What's all the hype on Creatine: Who Uses It, Why and What the Research Says

Creatine is not a new product, yet why all the resurgence of interest?

Creatine is a naturally occurring compound your body synthesises from amino acids, primarily in the liver, kidneys and pancreas, and stores mainly in skeletal muscle as phosphocreatine, a high-energy reservoir that helps rapidly regenerate ATP, the molecule cells use for energy during short bursts of intense activity.

It is also found in meat and seafood, though supplementing makes it far easier to raise muscle creatine stores than diet alone (Australian Sports Commission, 2023). Creatine monohydrate is the most common and well-supported form of supplemental creatine (Australian Sports Commission, 2023).

IN SHORT
Creatine benefits a wide range of people, athletes, older adults managing muscle loss, and those with lower dietary intake, but the right dose depends on your goal. Understanding how your body processes it, including via markers like creatinine, helps you use it safely and effectively.

Why People Use Creatine

A meaningful body of research now points to benefits across a wide range of ages and goals.

Young Adults & Athletes

Primary use: improving performance in short-duration, high-intensity exercise such as weightlifting, sprints and team sports. Creatine increases phosphocreatine stores, allowing muscles to regenerate ATP faster during repeated bouts of effort, which is associated with more reps, higher power, and greater strength gains when combined with training (Branch, 2003).

Body composition: many athletes report increases in lean body mass over weeks of training, partly due to increased training volume and cellular hydration effects (Branch, 2003).

Middle-Aged Adults

Performance and metabolism: benefits continue for resistance exercise and may help maintain muscle with ageing, especially combined with strength training (Candow & Chilibeck, 2008).

Cognitive factors: emerging research suggests creatine may support aspects of cognitive performance and recovery under stress, though optimal brain-targeted dosing is not yet well established.

Older Adults

Functional strength and sarcopenia: meta-analyses show creatine supplementation combined with resistance training can increase gains in lean mass and strength compared with training alone in older adults, helping counter age-related muscle loss (Devries & Phillips, 2014; Gualano et al., 2016).

Quality of life: by helping maintain muscle, creatine can be one tool among several in strategies aimed at preserving independence in ageing.

Other Groups

Vegetarians and those with low dietary creatine intake: people who eat little meat tend to have lower baseline creatine stores and may show a more pronounced response to supplementation (Kreider et al., 2017).

Clinical and neurological interest: there is growing research interest in creatine's role in metabolic support for neurological conditions and sleep deprivation, though this remains an active and unsettled area of study.

What Doses Are Best for What Outcomes?

The following reflects dosing ranges reported in the sports-science and clinical literature. It is general information, not individual advice: anyone starting creatine, particularly older adults or people with existing health conditions, should talk to their GP first, rather than starting at a high dose on the advice of a retail assistant or a general internet search.

Swipe table to view more info.

Goal	Typical Dose Range	Expected Effect	Notes/Comments
Muscle / Performance (standard)	3-5 g/day	Increased muscle creatine stores, improved high-intensity performance	Most evidence supports this as the effective maintenance dose (Australian Sports Commission, 2023)
Loading phase (optional)	~20 g/day (0.3 g/kg/day) for 5-7 days	Faster saturation of muscle creatine stores	Followed by 3-5 g/day to maintain stores (Australian Sports Commission, 2023)
Extended maintenance	3-10 g/day	Maintains stores, may benefit larger individuals or specific outcomes	Some evidence suggests those with high muscle mass may need the upper end (Buford et al., 2007)
Older adults (relative dosing)	0.10-0.14 g/kg/day (~7-10 g for ~70 kg)	Improved strength/lean mass with training	A relative strategy may be beneficial in ageing populations (Candow & Chilibeck, 2008)
Brain / cognitive research	Up to 20-30 g/day in acute protocols	Rapid increases in blood and brain creatine in controlled settings	Experimental; not standard clinical recommendations (Avgerinos et al., 2018) and ideally start slow and work with the GP at this early stage of introduction.

For most adults focused on performance or muscle maintenance, 5 g/day of creatine monohydrate is the consensus evidence-based maintenance dose (Australian Sports Commission, 2023).

