Supplement evidence

023 / 575Performance

Creatine monohydrate

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The short answer

Improving repeated high-intensity performance and training-related strength or lean-mass gains for some adults.

Evidence and scope: Supported for specific outcomes
This status does not grade the ingredient for every goal, outcome, or person.
Important limitation: It has not been shown to extend human lifespan.
Before deciding: Water-weight gain and GI symptoms can occur; kidney disease or complex medicines warrant clinical review.

01 / PRACTICAL GUIDE

Dose, absorption, and combinations

These are indication-specific reference or studied ranges—not a personalized prescription. Start with the objective, then check the form, label, medicines, and health conditions.

Reference range by objective

Strength and training3–5 g/day creatine monohydrate; optional loading 20 g/day split for 5–7 days

Reference or studied range—not a personalized prescription. The product label or a clinician may specify a different dose.

Dose source ↗

Cognitive-performance research10–20 g/day appears in selected studies, but evidence and tolerability are less established

Reference or studied range—not a personalized prescription. The product label or a clinician may specify a different dose.

Dose source ↗

More is not automatically better. A clinician or product label may specify a different amount.

Absorption / solubilityWater-soluble

Water-soluble or readily water-dispersible. This does not mean excess is always harmless.

How it is commonly taken

Take daily; timing is secondary. Dissolve and drink adequate fluid.

Do not combine casually

Kidney disease, pregnancy, or unexplained kidney tests require clinical review; creatinine can rise without kidney injury.

Dose and use source ↗

Dose and use links lead to primary or official source material. Search links are discovery tools, not proof that every returned paper applies.

02 / EVIDENCE

What the research says

We keep supportive, mixed, negative, safety, and contextual findings together. The headline never replaces the underlying papers.

3research papers in this ledger

24unique primary studies represented

1,028unique participants represented

These are audited counts for this JIVANA collection, not search-result totals. Participants are counted once when multiple papers use the same cohort; review papers are not added again to participant totals.

Open the research timelineResearch timeline

Entries are ordered by publication year. A study period appears only when the source reports it.

2023

Mixed or qualifiedPMID 37144634

A 2-yr Randomized Controlled Trial on Creatine Supplementation during Exercise for Postmenopausal Bone Health

Creatine did not improve the primary hip bone-mineral-density outcome, though some secondary bone geometry and walking outcomes favored it.

Published: 2023Duration: 2 yearsn=237 participants

Study design and methods

Design: Randomized, placebo-controlled trial
Population: Postmenopausal women
Intervention: Creatine or placebo during resistance training and walking
Outcome: Bone health and physical function

Open research record ↗

2021

Mixed or qualifiedPMID 34107512 · NCT01057680

Efficacy of Creatine Supplementation and Resistance Training on Area and Density of Bone and Muscle in Older Adults

Some bone-area and lower-leg muscle-density measures favored creatine; results did not establish broader clinical benefit.

Published: 2021Duration: 1 yearn=70 participants

Study design and methods

Design: Randomized, placebo-controlled trial
Population: Adults with a mean age of 58 years
Intervention: Creatine 0.1 g/kg/day or placebo during resistance training
Outcome: Bone geometry and muscle density

Open research record ↗

2017

Supports a specific usePMID 29138605

Effect of creatine supplementation during resistance training on lean tissue mass and muscular strength in older adults

The pooled evidence favored creatine for lean mass and strength gains during resistance training.

Published: 2017Duration: Included trials: 7–52 weeksn=721 participants22 primary studies represented

Study design and methods

Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis of 22 randomized trials
Population: Older adults with mean ages from 57 to 70
Intervention: Creatine plus resistance training versus placebo plus training
Outcome: Lean tissue mass and upper/lower-body strength

Open research record ↗

Unscreened discovery appendix—not evidence4,649 candidate publicationsSearch run: Aug 21, 2026

Complete for the displayed PubMed query at the search timestamp—not for all databases or every possible synonym. Candidates can be irrelevant, duplicate the same study, or report negative findings. They are never summed as evidence or participants until screened.

03 / SOURCES

Start with the source material

Official evidence overviewNIH Office of Dietary Supplements Live PubMed discovery searchNational Library of Medicine

The live search is for discovery only. Search-result counts change and are not included in the audited totals above.

Recent PubMed discovery recordsDirect links to the first 12 records returned by the reproducible search. These are discovery candidates—not reviewed summaries or a count of supportive findings.

04 / EXPERT CONTEXT

Expert context—not evidence

Expert positions are dated context—not scientific evidence. They never raise the evidence status or become consensus by repetition.

Personal use

Andrew Huberman

Neuroscientist and health educator

Publicly describes taking 5 g/day of creatine monohydrate and frames it as support for brain function. This is personal practice, not a clinical guideline.

Source date: 2022
Context / disclosure: The episode states that some supplements were obtained through an affiliate; the position is not counted as scientific evidence.

Huberman Lab — Focus Toolkit ↗