I’m sure most of you guys who are into body building have heard of or tried out creatine supplements.  Nearly all of the body's creatine supply is located within skeletal muscle where it assists in generating force which is why eating sources of skeletal muscle (fish and meats) provides us with creatine in our diets, which our muscles absorb from the blood stream.  Adding a synthetic creatine salt supplement to the diet also increases muscle creatine content and also enhances athletic performance. The advantage of synthetic creatine is that higher levels of creatine can be ingested at a lower caloric value without increasing saturated fat intake.  

Since they consume no meat, vegetarians typically possess lower than average creatine levels, which means that their muscles probably have more room to absorb after being ingested and some studies have shown that vegetarians respond very well to creatine supplementation.  What’s more, it is becoming clearer that creatine supplementation possesses long-term benefits, especially when accompanied by B-vitamin supplementation. These benefits have to do with an enhancement in methylation rate in our cells that accompanies creatine supplementation.  This may help the body to detoxify (like in the liver) and much more.

So how much would one want to take?  The typical dosage for pure creatine monohydrate is about 10-30 grams per day for a normal man but since there are many creatine products out in the market these days your creatine dosage depends on the type of supplement you take. Check out the dosage on the product label and read the directions on the bottle.  Just so you know, Creatine has been known to cause mild to serious side effects from cramps, to stomach upsets and vomiting. Also, creatine absorbs water from cells which results in increasing the water mass of muscles, and can also also dehydration, so at least be sure to drink lots of water to stop dehydration.  To be on the safe side, ask your doc before taking tons of creatine.