Blood Creatinine: What It Means and Why It's Worth Tracking

• Supplemental creatine naturally converts into creatinine, a waste product measured in routine blood tests.
• Laboratory kidney function estimates use serum creatinine as a proxy, so supplementation can raise creatinine readings without indicating kidney damage (Gualano et al., 2012).

Points Worth Raising With Your GP:

• Elevated creatinine from supplementation reflects increased supply and turnover, not impaired filtration.
• More specific kidney markers, such as cystatin-C, may better assess renal function than creatinine alone.
• Creatine does not appear to cause clinically meaningful kidney damage in healthy adults at standard doses (Poortmans & Francaux, 2000).

Elevated serum creatinine from supplementation can be misread as renal impairment. On stopping supplementation, creatinine levels typically return to baseline as turnover normalises. If you are taking higher doses or have any health concerns, this is worth monitoring with your GP.

This is also exactly the kind of marker vivaMETABOLITE, the urine-based component of a vivaINSIGHT test, is built to put in context: rather than a single blood creatinine reading in isolation, your vivaINSIGHT report shows it alongside your broader metabolic picture, so a supplement-related shift is easier to tell apart from something that actually warrants a closer look.

Tips to Improve Creatine Absorption

Carbohydrate or protein co-ingestion: taking creatine with a meal is linked to increased muscle creatine storage via insulin-mediated uptake (Green et al., 1996).

Consistency over timing: daily intake, including on non-training days, improves saturation.

Hydration: creatine draws water into muscle cells, so maintaining hydration supports function and reduces the chance of GI discomfort.

Safety Notes

Generally well tolerated: most research indicates 3-5 g/day of creatine monohydrate is well tolerated in healthy adults (Kreider et al., 2017).

Possible GI symptoms: doses above the standard amount (more than 10 g at once) may cause bloating or GI upset.

Who should check with their GP first: people with existing kidney disease, anyone pregnant or breastfeeding, and those on medications affecting renal function.

vivaLAB's services are designed to support health optimisation and are not a substitute for medical advice. Consult a qualified health practitioner for individual health decisions, including before starting any new supplement.

References:

1. Australian Sports Commission. (2023). Creatine. https://www.ausport.gov.au/ais/nutrition/supplements/group_a/performance-supplements2/creatine
2. Avgerinos, K. I., Spyrou, N., Bougioukas, K. I., & Kapogiannis, D. (2018). Effects of creatine supplementation on cognitive function of healthy individuals: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Experimental Gerontology, 108, 166-173.
3. Branch, J. D. (2003). Effect of creatine supplementation on body composition and performance: A meta-analysis. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 13(2), 198-226.
4. Buford, T. W., Kreider, R. B., Stout, J. R., et al. (2007). International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: Creatine supplementation and exercise. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 4(6).
5. Candow, D. G., & Chilibeck, P. D. (2008). Timing of creatine or protein supplementation and resistance training in the elderly. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 33(1), 184-190.
6. Devries, M. C., & Phillips, S. M. (2014). Creatine supplementation during resistance training in older adults: A meta-analysis. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 46(6), 1194-1203.
7. Green, A. L., Hultman, E., Macdonald, I. A., Sewell, D. A., & Greenhaff, P. L. (1996). Carbohydrate ingestion augments skeletal muscle creatine accumulation during creatine supplementation in humans. American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism, 271(5), E821-E826.
8. Gualano, B., Roschel, H., Lancha-Jr, A. H., Brightbill, C. E., & Rawson, E. S. (2012). In sickness and in health: The widespread application of creatine supplementation. Amino Acids, 43(2), 519-529. PMID: 22101980.
9. Gualano, B., Rawson, E. S., Candow, D. G., & Chilibeck, P. D. (2016). Creatine supplementation in the aging population: Effects on skeletal muscle, bone and brain. Amino Acids, 48(8), 1793-1805.
10. Kreider, R. B., Kalman, D. S., Antonio, J., et al. (2017). International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: Safety and efficacy of creatine supplementation in exercise, sport, and medicine. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 14, 18. PMID: 28615996.
11. Poortmans, J. R., & Francaux, M. (2000). Adverse effects of creatine supplementation: Fact or fiction? Sports Medicine, 30(3), 155-170.