Home Supplement-Knowledge-Base Creatine
 

Creatine

This article provides general nutrition information only and is not medical advice.

Overview

Creatine is a chemical that is found in the body. It is found mostly in muscles but also in the brain. It is also found in foods such as red meat and seafood. Creatine can also be made in the laboratory.

Creatine is most commonly used for improving exercise performance and increasing muscle mass in athletes and older adults. There is some science supporting the use of creatine in improving the athletic performance of young, healthy people during brief high-intensity activity such as sprinting. Because of this, creatine is often used as a dietary supplement to improve muscle strength and athletic performance. In the U.S., a majority of sports nutrition supplements, which total $2.7 billion in annual sales, contain creatine.

Creatine use is allowed by the International Olympic Committee, National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and professional sports.

In addition to improving athletic performance and muscle strength, creatine is taken by mouth for muscle cramps, multiple sclerosis (MS), low mood, and many other conditions, but there is no good scientific evidence to support these uses.

Classification

Is a Form of:

Chemical

Primary Functions:

Improving exercise performance

Also Known As:

Créatine, Créatine Anhydre, Creatine Anhydrous

How Does It Work?

Creatine is involved in making the energy muscles need to work.

Vegetarians and other people who have lower total creatine levels when they start taking creatine supplements seem to get more benefit than people who start with a higher level of creatine. Skeletal muscle will only hold a certain amount of creatine; adding more won't raise levels any more. This "saturation point" is usually reached within the first few days of taking a "loading dose."

Uses

  • Athletic performance. Creatine seems to help improve rowing performance, jumping height, and soccer performance in athletes. But the effect of creatine on sprinting, cycling, or swimming performance varies. The mixed results may relate to the small sizes of the studies, the differences in creatine doses, and differences in test used to measure performance. Creatine doesn't seem to improve serving ability in tennis players.
  • imbalances of creatine metabolism or transport. Some people have a imbalance that prevents their body from making creatine. This can lead to low levels of creatine in the brain. Low levels of creatine in the brain can lead to decreased mental function, seizures, autism, and movement problems. Taking creatine by mouth daily for up to 3 years can increase creatine levels in the brain in children and young adults with a imbalance of creatine production called guanidinoacetate methyltransferase (GAMT) deficiency. This can help improve movement and reduce seizures. But it doesn't improve mental ability. Arginine-glycine amidinotransferase (AGAT) deficiency is another imbalance that prevents the body from making creatine. In children with this condition, taking creatine for up to 8 years seems to improve attention, language, and mental performance. But taking creatine does not seem to improve brain creatine levels, movement, or mental function in children who have a imbalance in which creatine isn't transported properly.
  • Muscle strength. There is a lot of mixed research on creatine's ability to improve muscle strength. However, analyses of this research show that creatine seems to modestly improve upper body strength and lower body strength in both younger and older adults.
  • Age-related muscle loss (sarcopenia ). Creatine may help improve muscle strength in older adults. It seems to work best when used along with exercise to build muscles. It doesn't seem to help when used in lower doses, as a single dose, or when used without exercise.

Recommended Dosing

The following doses have been studied in scientific research:

ADULTS

BY MOUTH:

  • For athletic performance: Many different dosing regimens have been used; however, most use a short-term "loading dose" followed by a long-term maintenance dose. Loading doses are typically 20 grams daily for 4-7 days. Maintenance doses are typically 2-10 grams daily.
  • For muscle strength: Many different dosing regimens have been used; however, most use a short-term "loading dose" followed by a long-term maintenance dose. The most common loading doses are typically around 20 grams daily for 5-7 days. Maintenance doses ranging from 1 to 27 grams daily have also been used.
  • Age-related muscle loss (sarcopenia): Many different dosing regimens have been used; however, most use a short-term "loading dose" followed by a long-term maintenance dose. Loading doses are typically 20 grams daily for 4-7 days. Maintenance doses are typically 2-10 grams daily. Older adults seem to experience benefits from creatine supplementation only when it is combined with resistance training.

CHILDREN

BY MOUTH:

  • For imbalances of creatine metabolism or transport: Doses of 400-800 mg of creatine per kg of body weight have been taken daily for up to 8 years. Also, 4-8 grams of creatine has been taken daily for up to 25 months.

Creatine Supplements Frequently Asked Questions

Why Creatine is bad for you?

When used orally at appropriate doses, creatine is likely safe to take for up to five years. However, there is concern that creatine taken in high doses is possibly unsafe and could damage the liver, kidneys or heart. Creatine can cause: Muscle cramping.

What are the benefits of taking creatine?

Creatine is thought to improve strength, increase lean muscle mass, and help the muscles recover more quickly during exercise. This muscular boost may help athletes achieve bursts of speed and energy, especially during short bouts of high-intensity activities such as weight lifting or sprinting.

Why Creatine is the best supplement?

Creatine is one of the most effective supplements for exercise performance. Several types are available, but monohydrate is currently the best form. It has the best safety record, most scientific support and is at least as effective as any other form on the market.

Does creatine affect you sexually?

Your body makes about half of the creatine it needs. Some body builders use creatine to help them lift more during their training to get better results. While there are anecdotal stories about how it lowers libido, no evidence exists as of yet that creatine has a negative (or positive) impact on a man's sexual health.

Is creatine bad for kidneys?

When used orally at appropriate doses, creatine is likely safe to take for up to five years. However, there is concern that creatine taken in high doses is possibly unsafe and could damage the liver, kidneys or heart. Creatine can cause: Muscle cramping.

Does creatine make you bigger?

Creatine makes your muscles look bigger, while actually making them bigger as well. First, creatine causes your muscle cells to store more water which causes your muscles to appear fuller and larger. Over time, your muscles will get bigger from this increased intensity. Creatine can help you sprint faster.

