The Legality Of Creatine In Athletics no comments
In recent years there has been much discussion in the news about performance enhancing substances. We have learned that many of our sports celebrities were taking steroids, pre-steroids, stimulants, and other substances. It’s easy to understand why people would be troubled over this.
First, many people think of it it as cheating. Athletes are using these substances to give themselves an unfair advantage over their competition.
Second, many of these substances have unsafe side effects. The dangers of steroids are infamous. Stimulants have their own group of dangerous side effects.
Third, it sets a terrible example for young people. Young people see their sports icons taking these substances and come to think that they should use them too, heedless of the health consequences.
Several people have grouped creatine with these substances, but I think that is a mistake. In this article I will discuss the legality of creatine, and how it’s different from other performance enhancing substances.
Creatine Has Not Been Banned
Creatine has not been prohibited by the NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, NCAA, or International Olympic Committee. The NCAA bans member schools from handing out creatine, but does not ban athletes from taking it. I am aware of no sports organization that has prohibited the use of creatine.
It’s Not A Drug
In the United States, creatine is categorized as a dietary supplement, not a drug. It’s treated as a food, and does not have to meet the drug requirements of the FDA.
Unlike other supplements, creatine is found naturally in food. Meat is the primary dietary source. If you ate a lot of meat (for example, a pound of pork a day) you could get amounts of creatine to akin to using a supplement. The chairman of the International Olympic Committee’s medical commission, Prince Alexandre de Merode, has said:
“Creatine is food, and there is no reason to ban it. We don’t tell people that they can’t eat eggs or bread. You can’t exaggerate, because it’s not comparable to steroids.”.
Creatine Doesn’t Give You An Unfair Advantage
Unlike steroids, you can not get artificially high levels in your body. Your muscle tissue can only hold a limited amount of creatine, and any extra you use gets removed by your liver and kidneys. Each person has a limit to how much creatine their muscle tissue can hold, and there is no known way to alter that.
Depending on your diet, you may already be close to the maximum level. People who consume a lot of meat already have higher levels of creatine. Vegetarians are inclined to see more benefit from supplementation because they don’t get much creatine in their diet.
Many supplements are expensive. The argument can be made that their use is unfair because only rich athletes can afford them. Creatine is quite low-cost. You can get a year’s supply for below $20.
Creatine Has Not Been Observed To Have Harmful Side Effects
Creatine has many anecdotal reports of side effects, but none have shown up in research. Even the most usually discussed side effect, cramping, hasn’t been observed in studies. Top researchers of creatine think that creatine is safe for long term use, when using the suggested dosing. Side effects are most often reported when using amounts greater than the suggested dose. Be smart. Use a low dose (2.5 to 5g per day) one month on, one month off, and you will likely never experience side effects.
Creatine Cannot Be Tested For
Even if sports organizations wished to ban creatine use, testing for it would be tricky. Eating a lot of meat would give you similar blood levels to taking a supplement. The IOC’s sub-commission on doping has declared that testing would be problematic, because it could punish athlete’s who have naturally elevated levels of creatine.
Head over to my website for additional information on creatine for mass and creatine monohydrate.