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 contain creatine.
Creatine use is allowed by the International Olympic Committee, National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and professional sports.
Creatine is also used for muscle cramps, multiple sclerosis (MS), depression, and many other conditions, but there is no good scientific evidence to support these uses.
- Athletic performance.  Oral creatine monohydrate seems to modestly improve rowing, jumping, and soccer performance. It is unclear if it is beneficial for sprinting, cycling, swimming, or tennis performance.
Login for details - Cerebral creatine deficiency syndromes.  Oral creatine seems to improve some symptoms of the cerebral creatine deficiency syndromes guanidinoacetate methyltransferase (GAMT) deficiency and arginine-glycine amidinotransferase (AGAT) deficiency. It is unclear if oral creatine is beneficial for creatine transporter defect.
Login for details - Muscle strength.  Oral creatine seems to modestly improve muscle strength. It is unclear if topical creatine is beneficial.
Login for details - Sarcopenia.  When used for up to 12 weeks in combination with resistance training, oral creatine seems to modestly improve muscle strength in older adults. It is unclear if oral creatine is beneficial when used as a single dose or for more than 12 weeks, or if topical creatine provides any benefits.
Login for details
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, Lou Gehrig's disease).  Oral creatine does not seem to reduce ALS symptoms or increase survival.
Login for details - Huntington disease.  Oral creatine does not seem to reduce symptoms of this condition.
Login for details - Osteopenia.  Oral creatine does not seem to be beneficial for osteopenia.
Login for details
- Aging skin.  Topical creatine has only been evaluated in combination with other ingredients; its effect when used alone is unclear.
Login for details - Chronic kidney disease (CKD).  It is unclear if oral creatine is beneficial in patients with CKD.
Login for details - Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).  It is unclear if oral creatine is beneficial in patients with COPD.
Login for details - Congestive heart failure (CHF).  It is unclear if oral creatine is beneficial in patients with CHF.
Login for details - Depression.  It is unclear if oral creatine is beneficial for improving symptoms of depression.
Login for details - Diabetes.  It is unclear if oral creatine is beneficial for glycemic control.
Login for details - Fatigue.  It is unclear if oral creatine is beneficial for cognitive fatigue prevention.
Login for details - Fibromyalgia.  It is unclear if oral creatine is beneficial for improving exercise performance in patients with fibromyalgia.
Login for details - Gyrate atrophy.  Anecdotal reports suggest that oral creatine may be beneficial in some patients with gyrate atrophy.
Login for details - Hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy.  It is unclear if oral creatine is beneficial in patients with hereditary motor sensory neuropathies.
Login for details - HIV/AIDS-related wasting.  It is unclear if oral creatine is beneficial in patients with muscle wasting associated with HIV.
Login for details - Hyperhomocysteinemia.  It is unclear if oral creatine is beneficial in patients with hyperhomocysteinemia.
Login for details - Inflammatory myopathies.  It is unclear if oral creatine is beneficial in patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathies.
Login for details - Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA).  Oral creatine has only been evaluated in combination with other ingredients; its effect when used alone is unclear.
Login for details - McArdle disease.  It is unclear if oral creatine is beneficial for this condition.
Login for details - Mitochondrial myopathies.  It is unclear if oral creatine is beneficial in patients with mitochondrial myopathies.
Login for details - Multiple sclerosis (MS).  It is unclear if oral creatine is beneficial in patients with MS.
Login for details - Muscle breakdown.  It is unclear if oral creatine is beneficial for muscle breakdown prevention.
Login for details - Muscle cramps.  It is unclear if oral creatine is beneficial in patients with muscle cramps related to hemodialysis.
Login for details - Muscular dystrophy.  The evidence for the use of oral creatine in patients with various forms of muscular dystrophy is conflicting.
Login for details - Neonatal apnea.  It is unclear if oral creatine is beneficial for neonatal apnea treatment.
Login for details - Neurological trauma.  It is unclear if oral creatine is beneficial in children with a traumatic brain injury.
Login for details - Osteoarthritis.  It is unclear if oral creatine is beneficial in patients with osteoarthritis.
Login for details - Parkinson disease.  It is unclear if oral creatine is beneficial in patients with this condition.
Login for details - Postoperative recovery.  Small clinical studies suggest that oral creatine may not improve recovery of muscle strength after knee surgery.
Login for details - Rett syndrome.  It is unclear if oral creatine is beneficial in patients with this condition.
Login for details - Rheumatoid arthritis (RA).  Oral creatine does not seem to improve disease activity in patients with RA, but it might improve muscle strength.
