As an experiment, I stopped in July at the Chapel Hill North GNC and bought a bottle of creatine monohydrate, the foundation of the EAS supplement line and one of the key ingredients in its physique-transformation challenge. Five weeks later, I had gained 5 pounds. The scale balanced at almost 161, and I was able to fasten my belt a notch tighter. I could lift an extra 5 to 10 pounds on most of my dumbbell exercises and I could see the difference in my upper body in the mirror. Several experts interviewed for this article had varying opinions.
Creatine is produced naturally by the body.
But the body's creatine supply is like a tank with a small hole in the bottom, said William Kraemer, of the Ball State University Performance Lab. The tank always runs below the full line. You lift heavier weights and you get a better training effect. For the average person, the answer is no, said Franca Alphin, the student health nutritionist at Duke University. Anecdotally, some people have reported headaches, muscle pulls and even ringing in the ears after taking creatine, but numerous studies have failed to substantiate those claims, she said.