Certain people should avoid gym supplement creatine due to worrying side effect

One of the more popular health products out there is the gym supplement creatine, which boosts your protein and means that if you really are putting in the hard work and exercise then you should see improved results.

If you want to increase muscle mass, this is one of the safer supplements gym-goers can get, though it's not without side effects, and there are people who probably ought to avoid it.

Nutritionist and fitness expert Alan Aragon said it was the 'king' of supplements, as it could also help your joints as well as the muscles which do the pulling. There are even people who've been trying to create a 'super dose' of the stuff, as they believe it boosts the positive effects, and they wanted to see what the actual impact on their body would be.

Scientists reckon that as well as boosting your physical prowess, it can also improve your mental health, but there are limits and there are cases when it would be a bad idea.

There's a lot of benefits to creatine if you take the right amount, but there's some people who might want to avoid it (Getty Images)

Processor Carmine Pariante of King's College London told the Daily Mail that creatine could help your brain with depression, indicating a study from last year which suggested adults receiving cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for depression did better with creatine.

That study found that someone taking 5g a day of creatine alongside CBT appeared to have more reduced symptoms of depression than with just the therapy alone.

The professor said results were 'encouraging', but warned people not to go overboard and that people with bipolar disorder should especially be aware. In rare cases, he noted the increased energy the supplement might give the brain could run the risk of mania.

"Creatine should only be used under medical supervision in depression and people with bipolar disorder must be especially careful", he added.

Experts have warned that people with bipolar disorder would need to be careful with creatine as in rare cases it might cause mania (Getty Images)

You definitely want to be careful when trying new things, and remember you can have too much of a good thing, as one person found out when he accidentally overdosed on creatine.

Aussie bloke Chris Hogan ended up in hospital and had to have large kidney stones removed after not reading the label on his supplement properly and taking 20g a day for seven weeks. For context, the recommended dose is somewhere between 3g and 5g a day, so Chris was at least four times over that.

In doing so, he put a lot of pressure on his kidneys and landed himself in a hospital bed with a very painful experience, so please remember to always read the labels and measure your doses.