What Is Creatine? Beginner’s Guide to the World’s Most Researched Supplement

October 25, 2025 Ben Law

Quick Takeaways

Creatine increases phosphocreatine stores to regenerate ATP, supporting strength, power and repeat efforts ^[1].
Creatine monohydrate is the gold-standard form with the strongest human evidence and safety data ^[1],[2].
Evidence-based intake is 3–5 g daily, with an optional loading phase of ~20 g for 5–7 days ^[1].
Women benefit similarly to men for strength, training quality and lean mass, including during peri/post-menopause when combined with resistance training ^[1],[2],[3].
Choose tested, UK-made products: Creavitalis® powder and Creapure® capsules (1 g per capsule), manufactured to GMP and BRC standards and third-party tested.

Few supplements match creatine for reliability and research depth. It consistently supports strength, power and training volume, with additional evidence for cognitive resilience in stressful conditions ^[1],[4],[5].

This beginner’s guide explains what creatine is, how it works, the key benefits, how to take it, and how to choose a high-quality product. It also shows where Creavitalis® Creatine Monohydrate Powder and Creapure® Creatine Monohydrate Capsules fit into your routine.

What Is Creatine?

Creatine is a nitrogen-containing compound synthesised from arginine, glycine and methionine. Around 95 percent is stored in skeletal muscle as phosphocreatine, with small amounts in the brain and other tissues. Diet provides some creatine from meat and fish, but supplementation raises tissue stores beyond dietary intake ^[1].

How Does Creatine Work?

The phosphagen system supplies rapid energy. Phosphocreatine donates a phosphate to ADP to regenerate ATP, allowing short, intense efforts to be sustained for slightly longer and recovered faster between bouts. Over weeks this supports higher training volume or intensity, key drivers of strength and hypertrophy, and it may aid cellular hydration and glycogen storage. In the brain, the same PCr-ATP system may help during sleep loss or high cognitive demand ^[1],[4].

Key Benefits Supported by Human Research

Creatine supports measurable improvements across performance, body composition and select cognitive contexts.

Strength and power: consistent increases in 1RM and repeated high-intensity output across many trials and meta-analyses ^[1],[2].
Lean mass: greater gains when creatine is combined with resistance training compared with training alone ^[2].
Recovery and repeatability: improved phosphocreatine resynthesis, better performance maintenance across sets and sessions ^[1].
Cognition under strain: evidence of benefits during sleep restriction or mental fatigue in some studies ^[4],[5].
Healthy ageing: supportive data in older adults when combined with resistance training ^[3].

Creatine for Women

Women respond to creatine similarly to men. Supplementation can improve strength, high-intensity performance and training quality, and supports favourable body composition when combined with resistance training. In peri- and post-menopause, creatine can be a useful adjunct to maintain muscle quality and training capacity ^[1],[2],[3]. Small scale increases in weight usually reflect intracellular water in muscle tissue, not fat gain.

Creatine Monohydrate vs Other Forms

Creatine monohydrate remains the reference form for efficacy, safety and value. Alternatives like HCl or ethyl ester have not shown consistent superiority in well-controlled human trials, and creatine ethyl ester increases muscle creatine less effectively than monohydrate in head-to-head testing ^[1].

Monohydrate: most studied, cost-effective, easy to dose. Choose Creavitalis® powder for flexible scoops or Creapure® capsules for precise 1 g dosing.
Other forms: may differ in solubility or serving size but have not demonstrated superior outcomes in robust trials ^[1].

Dosage and How to Take Creatine

Daily use maintains saturation and results accrue over time.

Maintenance: 3–5 g creatine monohydrate per day, any time of day that you will remember ^[1].
Loading (optional): ~20 g per day, split into 4 x 5 g doses for 5–7 days, then 3–5 g per day to maintain ^[1].
Hydration: drink water regularly to support comfort and performance.
Rest days: continue the same daily dose to keep levels saturated.

Prefer clean, fully tested monohydrate. For flexible 3–5 g servings use Creavitalis®. For convenience use Creapure® capsules at 1 g each.

Purity, Safety and Testing

Creatine monohydrate is well tolerated in healthy adults at recommended intakes, including during long-term use in controlled studies ^[1]. Occasional gastrointestinal upset can occur with large single doses; splitting doses or taking with food can help. Love Life Supplements produces creatine in UK GMP and BRC certified facilities, and every batch is third-party tested for identity, purity and heavy metals.

Explore our Ingredient A–Z entry for quality details: Creavitalis® Creatine Monohydrate.

What Results to Expect and When

Creatine works by saturating muscle and brain creatine stores, so consistency is key.

Weeks 1–2: with loading, faster changes in repeated effort capacity; without loading, changes are gradual.
Weeks 3–6: better set quality, recovery between bouts and training volume.
Week 8 and beyond: measurable strength and lean mass gains alongside a structured programme.

FAQs

Is creatine safe to take every day? Yes, creatine monohydrate is considered safe for healthy adults at 3–5 g per day according to an international position stand and long-term trials ^[1]. Individuals with kidney disease or taking nephroactive medication should seek medical advice.

Do I need to load creatine? No, loading simply saturates muscles faster. A steady 3–5 g per day reaches the same saturation in roughly three to four weeks ^[1].

Does creatine cause bloating? Creatine pulls water inside muscle cells, which may slightly increase scale weight. This reflects cell hydration in muscle tissue, not subcutaneous bloating ^[1].

Which form is best? Creatine monohydrate has the strongest evidence for performance and safety. Other forms have not shown superior outcomes in robust trials ^[1],[2].

Can women take creatine? Yes. Research supports benefits for strength, training quality and lean mass when combined with resistance training, including in older adults ^[1],[2],[3].

When should I take creatine? Take it at any time you will remember. Consistency is more important than timing for maintaining saturation ^[1].

References

[1] Kreider RB, et al. International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: Safety and efficacy of creatine supplementation. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2017. PubMed
[2] Branch JD. Effect of creatine supplementation on body composition and performance: a meta-analysis. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2003. PubMed
[3] Devries MC, Phillips SM. Creatine supplementation during resistance training in older adults. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2014. PubMed
[4] Avgerinos KI, et al. Effects of creatine supplementation on cognitive function of healthy individuals. Exp Gerontol. 2018. PubMed
[5] Rawson ES, Venezia AC. Use of creatine in the elderly and evidence for effects on cognitive function in young and old. Amino Acids. 2011. PubMed

Accessed and current October 2025.

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About the Author — Ben Law

Founder of Love Life Supplements with over a decade of formulation experience. Host of the Optimised Health Show. Learn more about Ben.

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