Creatine: What It Actually Does for You — and What It Doesn't

Creatine is a compound your body makes itself. It works as a rapid energy buffer in muscle and nerve cells (the creatine-phosphate system). Your body produces roughly 1–2 g per day, and you get more from meat and fish. Supplementing tops up your muscle stores by around 20–40 % — and that is exactly where the performance effect in short, intense efforts comes from.

For strength and power, creatine monohydrate is the most thoroughly researched supplement in existence — hundreds of studies across decades. The EU has authorised an official health claim for it (see the table above; condition: at least 3 g per day). In practice this means more reps on heavy sets and better sprint and jump performance — which compounds into more training progress over months.

There is also a second authorised claim specifically for adults over 55: 3 g daily can enhance the effect of resistance training on muscle strength, provided you train at least three times per week (Reg. (EU) 2017/672). Especially past 40, when keeping muscle becomes the priority, creatine plus strength training is arguably the most sensible supplement building block there is.

Honesty belongs here: for classic endurance performance (running, cycling), studies show little direct benefit. Creatine is not a fat burner, not a testosterone booster, and no substitute for training — without a strength stimulus it merely fills your stores, nothing more.

And the stubborn hair-loss myth, based on a single small study from 2009, was strongly undercut in 2025 by the most direct randomised controlled trial to date, which found no effect over twelve weeks.

3–5 g of creatine monohydrate daily, taken permanently — timing doesn't matter, consistency does. A “loading phase” (about 20 g/day for a week) fills your stores faster but is unnecessary; after roughly four weeks you end up at the same point on 3–5 g.

Monohydrate is the studied standard form — pricier forms like “HCL” or “Kre-Alkalyn” have no proven added benefit. Expect the scale to show 1–2 kg more in the first weeks: that is water inside the muscle, not fat — and a neat reminder of why the scale alone is a poor way to measure progress.

• Anyone doing resistance training, at any age — the core use case.
• People over 40 who want to keep or build muscle (always combined with training; over 55 there is even a dedicated authorised claim).
• Vegetarians and vegans: lower baseline stores, and typically clearer effects — including in the cognition research.

If you don't train at all, expect very little from the supplement. For an overview of which other supplements are also well supported (and which are more hype than proof), see our supplement buying guide.