Creatine

Studies in people

• Benefit

  Brain health and thinking²

  Creatine may help thinking when the brain is low on energy, but the best way to take it is not yet known.

• Benefit

  Muscle and brain health³

  Creatine may help keep muscles strong as you age and support brain and heart health.

• Benefit

  Muscle energy and brain health⁴

  Creatine monohydrate may boost muscle energy, thinking, and recovery, especially for women, vegans, and people with health conditions.

• Open question

  Exercise performance in teens⁵

  In teen swimmers and soccer players, creatine improved some exercise tests, and studies reported no bad effects.

• No harm found

  Short-term side effects⁶

  Short-term creatine use showed no major side effects, but few long-term studies exist.

• Benefit

  Muscle and exercise effects⁷

  Creatine may help build muscle even without exercise, and timing of when you take it does not seem to matter.

• Benefit

  Brain health and function⁸

  Creatine supplements may raise brain creatine and help during sleep loss, mental fatigue, or low oxygen, but evidence is limited.

• Concern

  Kidney and liver health⁹

  In athletes taking creatine, studies found no kidney or liver problems, though some healthy people occasionally reported stomach upset or cramps.

• Open question

  Kidney function¹⁰

  Creatine can slightly raise a blood waste marker, but kidney filtering stayed the same in these studies.

• No harm found

  Kidney health¹¹

  Studies in people show creatine does not harm kidneys, though it can raise a blood marker doctors check.

• No harm found

  Hair loss in men¹²

  In young men who took creatine for 12 weeks, hair growth and the hormone tied to baldness did not change.

• Benefit

  Menopause brain and mood¹³

  In perimenopausal and menopausal women, medium-dose creatine hydrochloride may improve reaction time and raise brain creatine levels.

• Benefit

  Brain power and memory¹⁴

  In people, creatine may slightly help memory and thinking, but scientists are not yet sure.

• Benefit

  Muscle strength and damage¹⁵

  In athletes, taking creatine during four weeks of training improved leg strength and lowered signs of muscle damage.

• Benefit

  Bone strength after menopause¹⁶

  In postmenopausal women, two years of creatine plus exercise did not change bone density but improved some bone strength measures.

• Benefit

  Sleep in women¹⁷

  In women doing strength training, creatine increased sleep on training days, but not overall sleep quality.

• Benefit

  Brain function when oxygen is low¹⁸

  In people, creatine supplements helped attention hold up when oxygen was low.

• Benefit

  Brain energy in chronic fatigue¹⁹

  In people with chronic fatigue syndrome, six weeks of creatine raised brain creatine and eased fatigue, but the study was small.

• Open question

  Supplement expectations and side effects²¹

  In a survey of creatine users, women reported more side effects and less perceived benefit than men.

• No harm found

  Male fertility²²

  In a large US study, creatine eaten in food showed no clear link to sperm-related hormones.

• Benefit

  Arsenic in drinking water²³

  In adults drinking arsenic-tainted water, creatine supplements lowered one arsenic form in the blood.

• Open question

  Growth in children²⁴

  Kids who ate more creatine from meat tended to be taller, but scientists do not yet know whether creatine causes this.

Study type not stated

• Open question

  Blood sugar control²⁵

  Creatine may help blood sugar, but scientists do not yet know whether it truly works.

How it’s made and used

• Supplement effect on muscle²⁰

  In vegans and vegetarians, creatine raised muscle creatine but did not improve sprint power.

The signal at the top counts the findings in people and in animal and lab studies. A concern in studies of people outranks animal and lab studies, and “No concerns” needs at least one finding in people. When most findings in people point one way, the page leans that way (“Mostly”), and every finding is still shown. Findings whose study type is not stated are shown but not counted. This page is a reference, not medical advice. It describes what regulators and published research say. Talk to a doctor or dietitian about your own diet.