EVIDENCE REVIEW

Does creatine work? What the trials show

In older adults, creatine has the clearest support of the common supplements for lean mass and strength when taken alongside resistance training. A meta-analysis of 22 trials in older adults found about 1.37 kg more lean tissue mass, and the strength gains were small. The cognition results are early and mixed.

By Porsche Ma Evidence review Updated Nov 7, 2026

The bottom line

Mixed evidence

In older adults, creatine with resistance training has the best support: modest gains in lean mass and strength. A small memory gain in one meta-analysis rests on small trials. Trials report no consistent harms, but rare ones can’t be ruled out. With kidney disease or on medicines, ask a clinician first.

Mixed is the grade for the claim discussed below, not for every use of the technology or for any product’s quality. How evidence grades work.

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Our reviews rest on published sources, not hands-on testing. Our method

Porsche also cofounded Superhuman Chambers, which sells hyperbaric chambers · About the author. This is general information, not medical advice, and no clinician has reviewed it.

Stock photo: Supliful - Supplements On Demand / Unsplash

In this article

Does creatine work?

A meta-analysis found yes in older adults, when creatine was taken alongside resistance training, though the gains were modest. In 22 randomized trials with 721 participants, the creatine groups ended up with about 1.37 kg more lean tissue mass than placebo groups¹. Strength gains were small, and the trials say little about creatine without training¹.

Among the four staples in our evidence review, creatine has the clearest support. To compare brands, see creatine supplements compared on price per serving, NSF listings and returns.

Wondering when to take it or how much? Two timing trials found no clear difference between before and after training, and 3 to 5 g a day is the usual range. See when to take creatine for timing, loading and what women should know.

Creatine for muscle and strength: what the meta-analysis found

The 2017 meta-analysis covered 22 randomized trials with 721 older adults, mean ages 57 to 70¹. In each trial, people did resistance training two or three days a week for 7 to 52 weeks and took either creatine or a placebo¹. On average the creatine groups ended with about 1.37 kg more lean tissue (95% CI 0.97 to 1.76)¹.

Strength improved a little more with creatine, but the effects were small: standardized mean differences of 0.35 for chest press and 0.24 for leg press¹. The NIH Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) says responses vary from person to person, and that creatine helps the body adapt to progressively harder training over weeks to months³.

The trials measured lean mass and strength tests. They did not measure falls, fractures or day-to-day independence¹.

Creatine and memory: early evidence

A 2024 meta-analysis pooled 16 randomized trials with 492 adults aged about 21 to 76, including both healthy adults and people with specific diseases². A small memory improvement showed up (standardized mean difference 0.31, moderate certainty)². Attention and processing-speed tasks were also completed faster, though certainty there is low². PubMed lists a February 2025 corrigendum, whose abstract says only that it corrects the article⁸, and an April 2026 commentary on this review⁹.

Overall cognitive function and executive function did not change significantly². The authors asked for larger, more rigorous trials, saying the small samples limit statistical power and how far the findings generalize². Treat this as a question still being tested.

Is creatine safe? What the trials and ODS report

Most trials in the 2017 meta-analysis reported no adverse effects from creatine¹. Four trials reported stomach or gut events and two reported muscle cramping, and nobody dropped out because of them¹. Five trials checked liver or kidney function and found no adverse effects¹.

The authors warned that about 700 participants is too few to rule out rare harms, and they pointed to case reports of kidney impairment in young men¹. ODS says the only consistent side effect is weight gain, up to 1 to 2 kg in a month alongside strength training³. Anecdotal reports include nausea, diarrhea, cramps and heat intolerance³.

The International Society of Sports Nutrition is a professional society, not a regulator⁴. It concludes that intakes of up to 30 g a day for up to five years have been safe and well tolerated in healthy people⁴. ODS advises getting a health care provider’s approval before taking supplements in combination with prescribed medicines⁵.

What to check on a creatine label

ODS describes a typical regimen as a 5- to 7-day loading phase and then 3 to 5 g a day³. The memory trials used creatine monohydrate².

Read the creatine per serving, not the number of gummies. In March 2024 the supplement maker NOW reported testing 12 creatine gummy brands: five had little to no creatine and seven matched their labels⁶. NOW is a competitor, and the results weren’t independently verified, since none of the third-party labs it normally uses could test gummies⁶.

FDA doesn’t approve dietary supplements before they’re sold⁷. An independent seal such as NSF Certified for Sport or USP Verified is a check on the label, but ODS stresses that quality seals don’t guarantee a product is safe or effective⁵. To see how to look up a brand’s NSF listing and match your lot number, see are supplements third-party tested.

Compare creatine products

Best creatine supplements compares Thorne, Momentous, Klean Athlete and Transparent Labs on price per serving, NSF listings and returns. Thorne Creatine vs Momentous Creatine covers the two plain monohydrate powders head to head. Reviews: Thorne Creatine and Momentous Creatine. For how much to take and when, see when to take creatine.

The trials above tested creatine as an ingredient, not these brands, and neither page claims a product delivers those results.

Sources

Effect of creatine supplementation during resistance training on lean tissue mass and muscular strength in older adults: a meta-analysis Open Access Journal of Sports Medicine (Dove Medical Press), 2017 · meta-analysis
The effects of creatine supplementation on cognitive function in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis Frontiers in Nutrition, 2024 · meta-analysis
Dietary Supplements for Exercise and Athletic Performance: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals NIH Office of Dietary Supplements · regulator
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, 2017 · guideline
Dietary Supplements: What You Need to Know NIH Office of Dietary Supplements · regulator
NOW tests creatine gummies, finding almost half to be severely understrength SupplySide Supplement Journal, 2024 · news
Questions and Answers on Dietary Supplements US Food and Drug Administration, 2026 · regulator
Corrigendum: The effects of creatine supplementation on cognitive function in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis PubMed (Frontiers in Nutrition), 2025 · meta-analysis
Commentary: The effects of creatine supplementation on cognitive function in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis PubMed (Frontiers in Nutrition), 2026 · news

How this was written. Written from the sources listed above, checked Nov 7, 2026. It is general information, not medical advice. Talk to a clinician before acting on anything here if you have a health condition or take medication.

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