Creatine Monohydrate

Supplements · Sports Performance · Supplement, Typed Supps

One of the most heavily studied supplements there is.

Stage by stage

Intake (Powder): Absorbed efficiently in the small intestine without special transporters.
Small intestine (Efficient absorption): Absorbed efficiently in the small intestine without needing special transporters.
Bloodstream (Travels to muscle): Carried via blood into muscle cells.
Muscle cells (Stored as phosphocreatine): Stored as a rapid backup energy source for short bursts of effort.

Increasing strength and power output alongside resistance training — strong evidence. Among the most consistently supported findings in sports nutrition, across hundreds of trials and decades of use.
Increasing lean mass alongside resistance training — strong evidence. Well supported, though part of the early gain is water drawn into muscle rather than new tissue.
Improving high-intensity repeated-effort performance — strong evidence. The mechanism — faster regeneration of phosphocreatine between efforts — is well characterised.
Improving memory and cognition — limited evidence. Some promising results, particularly in sleep-deprived people and vegetarians who start with lower stores. Not established in well-rested omnivores.
Evidence that it causes kidney damage in healthy people — insufficient evidence. Worth stating explicitly as a negative finding: long-term studies have not found kidney harm in healthy adults, despite the persistent reputation.

3–5 g daily, any time of day

Upper limit: No formal UL. 3–5 g daily is well studied over years of use

Any time; consistency matters more than timing.

Nephrotoxic medication (long-term NSAIDs, cyclosporine): No established interaction, but combining anything that stresses the kidneys with a supplement that alters creatinine readings makes monitoring harder. (moderate)

“Creatine is a steroid.” In reality: Naturally found in meat and made by your own body — its safety profile is well established.