IF YOU’VE ever set foot in a supplement store (or poke around online supplement clearing houses), you’ve probably had an employee (or pop-up ad) try to up-sell you on creatine. And that sell is strong: Creatine has been scientifically proven to enhance your strength, which can lead to muscle growth. All you have to do is pop some pills or stir some powder into your usual protein shake and it’s ready, set, swole.But that’s just what’s advertised. Those promises of big strength and muscle gains can’t actually be true, right? And didn’t your high school buddy once tell you that taking creatine would cause your kidneys to fall out? There have got to be side effects, right?Your skepticism is warranted. Nobody should put anything into their body without weighing the benefits and risks (and, yes, creatine does carry a few side effects that you should be aware of). It’s good to have questions about creatine.To help you out, we turned to some of the smartest minds in nutrition to answer all of your questions about creatine supplementation.The good news is that creatine supplementation is well-studied in scientific circles (perhaps more so than any other supplement, short of protein power). And, if you’re taking creatine supplements correctly, that science largely considers creatine safe and effective. In short, creatine, when taken as recommended, delivers on its promises of strength and muscle gain.But them there’s the not-so-great news: You can incorrectly take creatine (read: “user error”), which can result in side effects. Take… Click below to read the full story from Men’s Health
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