How to take creatine: how much and when

What is creatine?

Creatine is a compound found mainly in red meat and seafood. Your body also makes it, mainly in the liver and kidneys, and the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) says roughly half of your daily needs come from food. About 95% of it is stored in skeletal muscle, where it helps supply ATP, the molecule cells use for fast energy during short, hard efforts such as a heavy set or a sprint. Creatine monohydrate is the form sold as a supplement and the one the ISSN calls the most extensively studied. Supplements raise muscle creatine by roughly 20 to 40%.

How much creatine should you take a day?

For most adults, 3 to 5 g of creatine monohydrate a day is enough to fill the creatine stores in your muscles and keep them full. That's the standard creatine dose in the ISSN position stand, which adds that some larger athletes may need 5 to 10 g. Our creatine calculator works out a loading dose for your weight if you want one.

The authorised claim in Great Britain is based on 3 g a day: creatine increases physical performance in successive bursts of short-term, high intensity exercise, with the benefit obtained at a daily intake of 3 g. Creatine monohydrate is the form the ISSN describes as the most extensively studied. If you want the evidence in women specifically, our guide to creatine for women covers it.

Do you need a loading phase?

No. Loading means about 20 g a day, split into four 5 g doses, for 5 to 7 days, followed by 3 to 5 g a day. It fills your muscle stores within a week. Taking 3 g a day from the start gets you to the same place in about four weeks, according to the ISSN. Loading also puts weight on faster, mostly water held in muscle: the ISSN puts the short-term fluid retention at about 0.5 to 1 litre. If there's no event you're preparing for, you can skip it.

What is the best way to take creatine powder?

The best way to take creatine powder is to measure your dose, mix it into a drink you will finish, and have it at the same point in your day. How to take creatine monohydrate is the same whichever brand you buy.

1. Measure 3 to 5 g. Check the label for how many grams a level scoop holds.
2. Stir it into water or another drink. Creatine monohydrate doesn't dissolve well: a litre of water at about 20 °C holds 14 g, so 3 g needs about 220 ml, and warm water dissolves more (Jäger and colleagues, 2011). Swirl the glass and drink what settles, because it is part of your dose.
3. Drink it soon after mixing. In liquid it slowly turns into creatinine, faster when the drink is warm or acidic.
4. Take it every day. Having it with a meal or shake that contains carbohydrate, or carbohydrate and protein, has been reported to increase creatine retention.

Should you take creatine every day?

Yes: once a day, every day, including rest days. About 1 to 2% of the creatine in your muscles turns into creatinine each day and leaves in your urine, so stores need steady topping up. A missed day makes little difference to stores that are already full. If you stop altogether, the ISSN says stores take 4 to 6 weeks to fall back to where they started.

When is the best time to take creatine?

The best time to take creatine is whenever you'll remember to take it every day. When to take creatine matters much less than taking it daily: the research on timing around exercise is limited, and it doesn't favour before or after training strongly enough to plan around. On rest days, take it at your usual time.

Creatine before or after a workout?

Either works. A 2021 review of timing studies found hints that taking creatine after exercise might work slightly better, but the authors said methodological limits rule out firm conclusions and that timing shouldn't be a real concern for now (Ribeiro and colleagues). In the study most often quoted, 19 recreational bodybuilders took 5 g before or after training for four weeks. The after group gained a little more lean mass and bench-press strength, but the difference between the groups wasn't statistically significant. Take it at the time you're most likely to remember.

Can you take creatine before bed?

Yes. Timing matters so little that bedtime is fine if that's when you'll remember it. Creatine contains no caffeine and isn't a stimulant.

Can you put creatine in coffee or hot drinks?

You can, but heat and time both work against it. Creatine is very stable as a dry powder, but in liquid it slowly turns into creatinine, which has no biological activity, and the ISSN notes this happens faster when the drink is warmer or more acidic. In 2025 lab tests that exposed creatine to heat and to common drinks, including coffee, temperature was the factor that affected it most (Saiki and colleagues). We couldn't find a study that measured how much is lost in a hot drink you finish within a few minutes. If you use coffee, let it cool a little and drink it soon, and don't make up a flask to sip through the day.

Coffee also brings caffeine. A 2022 systematic review of ten studies found mixed results. Of the studies that gave both over several days, two found caffeine blunted creatine's benefit, three found no interaction and one found they worked better together. The review concluded that taking caffeine every day during a creatine loading phase could interfere with creatine's effect (Elosegui and colleagues). If you drink coffee daily, skipping the loading phase avoids the situation those studies tested.

Can you mix creatine with protein powder?

