Creatine monohydrate, 3 to 5 grams every day, is the most studied sports supplement: it helps you do a little more work in the gym, which adds up to more strength and muscle. In healthy adults normal doses have not been shown to harm the kidneys or cause hair loss.
If there is one supplement with solid evidence behind it, it is creatine. It has been studied for more than thirty years, in hundreds of trials. Still, it is surrounded by myths. Here is what you actually need to know.
What creatine is
Creatine is a natural compound made in your liver and kidneys and found in meat and fish. Most of it is stored in your muscles, where it helps recycle energy during short, hard efforts such as a heavy set or a sprint.
Your muscles are usually only around 60 to 80 percent full of creatine. A supplement fills them up, which means a little more energy for those hard efforts.
What it does
- More reps and slightly heavier sets. Over weeks, that extra work turns into more strength and muscle than training alone.
- Better repeated sprints, useful in football, padel and other stop-and-go sports.
- A small, quick gain in weight, usually 1 to 2 kg in the first weeks. This is water stored inside the muscle, not fat, and it is part of how creatine works.
It does not burn fat, and it does not do the training for you.
How much to take
The research-backed dose is simple: 3 to 5 grams of creatine monohydrate a day, every day, including rest days.
- Timing barely matters. Take it when you will remember: with breakfast, or after training.
- Loading is optional. Taking 20 grams a day, split into four doses, for 5 to 7 days fills your muscles faster. Without loading, 3 to 5 grams a day gets you to the same place in about three to four weeks.
- Monohydrate is all you need. Fancier forms cost more and have not been shown to work better.
- Mix it with water, juice, or your protein shake.
Creatine works by building up in your muscles over weeks. Missing a day changes nothing; stopping for a month does.
Common myths
"It damages your kidneys." In healthy people, studies of normal doses over months and years have not found kidney harm. Creatine can raise a blood marker called creatinine, which some lab tests use to estimate kidney function, so tell your doctor you take it before a blood test. If you already have kidney disease, do not take it without your doctor's advice.
"It makes you lose your hair." This idea comes from one small 2009 study that measured a hormone linked to hair loss, not hair loss itself. It has not been repeated, and no study has shown creatine causes hair loss.
"It is a steroid." No. It is a nutrient found in ordinary food, and it is allowed in all sports.
"You need to cycle it." There is no evidence that you do.
Who should skip it or ask first
Anyone with kidney or liver disease, anyone on medicines that affect the kidneys, and teenagers or pregnant women should talk to a doctor before taking it. Choose a product that has been tested by an independent lab, so you know what is in the tub.
Sources
- The International Society of Sports Nutrition's position stand on creatine: Kreider et al., 2017
The takeaway
Creatine monohydrate, 3 to 5 grams a day, every day. It helps you do a bit more work in the gym, which adds up to more strength and muscle. It is cheap, well studied and safe for healthy adults. But it is the last few percent: training, food, protein and sleep come first, and those are what the Shulah app helps you get right every day.