Creatine
// What the research shows
The International Society of Sports Nutrition position standPosition stand An official statement by a professional society summarising the evidence on a topic. More in the glossary → (Kreider et al., 2017) summarises over 200 studies: creatine raises muscle creatine stores and improves high-intensity exercise performance. Even doses up to 30 g/day over 5 years were well tolerated in healthy people, and there's no compelling evidence of kidney harm in healthy individuals. A meta-analysisMeta-analysis A study of studies: the results of many individual studies are pooled statistically. More in the glossary → using direct imaging of muscle (Burke et al., 2023) found a small additional effect on hypertrophy, slightly larger in younger adults.
// In practice
- Creatine monohydrate, 3–5 g daily, timing doesn't matter.
- A loading phase isn't needed; it only saturates stores faster.
- Gaining 1–2 kg at first is mostly water in the muscle.
// Limitations & open questions
People with existing kidney disease should check with a doctor. Many lean-mass studies use DXADXA and BIA Two methods for measuring body composition: DXA uses X-rays, BIA a weak electrical current. More in the glossary → or BIA, which water retention can skew.
// Sources
- Positionspapier 2017Kreider et al. – ISSN position stand: safety and efficacy of creatine supplementation (JISSN) ↗
- Meta-Analyse 2023Burke et al. – Creatine supplementation and regional measures of muscle hypertrophy (Nutrients) ↗