Yes, and there's no known problem with combining them. The ISSN position stand notes that taking creatine with carbohydrate, or with carbohydrate and protein, has been reported to promote greater creatine retention. Drink the shake soon after mixing, for the reason above.

Creatine gummies vs powder

Powder is the better-tested option. Creatine monohydrate powder shows no sign of breaking down into creatinine over years, while creatine in solution is unstable (Antonio and colleagues, 2021). We found no peer-reviewed trials of creatine gummies. Lab work shows that creatine breaks down faster the more water it has around it and the warmer it's kept, while the dry crystal stays very stable (Uzzan and colleagues, 2009). A gummy is moist, so keeping its creatine intact through months on a shelf is harder.

If you prefer gummies, read the label for how much creatine each one contains, how many you'd need to reach 3 g, and how much sugar comes with that many. In the UK, the business selling a food supplement is responsible for making sure it's safe, and the label must state the recommended daily dose.

Which type of creatine is best?

Creatine monohydrate is the best type to start with, because it is the most studied and the newer types of creatine haven't been shown to beat it. The ISSN describes claims that other forms are absorbed better or break down less as currently unfounded. A 2021 review found no peer-reviewed papers showing that creatine salts, ethyl ester, buffered creatine or creatine nitrate raise muscle creatine more than monohydrate (Antonio and colleagues), and a 2011 review of newer forms found little to no evidence that any of them is more effective or safer (Jäger and colleagues).

Creatine HCl: is it better than monohydrate?

Creatine HCl (hydrochloride) dissolves far more easily in water than monohydrate, but there is no good evidence yet that it works better. A 2026 review of fast-dissolving creatine forms describes its improved solubility and reports no clinical evidence of its effectiveness. In an eight-week trial of 31 elite handball and softball players, low doses of monohydrate and HCl gave similar results for strength and fat-free mass, and the authors called claims that HCl is superior "unfounded and misleading" (Londoño-Velásquez and colleagues, 2025). It was a small trial, and two of its authors have links to a creatine maker. HCl is sometimes sold as gentler on the stomach, but the same 2026 review says independent studies of side effects such as stomach irritation are lacking for most creatine derivatives.

What is micronised creatine?

Micronised creatine (spelled micronized on many labels) is creatine monohydrate ground into finer particles so that it dissolves faster. A 2026 review describes micronisation as shrinking the particles to about 1 to 10 µm, which raises the dissolution rate, but it reports no clinical comparison showing that micronised creatine works better in the body. The review also says very fine powders can clump or change in storage. Because it is still monohydrate, the usual 3 to 5 g a day doesn't change. Its practical advantage is that it may be easier to mix, which helps when standard monohydrate dissolves poorly in a glass of water.

Creatine tablets and capsules

Creatine tablets and capsules suit you if you don't like mixing powder, but check how many you'd need to reach 3 g. None of the reviews we read compare tablets or capsules with powder, and the 2026 review lists them as alternatives to powder without comparing how well they work. The label checks are the same as for gummies: the grams of creatine monohydrate in each tablet or capsule, how many make 3 to 5 g, and what else is in them. Capsule shells are often made of gelatin, which matters if you are vegan.

How much water should you drink on creatine?

There's no official water target for people taking creatine, so the general NHS advice applies: aim for 6 to 8 cups or glasses of fluid a day, drink more when you're physically active for long periods or in a hot environment, and drink enough that your pee is a pale colour. Creatine does draw some water into muscle at first, but a 2009 systematic review found no evidence that it harms the body's fluid balance or its ability to lose heat during exercise (Lopez and colleagues). Online formulas that set a water target per gram of creatine aren't based on any guideline we could find. What is measurable is how much water dissolves it: about 220 ml at room temperature for 3 g, which our creatine calculator also shows.

Does creatine make you thirsty?

It didn't in the one trial we found that measured thirst. Twelve active men took a loading dose of about 22 g a day or a placebo for a week, then exercised in 33.5°C heat after first losing 2% of their body weight in sweat. Their thirst ratings were the same on creatine and placebo (Watson and colleagues, 2006). The ISSN reports that creatine doesn't increase dehydration or muscle cramps. Thirst is still worth listening to, since the NHS lists it among the signs of dehydration. If you train in the heat, our guide to electrolytes and hydration has more.

Is creatine dangerous? Side effects and safety

For healthy adults taking the usual 3 to 5 g a day, research hasn't found creatine dangerous, and the side effect reported most consistently is weight gain. The ISSN found no compelling scientific evidence that short- or long-term use, at up to 30 g a day for five years, has detrimental effects in otherwise healthy people. A pooled analysis described in a 2026 review covered 685 trials and more than 26,000 participants: side effects were reported by 4.2% of people on placebo and 4.6% of people on creatine, a difference that wasn't statistically significant (Kerksick and colleagues). Many of the researchers in this field have links to creatine makers, which is worth knowing when you weigh the findings. Kidneys are covered under "Who should check before taking creatine?" below, and hair loss in our guide to creatine for women.

