Are There Any Side Effects to Taking Creatine?

Is creatine bad for you? A misinterpretation of lab tests may explain concerns over kidney safety with creatine supplementation.

If you missed it, check out the previous video: What Is Creatine? Can It Treat Sarcopenia (Muscle Loss with Age)? (

I first talked about the contamination issue a decade ago in Creatine Brain Fuel Supplementation (

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-Michael Greger, MD FACLM

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5 Comments

  1. I wish you could get more to the point on your topics I follow u but tmi and not sure what to take away would rather prefer ya take and view or opinion that it isn’t good or just bad would love to to know if you think its just not worth it by risk vs reward simple terms dr Gregg 😉

  2. Creatine gave me swollen ankles and the soles of my feet were aching to the point I could hardly walk. I probably wasn’t drinking enough water. I was using an exercise bike at the time. I just stopped taking it and everything went back to normal.

  3. True story. Female 114 lbs. 3 days x 3 grams. By evening on 3rd night, my belly was filled with air it felt like, bloating, back ache felt like contractions. I told myself FOOD POISONING! The Kaopectate that works 100% for me suddenly did not. I threw up 4 times and I asked where did all the water come from? Then I did number 2 four times, but no diarrhea. Break for half an hour feeling weak. I was chewing gum when suddenly I had to throw up again. 4 x with the same amount of liquid. One more violent puke and it was maybe half a cup. The same with number 2, 4 more but no diarrhea. I felt like I was cleaned out. All this happened in 1.5 hours. When I went to bed, I slept for 13 hours ! I woke up only one time to pee. Could my size be a factor? I only took 3 grams x3 days. I took Costco creatine. When I woke up, I felt weak. But I had to go to work. 😮

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