Creatine
Creatine is made in the liver and kidney from arginine, glycine, and methionine, about 1 g a day, and an omnivorous diet supplies roughly another gram. In muscle it is stored as phosphocreatine, which regenerates ATP during the first seconds of maximal effort. Creatine monohydrate is among the most studied supplements of any kind, and none of the newer forms has beaten it in a trial.
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What It Does
Creatine kinase transfers phosphate from phosphocreatine to ADP, buffering ATP during sprints, lifts, and other efforts lasting up to about 10 seconds. The same enzyme system shuttles high-energy phosphate from mitochondria to the myofibrils. About 95% of body creatine sits in skeletal muscle. Supplementation raises total muscle creatine by roughly 20%, more in vegetarians and others who start low, and very little in people whose stores are already near the ceiling.
The performance evidence is consistent. Combined with resistance training, creatine adds modest gains in strength and lean mass over training alone, and the benefit is largest for repeated high-intensity efforts (Kreider 2017). It does little for steady endurance work. The 1-2 kg of weight gained in the first week is mostly water drawn into muscle cells.
Outside sport the record is thinner. A systematic review of six small trials found possible improvements in short-term memory and reasoning, mostly in vegetarians, older adults, and sleep-deprived subjects (Avgerinos 2018). Large trials in Parkinson's disease and ALS found no benefit.
The kidney question has a mechanical answer. Creatine breaks down to creatinine, so supplementation raises serum creatinine and lowers calculated eGFR without any change in actual kidney function; cystatin C is the better test in someone taking it. Trials lasting up to several years in healthy people show no kidney harm (Kreider 2017). People with existing kidney disease have not been studied well and should not assume the same. A single study of 20 rugby players reported that dihydrotestosterone rose by about half during loading (van der Merwe 2009). The study did not assess hair loss, and the finding has not been replicated.
Forms and Bioavailability
Absorption ratings are broad tiers. Head-to-head human trials rarely support a finer ranking among well-absorbed forms.
| Form | Active content | Absorption | Typical dose | Cost | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Creatine MonohydrateCreapure, micronized creatine | 87.9% | HighNear-complete oral absorption; taken up into muscle by the sodium- and chloride-dependent creatine transporter (SLC6A8). Daily dosing saturates muscle stores in about 3-4 weeks, or 5-7 days with a loading phase. | 3-5 g daily; optional loading at 0.3 g/kg/day for 5-7 days | Low | 643 |
| Creatine Hydrochloridecreatine HCl | 78.2% | HighMuch more water-soluble than monohydrate. Higher solubility has not been shown to increase muscle creatine uptake, which is limited by the transporter rather than by dissolution. | 1.5-3 g daily (marketed doses; not established by comparative trials) | High | 139 |
| Creatine Ethyl EsterCEE | Varies | LowDegrades rapidly to creatinine at gastrointestinal pH. In a 2009 trial it raised serum creatinine but not muscle creatine compared with monohydrate (Spillane 2009). | Not recommended | Moderate | 1 |
| Buffered CreatineKre-Alkalyn, pH-buffered creatine | Varies | HighCreatine monohydrate with an alkaline buffer. Monohydrate does not meaningfully degrade in the stomach, so buffering solves a problem that does not exist. Jagim 2012 found no difference in muscle creatine or training outcomes. | 3-5 g daily | High | |
| Creatine Nitrate | Varies | ModerateSalt of creatine and nitrate. The nitrate fraction can be reduced to nitric oxide; performance data for the combined compound are limited and industry-sponsored. | Not established | High | 3 |
Labels column: number of labels in the Creatine category that list this form. A product can list more than one form, and some labels do not state a form at all.
Monohydrate is about 88% creatine by weight. Micronized monohydrate is the same molecule ground finer so it dissolves more easily. Creatine HCl is marketed at smaller doses on the claim that better solubility means less is needed; no trial shows greater muscle uptake, and a smaller dose simply delivers less creatine. Ethyl ester degrades to creatinine in the gut, and in a direct comparison it raised serum creatinine while producing less muscle creatine than monohydrate (Spillane 2009). Buffered creatine (Kre-Alkalyn) performed no better than monohydrate (Jagim 2012).
