Creatine monohydrate is the most popular unregulated nutritional supplement in the country. As simple to purchase as a pack of gum, it can be bought in capsules, powder, or liquid form at health stores, drug stores, the Internet and other outlets. Marketed based on its ability to maximize strength, endurance, and muscle size, creatine monohydrate is king among muscle builders, athletes, and an increasingly adolescent market of consumers. Creatine monohydrate is a natural compound that is comprised of three amino acids, but there have been reported side effects, from dehydration and muscle and ligament tears to diarrhea and kidney failure. As a nutritional supplement, creatine remains beyond the reach of the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) regulatory mechanisms. This research will analyze five journal articles which critique creatine monohydrate while covering some of its short-term benefits on endurance, strength, and muscle size, and some of its purported long-term effects on health.
Creatine is so popular and considered so effective among users that it is known by the nickname muscle candy. Exploding sales and widespread use among professional athletes, most notably Mark McGwire, continue to make the supplement more popular with high school age athletes hoping to improve endurance, strength, and muscle size to compete in sports. Studies throughout the literature demonstrate the effectiveness of creatine monohydrate in improving endurance, strength, and muscle size, but most of the literature that support such findings warns of the dangers of using the supplement improperly and its adverse side effects. Juhn, O’Kane, and Vinci (593) argue that “athletes exceed recommended doses, which may unnecessarily increase the risk of adverse side effects.”
The use of creatine monohydrate is fueled by many strength coaches on all levels of athletics who advocate use of the supplement. In one study, twenty four footbal...