There has recently been a lot of hype and rumors about dietary supplements for working out and building muscle. A main one being creatine which is one of the most popular muscle building supplements and is widely used by many athletes including young adults and teens. In this paper I will tell you everything you need to know about how creatine works.

Creatine is a compound that can be made in our bodies or taken as a supplement. The chemical name for creatine is methyl guanidine-acid. It is made up of three amino acids- Arginine, Glycine, and Methionine according to AbsoluteCreatine.com. Our liver has the ability to combine these three amino acids to create creatine. Creatine occurs naturally in the body and is also found in many of the foods we eat. On average a 160 pound person would have about 120 grams of creatine stored in their body and it is believed that 95-98% of the creatine in our body is stored in our muscles, according to Absolute Creatine .com.

What creatine does is provide energy for your muscles and it does this by combining with a compound found in your body called ATP. When you are doing an intense activity su

As far as the safety of creatine goes there have been hundreds of studies done on creatine that all show it is a safe supplement, according to Absolute Ceratine .com. The few side effects reported with creatine include: upset stomach, muscle cramping, diarrhea and dehydration. Most of these side effects can be minimized by taking plenty of water when taking creatine. Creatine does not effect your hormone levels which means it will not produce side effects such as mood swings or bad skin. According to the Annual Southwest Sports Medicine Magazine, two studies were presented from the exercise and sport nutrition lab at the University of Memphis and both showed that 9 months of creatine supplementation (taking an average of 5 grams per day) in athletes had no negative effects on markers of renal function or muscle and liver enzymes in comparison to athletes not taking creatine. In an issue by "France's Agency of Medical Security for Food (AFSSA)," creatine use "particularly in the long-term," poses a potential risk of cancer. These links though have not in any way been proven. The report stated that the potential risks were "currently insufficiently evaluated."

The whole idea behind taking creatine is that if you workout you burn-up a lot of creatine. If you take a creatine supplement you will have more energy. You

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