Loading only changes how fast stores fill. In Hultman's study, 20 g a day for six days raised muscle creatine about as much as 3 g a day for 28 days, and 2 g a day maintained the higher level afterward (Hultman 1996). Timing relative to training makes little practical difference.
Typical Dosing
3-5 g of creatine monohydrate daily. An optional loading phase of about 0.3 g/kg/day (roughly 20 g/day in divided doses) for 5-7 days saturates muscle faster.
Food sources: beef, pork, salmon, herring.
What to Look For
The ingredient list should say creatine monohydrate and nothing else. A typical serving is 3-5 g, one level teaspoon of powder. Unflavored powder is the cheapest form per gram by a wide margin.
Gummies are a poor delivery format: a 5 g dose takes several of them, and independent label testing has found brands with far less creatine than claimed. Capsules work but need five or six to reach a standard dose.
Athletes subject to drug testing should buy products carrying NSF Certified for Sport or Informed Sport, both of which screen for banned substances. Creapure is a German-made monohydrate raw material with a consistent purity record.
Red flags: "advanced" or "next-generation" creatine at a higher price per gram, proprietary blends that bury creatine among stimulants, and claims that a form avoids water retention or bloating.
Creatine Monohydrate
The only form with a deep evidence base, and also the cheapest. Nothing else has beaten it.
What to look for: Monohydrate as the sole ingredient, 3-5 g per serving. NSF Certified for Sport or Informed Sport for tested athletes.
Find on iHerb Affiliate linkCreatine Hydrochloride
Sold at smaller doses as if that were an advantage. It is not, and per gram of creatine it costs several times more.
What to look for: Only worth trying if monohydrate causes GI upset even when the dose is split. Match the creatine content, not the capsule count.
Find on iHerb Affiliate linkProducts on Titrate
The Creatine category in Titrate's index holds 1,020 labels from the NIH Dietary Supplement Label Database, 600 of them currently on market, out of 214,745 labels indexed in total.
Top on-market labels, ranked by label completeness and simplicity:
- Creatine Drive Unflavored
- Creatine Unflavored
- Muscle Creatine Powder 7000 mg
- Creatine Monohydrate Complex Unflavored
- Creatine & Glutamine With Beta-Alanine Unflavored
Supplement Search loads one category at a time. Choose the Creatine tab, then type a form such as "monohydrate" under Must contain, or a form to avoid under Must not contain.
Related Tools
- Creatine Loading
- Supplement Timing Optimizer
- Creatine Hydrochloride vs Creatine Monohydrate
- Buffered Creatine vs Creatine Hydrochloride
- Buffered Creatine vs Creatine Monohydrate
- Creatine Ethyl Ester vs Creatine Hydrochloride
- Creatine Ethyl Ester vs Creatine Monohydrate
- Creatine Monohydrate vs Creatine Nitrate
- All creatine form comparisons
- Best Creatine Without Artificial Flavors
- Best Creatine Without Sugar
- Best Creatine Without Caffeine
- All supplement guides
References
NIH Office of Dietary Supplements. Dietary Supplements for Exercise and Athletic Performance: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals.
Hultman E, et al. Muscle creatine loading in men. J Appl Physiol. 1996;81(1):232-237.
Spillane M, et al. The effects of creatine ethyl ester supplementation combined with heavy resistance training on body composition, muscle performance, and serum and muscle creatine levels. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2009;6:6.
van der Merwe J, Brooks NE, Myburgh KH. Three weeks of creatine monohydrate supplementation affects dihydrotestosterone to testosterone ratio in college-aged rugby players. Clin J Sport Med. 2009;19(5):399-404.
Jagim AR, et al. A buffered form of creatine does not promote greater changes in muscle creatine content, body composition, or training adaptations than creatine monohydrate. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2012;9(1):43.
Kreider RB, et al. International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: safety and efficacy of creatine supplementation in exercise, sport, and medicine. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2017;14:18.
Avgerinos KI, et al. Effects of creatine supplementation on cognitive function of healthy individuals: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Exp Gerontol. 2018;108:166-173.
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