With all the enormous amount of studies that have been done on Creatine it is little wonder that it is the most widely used supplement on the market today. There are however a few disadvantages that you will get from taking Creatine but there are not many.
The first is side effects of taking Creatine which usually comes from taking too much of the product in order to increase the gains that you get. But this is definitely not recommended, as the side effects that you can get could be more serious.
There have been very few documented side effects but these are generally grouped into stomach problems, muscle cramping, dehydration, and increased risk of muscle strains/pulls. The increase in muscle strains is without a doubt due to the increased strength that you will have when you take Creatine.
Most of the studies done on creatine supplementation have evaluated pharmacological grade creatine monohydrate in powder form or have used oral or intravenous phosphocreatine formulations, which is a more expensive form of creatine.
From creatine candy/bars, liquid creatine, creatine gum, creatine citrate, effervescent creatine, to different favored powders the choices on what type of Creatine you take seem endless. Although there are many claims from the manufacturers that their specific formulation gets more Creatine into your blood stream, none of these claims have been conclusively proven to be true.
The problem with all these wonderful new variations of getting Creatine into your blood is that these Creatine supplements that are other than Creatine Monohydrate are sold as a much higher rate if you work it out on a monthly budget.
There is absolutely no evidence that you can take less of these types of supplements (e.g., liquid creatine or effervescent creatine) and get the same benefits than ingesting higher amounts of creatine monohydrate because of the lesser break-down in the stomach, greater intestinal absorption, faster absorption in the blood, and/or greater muscle uptake.
You should always make sure that you take care when purchasing high quality creatine monohydrate that is produced in inspected facilities that adhere to FDA good manufacturing practice guidelines. Any research that you do online regarding the many different ways to get Creatine in your system will never be a waste of your time. You need to look at what works specifically for you which comes from trial and error.
Creatine for Muscle Gain