Is Creatine Bad For Teenagers?

By: NIKOLAI PASHKOV

Have you ever wondered what athletes and bodybuilders do to keep at the top of their class and keep packing on muscle? Well, in the mid-1800s  a supplement called Creatine Monohydrate (mostly referred to as Creatine) was discovered. With this supplement, athletes could be able to add more muscle and bodybuilders could take this to beagle to retain more water in their muscles to look bigger and also receive an energy boost from the amino acids that this drug produces without taking steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs that would not be legal for most sports and for natural bodybuilding competitions (With un-natural competitions being the exception). While this supplement does naturally occur in your body, it is also considered the most researched supplement and has been studied for nearly a century. However, some people still believe that there are some discrepancies in the research, aswell as opposing arguments to this.
While a majority of studies and people say that Creatine Monohydrate is healthy, there are still a large number of people who disagree with this and believe it is related to liver and kidney damage, kidney stones, digestive problems (Diarrhea/Renal Failure), compartment syndrome (A painful and dangerous condition caused by pressure buildup from internal bleeding or swelling of tissues), Rhabdomyolysis(A breakdown of muscle tissue that releases a damaging protein into the blood, this muscle tissue breakdown results in a release of a protein (myoglobin) into the blood that can damage the kidneys and surrounding muscles). Although Weight gain, Bloating, Muscle cramps, dehydration are directly caused because of increased water mass and proteins in users muscles and the only things scientifically proven. On the conflicting side, people from Mayo Clinic, and Healthline.com both agree in conjunction that creatine has no negative effects either long term (up to 5 years) and also has no different reactions when compared to a child and a fully grown man. On top of this, they both say creatine helps in injury prevention, muscle growth, stamina, cognition, and brain health. Although some people say that the supplement Creatine Monohydrate causes Rhabdomyolysis, recent studies have recently shown that this is a myth and creatine kinase (A marker in your blood) is the real cause. Both of which have no correlation. In fact, some experts say creatine monohydrate may even protect against this condition.