What are the disadvantages of creatine?

Creatine can cause:

  • Muscle cramping.
  • Gastrointestinal pain.
  • Weight gain.
  • Water retention.

Can I mix creatine with whey?

Whey protein and creatine monohydrate can be supplemented together, as both supplements are combined to produce a more dynamic way of helping you produce greater muscle mass once you have been to the gym and improving your workout. It can be taken per serving in a protein creatine shake.

How quickly does creatine work?

Research proves that a creatine loading phase can maximize your muscle stores within one week or less (2). This strategy involves taking 20 grams of creatine daily for 5–7 days to saturate your muscles rapidly, followed by 2–10 grams daily to maintain high levels (2, 6 ).

Does creatine make you gain belly fat?

Non-muscle weight gain

But despite a seemingly rapid increase in weight, creatine will not make you fat. You have to consume more calories than you expend to gain fat. One scoop of creatine per day (about 5 grams) doesn't have any calories, or at the very least, only a few calories.

Who needs creatine?

A substance normally found in muscle cells, creatine helps your muscles produce explosive energy during exercise, such as HIIT or weightlifting. For years, athletes and sports people have taken creatine to gain an edge on their performance — to gain strength, size and muscle and improve exercise capacity.

Which is better creatine or whey protein?

Creatine increases strength and muscle mass by increasing exercise capacity, whereas whey protein does so by stimulating increased muscle protein synthesis. Summary Both whey protein powder and creatine supplements have been shown to increase muscle mass, though they accomplish this in different ways.

Is creatine worth using?

Surveys indicate that 17-74% of athletes of various ages in a variety of sports use creatine supplements. Creatine supplementation has been shown to improve performance of brief (<30 s) high-intensity exercise, but there is limited evidence that it can enhance performance during exercise lasting longer than about 90 s.

Does creatine cause shrinkage?

It raises the risk for heart condition, cancer, liver damage, and stroke. It can also cause testicular shrinkage and breast enlargement in men. The claim is that this substance builds muscle mass and may cause weight gain.

Can I take creatine everyday?

When taken by mouth: Creatine is LIKELY SAFE when taken by mouth, short-term. Doses up to 25 grams daily for up to 14 days have been safely used. Lower doses up to 4-5 grams taken daily for up to 18 months have also been safely used. Creatine is POSSIBLY SAFE when taken by mouth, long-term.

When should u take creatine?

On workout days, research shows that it may be better to take creatine shortly before or after you exercise, rather than long before or after. On rest days, it may be beneficial to take it with food, but the timing is probably not as important as on exercise days.

Why is creatine bad for your kidneys?

Creatine can slightly raise levels of creatinine in your blood. Creatinine is commonly measured to diagnose kidney or liver problems. However, the fact that creatine raises creatinine levels does not mean that it is harming your liver or kidneys.

Can Creatine cause hair loss?

How does creatine relate to hair loss? Therefore, it's unlikely that creatine supplementation itself causes hair loss. However, an increase in DHT levels was observed. Since DHT levels play a role in hair loss, this increase could put you at risk, particularly if you're genetically predisposed to hair loss.

How much muscle can you gain in a month with creatine?

An athlete that is on Creatine for up to 3 months will gain up to 6.5 pounds of lean mass more than an athlete that is not training with Creatine. If you are worried about the possible water weight gain, be sure to cycle off of Creatine before the date you need to cut weight.

Does creatine build muscle faster?

Creatine Helps You Gain Muscle. One 8-week study found that creatine increased muscle mass when added to an exercise regimen. Strength on the bench press was improved, along with a reduction in myostatin, which is a protein that inhibits muscle cell growth.

What drugs interact with creatine?

Potentially nephrotoxic drugs include nonsteroidal joint comfort drug (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) and naproxen sodium (Aleve, others), cyclosporine (Neoral, Sandimmune) and others. Caffeine and ephedra. Combining caffeine with creatine might decrease the efficacy of creatine.

Does creatine have side effects?

Creatine can cause stomach pain, nausea, diarrhea, and muscle cramping. Creatine causes muscles to draw water from the rest of your body. Be sure to drink extra water to make up for this. Also, if you are taking creatine, don't exercise in the heat.

Can Creatine affect your mood?

Taken together, there remains the possibility that creatine can increase risk of mania or low mood in susceptible individuals. It is also possible that long-term high dosing of creatine alters creatine transporter function or creatine kinase activity in a manner that adversely affects emotional regulation.

What is the best way to take creatine?

The ISSN suggests that 5 grams of creatine monohydrate four times daily for 5–7 days is the most effective way to increase your muscle creatine levels, though amounts may vary depending on your weight (2). You can determine your daily dose for the loading phase by multiplying your weight in kilograms by 0.3 (2).

Does creatine cause stress?

Although most healthy people can take it with no problem, creatine can, in rare cases, have adverse effects, particularly when used in excess. Side effects can include: Weight gain. Stress.

Does creatine raise cardiovascular health?

Acute Creatine Loading Increases Fat-Free Mass, but Does Not Affect cardiovascular health, Plasma Creatinine, or CK Activity in Men and Women.

Should I take creatine everyday or just on workout days?

On workout days, research shows that it may be better to take creatine shortly before or after you exercise, rather than long before or after. On rest days, it may be beneficial to take it with food, but the timing is probably not as important as on exercise days.

Does creatine help you lose weight?

Yes, you will gain water weight because Creatine causes water retention. However, Creatine also gives you more energy, which promotes muscle growth and weight loss.  An athlete that is on Creatine for up to 3 months will gain up to 6.5 pounds of lean mass more than an athlete that is not training with Creatine.

Clinical Studies