Link?? There are tons of studies that have been done that absolve creatine from deteriorating renal function. Creatinine levels in the blood are used to monitor kidney function, but just because you take the supplement doesn't mean your kidneys don't work well.
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J Sports Med Phys Fitness. 2004 Dec;44(4):411-6. R
Is the use of oral creatine supplementation safe?
Bizzarini E, De Angelis L.
School of Sports Medicine, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy.
This review focuses on the potential side effects caused by oral creatine supplementation on gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, renal and liver functions. No strong evidence linking creatine supplementation to deterioration of these functions has been found. In fact, most reports on side effects, such as muscle cramping, gastrointestinal symptoms, changes in renal and hepatic laboratory values, remain anecdotal because the case studies do not represent well-controlled trials, so no causal relationship between creatine supplementation and these side-effects has yet been established. The only do ented side effect is an increase in body mass. Furthermore, a possibly unexpected outcome related to creatine monohydrate ingestion is the amount of contaminants present that may be generated during the industrial production. Recently, controlled studies made to integrate the existing knowledge based on anecdotal reports on the side effects of creatine have indicated that, in healthy subjects, oral supplementation with creatine, even with long-term dosage, may be considered an effective and safe ergogenic aid. However, athletes should be educated as to proper dosing or to take creatine under medical supervision.
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J Herb Pharmacother. 2004;4(1):1-7.
Effects of creatine supplementation on renal function.
Yoshizumi WM, Tsourounis C.
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA., USA.
Creatine is a popular supplement used by athletes in an effort to increase muscle performance. The purpose of this review was to assess the literature evaluating the effects of creatine supplementation on renal function. A PubMed search was conducted to identify relevant articles using the keywords, creatine, supplementation, supplements, renal dysfunction, ergogenic aid and renal function. Twelve pertinent articles and case reports were identified. According to the existing literature, creatine supplementation appears safe when used by healthy adults at the recommended loading (20 gm/day for five days) and maintenance doses (</=3 gm/day). In people with a history of renal disease or those taking nephrotoxic medications, creatine may be associated with an increased risk of renal dysfunction. One case report of acute renal failure was reported in a 20-year-old man taking 20 gm/day of creatine for a period of four weeks. There are few trials investigating the long-term use of creatine supplementation in doses exceeding 10 gm/day. Furthermore, the safety of creatine in children and adolescents has not been established. Since creatine supplementation may increase creatinine levels, it may act as a false indicator of renal dysfunction. Future studies should include renal function markers other than serum creatinine and creatinine clearance.
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Int J Sports Med. 2005 May;26(4):307-13.
Few adverse effects of long-term creatine supplementation in a placebo-controlled trial.
Groeneveld GJ, Beijer C, Veldink JH, Kalmijn S, Wokke JH, van den Berg LH.
Department of Neurology, University Medical Centre Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Although oral creatine supplementation is very popular among athletes, no prospective placebo-controlled studies on the adverse effects of long-term supplementation have yet been conducted. We performed a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of creatine monohydrate in patients with the neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, because of the neuroprotective effects it was shown to have in animal experiments. The purpose of this paper is to compare the adverse effects, and to describe the effects on indirect markers of renal function of long-term creatine supplementation. 175 subjects (age = 57.7 +/- 11.1 y) were randomly assigned to receive creatine monohydrate 10 g daily or placebo during an average period of 310 days. After one month, two months and from then on every fourth month, adverse effects were scored using dichotomous questionnaires, plasma urea concentrations were measured, and urinary creatine and albumin concentrations were determined. No significant differences in the occurrence at any time of adverse effects due to creatine supplementation were found (23 % nausea in the creatine group, vs. 24 % in the placebo group, 19 % gastro-intestinal discomfort in the creatine group, vs. 18 % in the placebo group, 35 % diarrhoea in the creatine group, vs. 24 % in the placebo group). After two months of treatment, edematous limbs were seen more often in subjects using creatine, probably due to water retention. Severe diarrhoea (n = 2) and severe nausea (n = 1) caused 3 subjects in the creatine group to stop intake of creatine, after which these adverse effects subsided. Long-term supplementation of creatine did not lead to an increase of plasma urea levels (5.69 +/- 1.47 before treatment vs. 5.26 +/- 1.44 at the end of treatment) or to a higher prevalence of micro-albuminuria (5.4 % before treatment vs. 1.8 % at the end of treatment).
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I can keep going....
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