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Creatine

Creatine is a compound found mainly in meat and fish that helps recycle cellular energy in muscle and brain. Meta-analyses of randomised trials found that creatine taken alongside resistance training increased strength in adults and increased lean tissue mass and strength in older adults. Trials suggest a small benefit for memory, most clearly in older adults, but results are inconsistent. People following vegetarian diets start with lower muscle creatine and may respond more in muscle. Trials of up to about a year found a rise in serum creatinine without changes in kidney filtration in healthy people.

  • Mind
  • Strength
  • Vegan

Evidence retrieved up to

What the research shows

In randomised trials mostly of healthy adults, creatine supplementation raised serum creatinine slightly but did not change estimated kidney filtration or urea.

Low certaintyFurther research is likely to change this.
Take care: see the safety noteNo clear effect

Who this is about

healthy adults in short- and medium-term trials

Practical note

Graded low: three meta-analyses agree, but outcomes are surrogate markers, follow-up is short and the filtration estimates are imprecise; the 2026 meta-analysis authors call for trials beyond one year. The ISSN position stand describes intakes up to 30 g a day for 5 years as well tolerated in healthy people.

Safety note

Creatine raises blood creatinine, which can make a standard kidney blood test look worse than kidney function is. Trials rarely ran beyond a year and mostly involved healthy people, so people living with kidney conditions are best guided by their health professional.

Sources

Creatine supplementation may produce a small improvement in memory in adults, with the clearest effects in older adults; benefits for overall cognitive function and executive function were not shown.

Low certaintyFurther research is likely to change this.
No known concerns at usual amountsBenefit

Who this is about

adults, especially older adults

Practical note

Graded low: two meta-analyses of small randomised trials found a memory benefit, one rating it moderate by GRADE, but heterogeneity was high, participants aged 11-31 showed no effect in one subgroup analysis, and the largest preregistered trial of 123 participants taking 5 g a day for 6 weeks found only a borderline effect. Downgraded for inconsistency and imprecision. Doses in the memory trials ranged from about 2.2 to 20 g a day.

Vegan note

In the largest single trial, about half of participants were vegetarian, and vegetarians did not benefit more cognitively than omnivores.

Sources

In older adults doing regular resistance training, creatine supplementation produced greater gains in lean tissue mass and in upper and lower body strength than placebo.

Moderate certaintyFurther research may change the size of the effect.
No known concerns at usual amountsBenefit

Who this is about

older adults doing resistance training

Practical note

Graded moderate: a 2017 meta-analysis of 22 randomised trials with 721 participants, mean age 57-70, found about 1.4 kg more lean tissue mass and small strength gains; downgraded one level for small trials and variable training programmes. Training in the trials ran 2-3 days a week for 7-52 weeks.

Sources

In adults doing resistance or high-intensity training, creatine supplementation increased muscular strength compared with placebo in randomised trials, regardless of age, sex or training level.

Moderate certaintyFurther research may change the size of the effect.
No known concerns at usual amountsBenefit

Who this is about

adults doing resistance or high-intensity training

Practical note

Graded moderate: a 2017 meta-analysis of 53 placebo-controlled trials found a consistent small-to-moderate effect on upper-limb strength, global effect size 0.32, but most trials were small and short; downgraded one level for imprecision and risk of bias in individual trials.

Safety note

In a 2023 randomised trial, side effects were reported more often with creatine than with placebo.

Sources

People following vegetarian diets have lower muscle creatine stores than meat eaters, and in small trials creatine supplementation raised their muscle creatine and lean tissue more than in non-vegetarians.

Low certaintyFurther research is likely to change this.
No known concerns at usual amountsBenefit

Who this is about

adults following vegetarian or vegan diets

Practical note

Graded low: one double-blind randomised trial of 42 adults over 8 weeks of resistance training and a 2020 systematic review of nine small studies with moderate-high risk of bias; studies were mixed on whether exercise performance improves more than in omnivores.

Vegan note

Creatine in food comes mainly from meat, so vegetarian and vegan diets supply little of it.

Sources