[Joemoplata]

Godde,

First of all you need to understand what the supplements are that you want to take and how they work, then way the potential side effects vs the benefits and make your decision.

Creatine is a natural substance in the body, used by the muscles for energy and stored in skeletal muscle. Creatine acts to provide good ATP production which is the energy source your muscles use for contraction. Your body naturally makes creatine, but you also get it in your food (meat products, especially red meat).

Used as a supplement, creatine has two things it can do for. First, since it allows for better energy consumption by your skeletal muscle it has the ability to allow for more energy output (more reps and/or higher weight). Not by a huge amount, but anyone who lifts regularly knows that just getting one extra rep out will make a huge increase in gains. Secondly, since your body will store extra creatine in the skeletal muscle, it actually increases the size of your muscles. This, however, is due to the "bloating" effect it has because of the extra water retention having excess creatine will cause.

Because of the extra water retention in the skeletal muscle, creatine's immediate side effects can include:

- cramping
- hypertension
- quicker dehydration
- weight increase

Long term effects are not as well known, but generally speaking the medical community seems to agree that it's effects would be minimal.

On a side note: Creatine supplementation is not mind or mood altering in any way. It is also not a stimulant. Anyone experiencing jitteriness or anxiousness may have been taking something that contained a thermogenic or a stimulant in conjuntion with creatine.