Many athletes, ranging from middle schools to colleges, are now using creatine, a dietary supplement. However, the long-term side affects of this supplement are unknown. Human muscle cells contain enough ATP for just a few seconds of extreme activity, and have a larger amount of ATP stored as phosphates.
When Creatine is used, its phosphates are transferred directly to the ADP, renewing ATP in milliseconds. This allows the muscle to sustain activity for much longer than normal. However, there are also many risks. The FDA has not evaluated Creatine for safety, and there are no regulated manufacturing standards in place. Therefore, the chance of many unknown risks is possible.
Some known long-term side effects are muscle cramps, stomach cramps, dehydration, nausea and seizures. Personally, I don’t believe that athletes should be able to use Creatine for many reasons. First of all, for the reason that there are many unknown risks, that could put the athletes’ life in danger. Also, it should be banned because it creates unfair competition for middle school, high school, and college students.
No one should have to loose a game because they don’t want to take supplements that could put their risk at life, and therefore, Creatine should be prohibited.
