Cooke is unconvinced that creatine supplementation reduces muscle fatigue by allowing creatine phosphate to more quickly replenish ATP, because he does not believe that creatine availability limits the rate at which this biochemical replenishment normally occurs. Creatine was initially suggested as a possible cause for the well-publicized deaths of three wrestlers who died recently within weeks of one another while training. Their deaths were later determined to be the result of heart malfunction and kidney failure caused by dehydration and rhabdomyolysis, a breakdown of skeletal muscles due to excessive exercise. Water loss among wrestlers trying to qualify to compete at a lower weight class is common, and a causative role for creatine in dehydration deaths is not apparent, says UCSF transplant service physician Philip Rosenthal. In addition, Rosenthal suggests that kidney or liver toxicity are unlikely outcomes of creatine supplementation.
Creatine is produced naturally by the body and is digested in the same manner as protein.
Unless kidney or liver function is already compromised so that large amounts of protein cannot be metabolized properly, it's hard to see why creatine would be toxic. For competitive athletes in training, Dulan recommends beginning supplementation six months in advance with a reputable source of creatine. All rights reserved. Please direct all comments and questions to the Daybreak Editor . Please contact the UCSF Web Developer for questions of a technical nature.