When it comes to finding the best supplements to enhance your health and fitness levels, you can find a wide range of options in the market. Creatine is one such supplement that offers a lot of benefits to athletes. Creatine for women, especially, has been the focal point of many different debates and research.
There are various myths associated with using creatine, due to which finding the best creatine for women can be challenging. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to debunk these myths and establish the fact that creatine is, in fact, a safe and effective supplement.
Myth # 01 – Creatine Cause Dehydration
The myth that creatine cause dehydration has mainly originated from some people’s reviews that creatine can have negative effects like muscle cramping and severe dehydration. However, this type of anecdotal evidence has been refuted through two different surveys of the athletes.
One of the surveys showed that the athletes using creatine actually suffered from less cramping and dehydration. Similarly, the other survey showed that patients who were receiving hemodialysis benefitted from creatine in reducing muscle cramping.
Myth # 02 – Only Men Can Use Creatine
Another common myth associated with creatine supplements is that only men can benefit from creatine. This belief is propagated because most of the research has been conducted on males.
However, several types of research also show that women at varying levels of training, fitness, age, and physical activities can also greatly benefit from creatine supplements. In fact, by using the best creatine for women, even untrained females can enjoy greater strength and power through creatine supplementation.
Myth # 03 – Creatine Is Only Useful For People Doing High-Intensity Activities
Unlike popular belief, anyone can use creatine supplementation to build muscle mass, get higher energy, and improve overall well-being. Even if you are not used to high-intensity sports or lifting, you can benefit by adding creatine supplements to your routine.
This is proven by a study conducted among runners who regularly used the creatine supplement, and as a result, they suffered from less muscle damage, soreness, and inflammation. Reducing the muscle damage itself is a major benefit of creatine supplements because it provides greater strength to muscles and also enhances recovery from intense exercises.
Myth # 04 – Food And Supplements Have Equal Amount Of Creatine
Creatine is found in only animal-based sources. However, these sources have a very minimal quantity of creatine that’s not enough to provide you with all the benefits of creatine. This is the reason why you must use the best creatine for women to ensure you are getting an efficacious dose of creatine.
It is also important to note that muscle creatine stores are much lower in vegetarians than the non-vegetarians because creatine is mostly obtained from meat. Therefore, vegans and vegetarians have to use creatine supplements.
Myth # 05 – Creatine Can Damage Kidneys
Creatine is essentially a string of amino acids (peptides). As a result, some people believe that using creatine supplements can result in high protein intake and damage the kidneys. However, it is a fully false claim.
Many different studies have evaluated this claim and found no connection between creatine and potential kidney damage. Nevertheless, if you are someone who is already suffering from impaired kidney function and want to incorporate creatine supplements in your routine, you should discuss it with your doctor to make the best choice as per your specific health condition.
Myth # 06 – Creatine Cause Water Retention
Some of the studies related to creatine supplements show that some individuals can face water retention in the first several days of supplementation. However, long-term usage of creatine supplements with exercise has not shown any dramatic increase in overall body water, even when the individual gets a high dose of 20 grams per day. Keep in mind that most benefits of creatine can be achieved with a small dose of 3 to 5 grams per day as well.
Conclusion
The bottom line is that creatine supplements provide many different benefits to both males and females. A lot of concerns and myths, like the ones discussed above, are spread about creatine, due to which people are often apprehensive about using creatine supplements.
However, by finding the best creatine for women, you won’t have to worry about any of the potential side effects. Instead, you’ll be able to take your fitness level to the next level by using creatine supplements.
Overall, creatine supplementation is unlikely to adversely affect your health in any way. Several studies have shown creatine to be one of the most effective supplements, especially for athletes of all levels and ages. Hence, if you are looking to improve your energy levels and lean body mass, you should use creatine supplements.