Login for details - Schizophrenia.  It is unclear if oral creatine is beneficial in patients with schizophrenia.
Login for details - Spinal cord injury.  It is unclear if oral creatine is beneficial in patients with spinal cord injury.
Login for details - Spinal muscular atrophy.  It is unclear if oral creatine is beneficial in patients with spinal muscular atrophy.
Login for details
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."
When taken by mouth: Creatine is LIKELY SAFE for most people when taken for up to 18 months. 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. Doses up to 10 grams daily for up to 5 years have been safely used.
When applied to the skin: There isn't enough reliable information to know if creatine is safe. It might cause side effects such as redness and itching.
Special Precautions & Warnings:
Pregnancy and breast-feeding: There isn't enough reliable information to know if creatine is safe to use when pregnant or breast feeding. Stay on the safe side and avoid use.Children: Creatine is POSSIBLY SAFE in children when taken by mouth, short-term. Creatine 3-5 grams daily for 2-6 months has been taken safely in children 5-18 years of age. Creatine 2 grams daily for 6 months has been taken safely in children 2-5 years of age. Additionally, creatine 0.1-0.4 grams/kg daily for up to 6 months has been taken safely in both infants and children.
Bipolar disorder: There have been cases of manic episodes in people with bipolar disorder who took creatine daily for 4 weeks. Creatine might make mania worse in people with bipolar disorder.
Kidney disease: There is some concern that creatine might make kidney disease worse in people who already have kidney disease. If you have kidney disease, speak with a healthcare professional before using creatine.
Parkinson disease: Caffeine and creatine taken together may make Parkinson disease get worse faster. If you have Parkinson disease and take creatine, use caffeine with caution.
Medications that can harm the kidneys (Nephrotoxic Drugs)
Interaction Rating=Moderate Be cautious with this combination.
Taking high doses of creatine might harm the kidneys. Some medications can also harm the kidneys. Taking creatine with medications that can harm the kidneys might increase the chance of kidney damage.
Some of these medications that can harm the kidneys include cyclosporine (Neoral, Sandimmune); aminoglycosides including amikacin (Amikin), gentamicin (Garamycin, Gentak, others), and tobramycin (Nebcin, others); nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) including ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, Nuprin, others), indomethacin (Indocin), naproxen (Aleve, Anaprox, Naprelan, Naprosyn), piroxicam (Feldene); and numerous others.
Caffeine: Caffeine might decrease creatine's beneficial effects on athletic performance.
There are no known interactions with foods.
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.
BY MOUTH:
- For disorders 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.
2-[carbamimidoyl(methyl)amino]acetic acid, Cr, Creatin, Creatina, Créatine, Créatine Anhydre, Creatine Anhydrous, Creatine Citrate, Créatine Citrate, Creatine Ethyl Ester, Créatine Ethyl Ester, Creatine Ethyl Ester HCl, Créatine Ethyl Ester HCl, Creatine Gluconate, Creatine Hydrochloride, Créatine Kré Alkaline, Creatine Malate, Créatine Malate, Creatine Monohydrate, Créatine Monohydrate, Créatine Monohydratée, Creatine Pyroglutamate, Créatine Pyroglutamate, Creatine Pyruvate, Créatine Pyruvate, Dicreatine Malate, Dicréatine Malate, Di-Creatine Malate, Éthyle Ester de Créatine, Glycine, Kreatin, Kre-Alkalyn Pyruvate, Malate de Tricréatine, N-(aminoiminométhyl)-N-Méthyl, N-(aminoiminomethyl)-N methyl glycine, N-amidinosarcosine, Phosphocreatine, Phosphocréatine, Tricreatine HCA, Tricréatine HCA, Tricreatine Malate, Tricréatine Malate.
Natural Medicines disclaims any responsibility related to medical consequences of using any medical product. Effort is made to ensure that the information contained in this monograph is accurate at the time it was published. Consumers and medical professionals who consult this monograph are cautioned that any medical or product related decision is the sole responsibility of the consumer and/or the health care professional. A legal License Agreement sets limitations on downloading, storing, or printing content from this Database. Except for any possible exceptions written into your License Agreement, no reproduction of this monograph or any content from this Database is permitted without written permission from the publisher. Unlawful to download, store, or distribute content from this site.
For the latest comprehensive data on this and every other natural medicine, health professionals should consult the Professional Version of the Natural Medicines. It is fully referenced and updated daily.
© Copyright 1995-2021. Therapeutic Research Faculty, publishers of Natural Medicines, Prescriber's Letter, and Pharmacist's Letter. All rights reserved.