There is no doubt that creatine supplements are becoming increasingly popular with athletes of all levels over the last several years. In every weight lifting or fitness magazine you will encounter numerous ads, making claims to "make you bigger", "give you more energy in an intense workout" and so forth.

As an avid runner (and a very competitive one at that), I am always looking for something to help me perform better. As a complete skeptic, I am generally of the mindset that a majority of "health and fitness" products on the market are at best a waste of money, and at worst - rather dangerous.

I decided to do a bit of research through the various medical journals to see if I could find any evidence one way or the other as to the validity of the claims made by the manufactures of creatine supplements. There was certainly no shortage of available studies related to creatine and performance, I stopped looking after about 15 studies because they all seemed to come to the same conclusions.

This one seems to be at least partly FACT. Although I was unable to find one paper that showed clear correlation between creatine intake and increased muscle mass, There have been many studies that have linked creatine use with an increase in overall body weight and lean body weight. Whether or not there is actual muscle gain remains a controversial topic, as it is suspected that some of this added weight is in the form of water stored in the muscle cells (Kutz, et al). Most of the studies I looked at showed significant lean body mass increases in the supplement-taking groups versus the placebo groups.

While there is some evidence that men may achieve greater muscle mass using creatine, a study by Ferguson, et al. showed that creatine clearly had no effect of a group of highly trained female athletes in a 10 week study that looked at overall weight lifting capability in two groups, one taking creatine, the other taking a placebo. It is thought this could perhaps be due to differences in creatine uptake between men and women.

It seems we have a case of FICTION here. There have been literally hundreds of studies done with people from all background and activity levels. A study published in 2006 in the European Journal of Applied Physiology states, "Creatine supplementation does not effect metabolic adaptations to endurance training". The study examined whether or not creatine really enhances fuel utilization and endurance.

Another study, again published in Nutrition Reviews notes, " Although it will not enhance aerobic exercise or endurance performance, creatine supplementation may prove helpful for high-intensity strength athletics and anaerobic exercise". So there may be a bit of truth to this statement if you are doing intense weight training, but as far as running, cycling or other cardiovascular activity - you probably aren't going to see any significant gain.

This statement falls clearly into the FICTION column. A 2006 study in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research looked at sprint times of 43 active males split into two groups, a creatine supplement taking group, and a placebo group. The study concludes that "Despite widespread use as an ergogenic aid in sport, the results of this study suggest that creatine monohydrate supplementation conveys no benefit to multiple sprint running performance".

Another study from The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research looked at runners doing high-intensity intervals on a treadmill (mixing high speed running with 15% inclines every two minutes) and found "That creatine supplementation does not improve performance in sub maximal running interspersed with high intensity intervals.

This seems to be FICTION. A study published in 2005 in the European Journal of Nutrition did a study of 16 Spanish basketball players over the course of several seasons. The players had blood drawn several times throughout the season, when they were taking 5 milligrams of creatine as a supplement every day. It was found that there were no abnormalities in the blood chemistry, other than high levels of creatine and creatine kinase. an enzyme that helps transfer phosphates to ADP (a source of fuel for your body). It is thought by many that more studies need to be done to determine the long-term safety, but so far there doesn't seem to be a lot of evidence that extended use is dangerous.

This too falls under the FICTION category. There have been no studies published that I could find that showed this to be true, in fact - a majority of the studies noted that there was no significant change in body fat composition or quantity during supplementation cycles.

It has been stated by some that taking high levels (2-5mg daily) of creatine can increase your risks of renal (kidney) disease, however I found several studies, including one published earlier this year in The European Journal of Applied Physiology that showed no impact on renal function. It is possible that this could be due to the fact that moderate aerobic activity has been thought to increase renal function.

This is definitely FICTION. Creatine is an non-essential amino acid. This means that your body is capable of synthesizing it from other substances in your body. It is also found in in most animal based proteins, such as meats and dairy products.

The average person takes in approximately one milligram of creatine a day in the normal foods you eat, probably a bit higher if you tend to eat a lot of meat.

As with most nutrients, I strongly recommend getting them from natural sources as opposed to drinking them in a sugary drink (Most of the creatine supplements have as much sugar as a can of soda).

There does not seem to be a lot of overwhelming evidence out there that creatine supplements really deliver on the promises their manufacturers make. Like most dietary supplements, they tend to vary in purity and strength from brand to brand (and often from batch to batch). While we were able to find some evidence of performance gain, it seemed to be limited to a select group of activities such as intense weight lifting and other power-related sports. I don't think the casual exerciser will see any benefit from it whatsoever as they are probably already getting an adequate intake of it, although there seems to be little health risk involved in experimenting with its use.

In reality, I suspect you will see far greater benefits from eating healthier foods than from taking a creatine supplement - be sure to take in adequate amounts of carbohydrates before a long workout, and be sure to take in a good amount of protein and carbohydrates right after your workout to help the body rebuild and recover. These two simple steps are the best way to add energy to your workouts, help gain muscle mass and fuel fat burning.