Creatine safety

[Maxgain]

Hey i know most of the members here are from america so may not of heard of heard of arsenal football club from england. Well they are one of the biggest soccer clubs in europe and contains superstars earning millions each year. Basically as you know from nfl etc training and nutrition is number one for these clubs.
Why am i saying this well the manager of the arsenal team has come out and said he has banned his players from taking creatine. He has being advised by the clubs doctors and nutritionists that though it improves performance the health implications are too risky. They say creatine overloads the kidneys and liver of the person as if they had eaten 10 steaks.
I know you are gonna say this is rubbish and you have had no problems but you have to remember the number one aim of these clubs is to achieve and they will take any legal advantage they can. This must seriously be a worry if they would ban a legal supplement as effevtive as creatine. These health doctors and nutritionists these clubs have are top ranking in the world so they must know something about these matters.
What do you think?

[bradley]

What are they basing this on? Recent findings or just doctor's intuition? Here are few abstracts, but I have not seen any reason for concern.
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Effects of creatine use on the athlete's kidney.

Farquhar WB, Zambraski EJ.

HRCA Research and Training Institute, Harvard Division on Aging, 1200 Centre Street, Boston, MA 02131, USA. farquhar@mail.hrca.harvard.edu

With regard to athletes attempting to improve their performance, at the present time creatine monohydrate is clearly the most widely used dietary supplement or ergogenic aid. Loading doses as high as 20 g/d are typical among athletes. The majority (> 90%) of the creatine ingested is removed from the plasma by the kidney and excreted in the urine. 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. This situation would be predicted to be different in persons with impaired glomerular filtration or inherent renal disease. The question of whether long-term creatine supplementation (ie, months to years) has any deleterious affects on renal structure or function can not be answered at this time. The limited number of studies that have addressed the issue of the chronic use of creatine have not seen remarkable changes in renal function. However, physicians should be aware that the safety of long-term creatine supplementation, in regard to the effects on the kidneys, cannot be guaranteed. More information is needed on possible changes in blood pressure, protein/albumin excretion, and glomerular filtration in athletes who are habitual users of this compound.
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Long-term oral creatine supplementation does not impair renal function in healthy athletes.

Poortmans JR, Francaux M.

Chimie Physiologique, Institut Superieur d'Education Physique et de Kinesitherapie, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium. jrpoortm@ulb.ac.be

PURPOSE: Oral creatine supplementation is widely used in sportsmen and women. Side effects have been postulated, but no thorough investigations have been conducted to support these assertions. It is important to know whether long-term oral creatine supplementation has any detrimental effects on kidney function in healthy population. METHODS: Creatinine, urea, and plasma albumin clearances have been determined in oral creatine consumers (10 months to 5 yr) and in a control group. RESULTS: There were no statistical differences between the control group and the creatine consumer group for plasma contents and urine excretion rates for creatinine, urea, and albumin. Clearance of these compounds did not differ between the two groups. Thus, glomerular filtration rate, tubular reabsorption, and glomerular membrane permeability were normal in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: Neither short-term, medium-term, nor long-term oral creatine supplements induce detrimental effects on the kidney of healthy individuals.
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Effects of long-term creatine supplementation on liver and kidney functions in American college football players.

Mayhew DL, Mayhew JL, Ware JS.

Exercise Science Program, Truman State University, Kirksville, MO 63501, USA.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of long-term Cr supplementation on blood parameters reflecting liver and kidney function. Twenty-three members of an NCAA Division II American football team (ages = 19-24 years) with at least 2 years of strength training experience were divided into a Cr monohydrate group (CrM, n = 10) in which they voluntarily and spontaneously ingested creatine, and a control group (n = 13) in which they took no supplements. Individuals in the CrM group averaged regular daily consumption of 5 to 20 g (mean SD = 13.9 5.8 g) for 0.25 to 5.6 years (2.9 1.8 years). Venous blood analysis for serum albumin, alkaline phosphatase, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, bilirubin, urea, and creatinine produced no significant differences between groups. Creatinine clearance was estimated from serum creatinine and was not significantly different between groups. Within the CrM group, correlations between all blood parameters and either daily dosage or duration of supplementation were nonsignificant. Therefore, it appears that oral supplementation with CrM has no long-term detrimental effects on kidney or liver functions in highly trained college athletes in the absence of other nutritional supplements.

[Daniel Clough]

Well remember there is far more risk for a team like Arsenal to have their players taking creatine, than you or I. As you say they are multi million super stars who if one of them were to have negative side effects this could cause massive damage. So the risk factor is bigger for them, so they are more staying on the side of caution I would think rather than seriously worrying about side effects.

[chris mason]

Here is the real deal. First, if the team believes there is even a possibility that a substance could have a deleterious effect on health then they must take the "official" stance that the substance is banned and not allowed by the team. If they did not do this and something possibly happened to someone (even someone with a pre-existing problem), they would leave themselves open for a lawsuit.

You see, in today's sue-happy world companies must go completely overboard in order to protect themselves. Along the same lines, businesses must take extra precautions due to the fact that their insurance companies will jack up their rates if they do not. Again, in today's sue-happy world insurance costs are so prohibitive that a rise in rates can put many companies in serious financial jeopardy.

Now, on the flip side, teams like the one you mentioned above will also, although not officially, encourage the results of athletes taking substances which are officially banned. Let's use Jose Canseco as an example. While steroid use is certainly not officially encouraged by professional baseball, he was awarded with millions upon millions of dollars for the results of his hormone use. It is the hypocracy of the modern sports world. Say things in public to be politically correct and protect yourself, but at the same time encourage the behavior you officially ban.

As to the soccer team, creatine would be of limited use for a soccer player due to the fact that it increases lean mass and explosive power while soccer is primarily an endurance game. So, while the team knows that creatine works and is safe, they may have heard rumors that is could be dangerous and thus take the safest route for themselves by making the statements they have.

I have personally read many studies on creatine and I have never seen one that concluded that creatine can harm the kidneys or liver. The absolute worst I have seen is that it is not yet known what long term use can do. Of course that is not really surprising because you cannot know what has not yet been measured.

I personally take 10 grams of creatine a day and have done so for over a year. I have not suffered any deleterious effects to my knowledge. If I thought creatine was harmful I would not personally take it and would not sell it.

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:withstupi

creatine is a natural compound in your body anyway... :D

[ChampionLifter8]

I think creatines safe but you just have to drink tons of water.. you dont want to be constintely dehydrated it cantbe good for u at all.