the use of creatine. Such false rumors are that creatine causes breast formation in men, hair loss in men, hair growth in women, a reduction in penis size and stunted growth in children. Many people have said that performance enhancing drugs tarnishes the spirit of sports. However, some of the great baseball players in recent memory have admitted to using dietary supplements. Former MLB Most Valuable Players Jose Canseco and Ken Caminiti have admitted that they are among a large percentage of major league players to use steroids . Mark McGuire also openly used a performance enhancing drug very similar to creatine during his career, yet he was a fan favorite, and he...