Creatine Monohydrate: Benefits, Dose and Safety

Creatine is a natural compound made from three amino acids. Your liver, kidneys and pancreas make about 1 gram a day, and you get roughly another gram from meat and fish. About 95 percent of it is stored in your muscles, where it helps recycle ATP, the molecule that powers short, intense bursts of effort such as sprints, jumps and heavy lifts.

Supplementing raises the creatine stored in muscle by roughly 20 to 40 percent, which is why it improves high-intensity performance. This guide covers what creatine does, what the research shows, how much to take, side effects, common myths, and how to choose a product. For more buying guides, see our supplement guides.

How creatine works

Muscles store creatine mainly as phosphocreatine. During an all-out effort lasting up to about 10 seconds, phosphocreatine rapidly donates energy to regenerate ATP. When those stores run low, power drops and you need rest to recover.

Fuller creatine stores mean you can keep up high-intensity work for a little longer and recover faster between sets or sprints. Over weeks of training, that extra work adds up to greater gains in strength and muscle. Creatine also draws water into muscle cells, which may itself act as a signal for growth.

People who eat little or no meat or fish, such as vegetarians and vegans, tend to have lower muscle creatine and often see larger increases when they supplement.

Benefits: what the research shows

Creatine has been studied in hundreds of trials. Each finding below carries an evidence label, explained in our editorial policy.

Strength and power Strong evidence

The International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) calls creatine monohydrate the most effective supplement available for increasing high-intensity exercise capacity and lean body mass during training. Across studies, people who take creatine while strength training typically gain more strength and complete more reps than those who train with a placebo.

Muscle mass Strong evidence

Combined with resistance training, creatine increases lean mass more than training alone. Some of the early gain is water held in muscle, but longer studies show increases in actual muscle tissue. Creatine doesn’t build muscle without training.

Sprint and repeated-effort sports Strong evidence

Creatine helps most in activities with repeated short bursts, such as soccer, basketball, rugby, tennis, sprinting and interval training. It offers little benefit for long endurance events, and the extra water weight may be a slight drawback for runners.

Older adults Moderate evidence

Muscle and strength decline with age. Trials in older adults suggest creatine combined with resistance training leads to greater gains in lean mass and strength than training alone. Effects on bone are less clear.

Memory and brain function Moderate evidence

The brain also uses creatine for energy, and interest in its effects on thinking has grown quickly.

These are promising but early findings. Effects may be larger in people under stress, short of sleep, or with low dietary creatine, such as vegetarians.

Other areas Limited evidence

Creatine is being studied for depression (as an add-on to treatment), recovery from muscle-wasting conditions and concussion, and blood sugar control. These are interesting leads, but the evidence isn’t strong enough to use creatine for them without medical advice.

How much creatine to take

There are two well-studied ways to take creatine. Both end up at the same place: fully loaded muscle stores.

The ISSN describes loading as about 0.3 g per kg of body weight a day for 5–7 days. Very large athletes may use 5–10 g a day for maintenance.

If you stop taking creatine, muscle stores return to normal over about 4 to 6 weeks. There’s no need to “cycle” it on and off.

Creatine works best alongside enough protein and a well-designed training program. Our protein calculator can help you set a daily protein target to match your training.

When to take it and what to take it with

• Timing: taking creatine every day matters far more than timing. Some studies hint at a small advantage from taking it close to workouts, especially afterward, but the difference is minor.
• With food: taking creatine with a meal containing carbohydrate and protein may increase how much your muscles take up, and it’s easier on the stomach.
• Mixing: stir the powder into water, juice, a smoothie or a protein shake. Creatine monohydrate doesn’t dissolve completely in cold water, so stir well or use warm liquid.
• Caffeine: moderate coffee intake is fine. A few studies suggested very high caffeine might blunt creatine’s effect, but the evidence is weak.
• Rest days: keep taking your daily dose to keep stores topped up.

Side effects and safety

The ISSN’s review found no convincing evidence that creatine causes harm in healthy people at recommended doses, with studies lasting up to five years. Short-term doses as high as 30 g a day have also been well tolerated.

• Weight gain: most people gain 1 to 2 kg (2 to 4 lb) in the first weeks, mostly water stored in muscle. This isn’t fat.
• Stomach upset: bloating, cramping or diarrhea can happen, usually with large single doses during loading. Splitting doses or skipping loading helps.
• Blood tests: creatine raises blood creatinine, a marker doctors use to check kidney function. This doesn’t mean your kidneys are damaged, but it can confuse results, so tell your doctor you take creatine before a blood test.

See also our medical disclaimer.

Creatine myths

A 2021 review by sports nutrition researchers looked at common beliefs about creatine. Here’s what the evidence says:

• “Creatine damages your kidneys.” Controlled studies in healthy people haven’t found kidney harm. The concern started with a 1998 case report in a man who already had kidney disease, and with the misreading of raised creatinine on blood tests.
• “Creatine causes hair loss.” This comes from a single 2009 study of rugby players that found a rise in the hormone DHT. It has never been repeated, no study has measured actual hair loss, and other studies found no change in DHT. If you’re worried about hair loss, discuss it with your doctor.
• “Creatine causes dehydration and cramps.” Studies, including some in athletes training in the heat, don’t support this, and some found fewer cramps.
• “Creatine is a steroid.” It isn’t. It’s a natural compound found in food, and it isn’t banned by sports authorities.
• “Creatine makes you fat.” The weight gain is water and, with training, muscle. Creatine doesn’t increase body fat.
• “Women shouldn’t take creatine.” Women benefit too, and research interest in creatine for women at different life stages is growing.
• “You need to cycle it.” There’s no evidence that taking breaks improves results or safety.

Monohydrate vs other forms

Creatine monohydrate is the form used in the vast majority of research, and it’s the cheapest. Other forms are often sold as better absorbed or free of side effects, but none has been shown to work better.

“Creapure” is a brand of creatine monohydrate made in Germany and used in many studies; it’s a quality marker, not a different form.

How to choose a creatine supplement

• Choose plain creatine monohydrate, ideally micronized for easier mixing. Avoid blends where creatine is hidden inside a proprietary formula.
• Check the dose per scoop: look for 3 to 5 g of creatine per serving.
• Look for third-party testing: NSF Certified for Sport or Informed Sport seals are especially important for competitive athletes, as they also screen for banned substances.
• Compare cost per gram: unflavored powder is usually the cheapest way to buy creatine. A month’s supply typically costs far less than a protein powder.
• Be wary of gummies: independent testing has found some creatine gummies containing much less creatine than their labels claim.

Our guide on how to read a supplement label explains what to look for, and our protein powder guide covers the supplement most people pair with creatine.

Creatine FAQ