Creatine
Pick your family’s diets in the bar above.
Every diet
Most is made by chemical synthesis.
Check for halal certification, some makers use animal-derived starting materials.
Check for kosher certification, the helpers and the fermentation are not always kosher.
No carbohydrate.
Safe in small amounts; may bother some people or raise blood sugar.
Rules by country
Creatine has no E-number and is not an additive, so it is sold as a sport supplement rather than as a food ingredient. Health Canada licenses creatine monohydrate as a natural health product, allowing claims about strength, power and lean muscle alongside resistance training, at 3 to 5 g a day. In the United States it carries no approved health claim.
What is it?
Creatine is an amino acid derivative the liver and kidneys make every day, and it sits in muscle where it helps hold phosphate for the first seconds of a sprint or a heavy set. A supplement gives you more than food could, because meat supplies a little and a plant diet supplies none. The number to look at is the dose: 3 to 5 g a day, and a loading phase of 15 to 20 g a day for a week is optional, not required.
Where it comes from: Creatine is creatine monohydrate, most of it made by chemical synthesis, though some makers start from animal material. Your body makes a gram or so a day from arginine and glycine, so a vegetarian diet, getting none from food, is the case for a supplement.
Why it’s in food
- Storing phosphate in muscle
- Adding lean muscle with lifting
- Boosting repeated short efforts
- Filling up on a plant diet
Often found in
Also listed as: Creatine, Creatine monohydrate, Creatine powder, Creatine HCl
Health & gut impact
Health Canada's monograph lets a creatine product say that it increases lean muscle mass when used with resistance training, and that it improves strength, power and performance in repeated brief intense activity. That is a narrow and honest list, and it does not include recovery, cognition or fat loss.
Health Canada, creatine monohydrate
NHS advice for people taking PrEP warns that creatine supplements can affect the results of kidney function tests. Creatine is broken down into creatinine, which the kidneys filter, so a raised creatinine on a blood test can look like reduced kidney function in someone whose kidneys are in fact working normally.
NHS, taking PrEP with other medicines and herbal supplements
Health Canada's monograph warns that weight gain may occur, and the reason is that creatine pulls water into the muscle cells. The loading option of 15 to 20 g a day for five to seven days is faster but no better, and 3 to 5 g a day reaches the same place in four weeks without the stomach trouble.
Health Canada, creatine monohydrate
What can I use instead?
Ratio: About 100 to 200 mg, well under a pre-workout blend
Best for: The alertness half of what a pre-workout does
Ratio: A scoop shaken into water
Best for: The protein and calories that come with training
Ratio: 1.6 to 3.2 g a day, split across the day
Best for: The tingly version of the same endurance work
Related
More functional ingredients:
Common questions
Does creatine damage your kidneys?
In people with healthy kidneys the reviews do not show damage at the usual doses, and Health Canada's monograph only asks people with a kidney disorder to talk to a doctor first. It does raise creatinine in the blood, which the kidneys filter, so a test can look worse than it is. Say you take creatine when the blood is taken.
Do I need a loading phase?
No. Health Canada's monograph offers a loading option of 15 to 20 g a day for five to seven days, but it also allows 3 to 5 g a day with no loading at all. The muscle stores fill in about four weeks either way, and the loading phase mostly buys stomach trouble and a jump on the scale.
Is creatine worth it if I do not lift weights?
It is safe, but you would be buying a supplement for a job you are not doing. Creatine earns its place in repeated short efforts and resistance training, and it has very little to show for long steady sessions or for a week spent on the sofa.
Does creatine make you bloated?
It can, and the scale can jump a kilo or two in the first weeks. That is water pulled into the muscle cells rather than fat, and Health Canada's monograph lists weight gain as a possible effect. It settles once the muscles are saturated.
Is Creatine safe?
Use in moderation (82/100). Creatine has no E-number and is not an additive, so it is sold as a sport supplement rather than as a food ingredient. Health Canada licenses creatine monohydrate as a natural health product, allowing claims about strength, power and lean muscle alongside resistance training, at 3 to 5 g a day. In the United States it carries no approved health claim.
Is Creatine vegan?
Yes. Most is made by chemical synthesis.
Spotted a mistake on this page? Report it ›
Scientific sources & regulatory citations
- Health Canada, creatine monohydrate
- NHS, taking PrEP with other medicines and herbal supplements
CAS 57-00-1