First things first.
Only good things will happen with creatine supplementation. The fears about renal damage are unfounded. And the doctors who claim that creatine supplementation is bad for the kidneys should go back to medical college and rewrite their licensing exams.
Creatine is normally synthesised by the body itself. Especially in the muscle. And during times of increased energy demand, the muscle creatine is broken down and used to regenerate ATP from ADP.
This is a relatively slow process, and it helps if you supply the creatine in your diet or as a supplement.
Why do I need creatine? I'm not a body builder.
If you're some one who likes to exercise hard, creatine is the safest, legal way to improve your performance. You'll be less sore after each workout. Push yourself harder without feeling exhausted and drained after your workout.
Even as a sedentary person, especially if you're vegetarian or vegan, using creatine will
1. Improve sleep and recovery
2. Reduce stress and anxiety
3. Reduce or slow down progression of degenerative disorders
4. Reduce sugar cravings and appetite
Why bother, if the creatine is synthesised in the muscle itself?
Because it's slow, and metabolically expensive, the body makes only just enough to get by. These are energy stores within the muscle cell itself. And can get you a few extra seconds of extreme effort when you need it, without having to wait for the blood supply to get you what you need. Supplementation makes it easy to fill up and expand these storage depots of high octane fuel. Now, because the cells don't have to spend much time and energy filling up their stores, that energy can then be diverted to other repair and regenerative processes. So you end up with two major advantages.
1. More rapid energy release for when you need it
2. Faster repair and regeneration
Why not just get it from food?
You'll need to consume a large amount of red meat to fill up your stores to the maximum. Most people are physically incapable of eating more than 100-200 gms of red meat in a sitting. Forget about the 500gms at every meal, daily, that is required.
Plus, heating and cooking reduces the creatine content. This means you're going to have to eat half a kilo of red meat, raw. Not an appealing thought, is it?
Think about it. Read about it. And ask your doctor about using creatine as a supplement to improve health and healthspan.
Creatine supplementation