Does creatine make you gain weight?

Yes, you can gain some weight on creatine, mostly water held in your muscles, and studies haven't shown an increase in fat mass. A 2021 review says a loading phase typically adds 1 to 3 kg of body mass, mostly body water, and concludes that creatine does not increase fat mass across a variety of populations (Antonio and colleagues). The 2026 review puts the average gain over time at about 0.9 kg. So creatine doesn't appear to make you fat, though the scales can go up. If a quick rise bothers you, skip the loading phase and take 3 g a day, which reaches the same muscle stores in about four weeks.

Can creatine cause diarrhoea or make you feel sick?

Creatine can cause diarrhoea and stomach upset, mainly when you take a large dose in one go. In a 28-day trial of 59 male soccer players, 55.6% of those taking 10 g once a day reported diarrhoea, against 28.6% taking 5 g twice a day and 35.0% on placebo. Stomach upset was reported by 23.8% of the players overall, placebo group included, and the trial didn't record nausea separately (Ostojic and Ahmetovic, 2008). The 2021 review likewise advises keeping loading servings to 10 g or less, spread through the day. At 3 to 5 g a day, the ISSN found no evidence that creatine increases stomach upset. If it does upset you, try splitting the dose in two or dropping to 3 g, and speak to a GP or pharmacist if symptoms don't settle.

Creatine pros and cons

Here are the main pros and cons of creatine, as the research above describes them.

Is creatine good for runners?

Creatine is more useful for interval sessions and sprint finishes than for steady running. A 2023 review found that creatine fairly consistently lets people keep going longer in high-intensity endurance tests, but time-trial results are mixed, and it seems to help most in races with surges in pace or a sprint at the end (Forbes and colleagues). For runners, the drawback is the extra weight. The review describes a study in which loading with 20 g a day for six days made 6 km running performance worse, probably because of the 0.9 kg gained, and it advises skipping the loading phase in weight-bearing sports and taking 3 to 5 g a day instead. Several of its authors have links to companies that make or sell creatine.

Can you take creatine without working out?

You can, and supplements raise muscle creatine whether or not you train, although exercise is one of the factors that affects how much (Ribeiro and colleagues). The benefits seen in trials, though, mostly come when creatine is paired with training. A 2021 review notes that creatine without resistance training is unlikely to produce substantial gains in muscle strength (Antonio and colleagues), and both authorised claims in Great Britain relate to exercise. Vegetarians get almost no creatine from food, so their stores start lower (Brosnan and Brosnan, 2007). Claims that creatine improves thinking or concentration have been assessed in Great Britain and not authorised.

Is creatine vegan?

Most creatine powder is vegan, because it is made in a laboratory and not from animals. A 2020 systematic review says most creatine supplements are synthesised from sarcosine and cyanamide and contain no animal by-products. The catch is capsules, which are often gelatin-based, so vegans need to check the shell as well as the powder, and look for a vegan statement on the label before you buy. Creatine comes mainly from beef, fish, pork and chicken, so vegans eat almost none. In the studies reviewed, vegetarians had about 10 to 15% less total creatine in thigh muscle at the start, and after supplementing they often reached levels above those of meat-eaters. The review rated the studies at moderate to high risk of bias, and most had small numbers of people (Kaviani and colleagues).

Can you take creatine on a plane?

Yes. GOV.UK says food items and powders in hand luggage can obstruct x-ray images, so security may need to check your bag by hand, and suggests packing them in your hold luggage to avoid delays. A creatine drink you've already mixed counts as a liquid. Most UK airports don't allow liquids in containers over 100 ml through security, though some now allow up to 2 litres, so check the rules at the airport you're flying from, including on the way home.

Who should check before taking creatine?

In healthy people, the ISSN found no compelling evidence that creatine harms kidney function. Creatine can raise creatinine in a blood test, because the body converts creatine into creatinine, and a higher result doesn't necessarily mean anything is wrong (Longobardi and colleagues, 2023). Tell your GP you take it before a kidney blood test.

Where Natura fits

Daily Creatine, 3 g of creatine monohydrate a day, is in the Natura cabinet (coming soon) with our single bottles, and it also appears in several of our sport packs. Creatine increases physical performance in successive bursts of short-term, high intensity exercise; the benefit is obtained with a daily intake of 3 g, and the claim applies to adults who do that kind of exercise.