Recommended dosage and possible side effects of creatine
You may be able to minimize your likelihood of experiencing gastrointestinal distress by limiting the amount of creatine you consume in a single dose to no more than five grams at a time, including during the loading phase.
How Much Creatine Should I Take?
If you’ve considered taking creatine to help you reach your fitness goals, you probably want to see results as quickly as possible.
From bodybuilding to resistance training to powerlifting, creatine is a safe and effective supplement that can help you build muscle once it has adequately built up in your system, but how much creatine should you take?
What Is Creatine?
Creatine is a derivative of two amino acids, glycine and arginine, in the body, and it is used to produce the primary form of energy for the cells, ATP or adenosine triphosphate.
Amino acids are the building blocks of life and are molecules that make up proteins — which, in turn, aid our muscle strength and lean body mass.
People naturally get some creatine intake from seafood and red meat, but they also produce it in small quantities of approximately 1 gram per day. About 95% of the body’s creatine is stored in the cells of the muscles. The remaining 5% is stored in the cells of the brain, kidneys, and liver.
While creatine is naturally present in animal-based foods like turkey and seafood, it is not available in high enough amounts to have a real impact on sports performance. This is why creatine supplements are so effective and necessary for athletic performance.
As a nutritional supplement, creatine is commonly used to build strength, increase muscle mass, improve endurance, and boost athletic performance, but creatine also has applications for supporting brain health and maintaining muscle mass.
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How Much Creatine Should I Take?
Most people combine creatine powder with a beverage and take it shortly before or after a workout for body composition support.
The recommended dose of creatine you should take depends on whether you are new to using creatine or whether you have been using a creatine dietary supplement for a week or more.
Starter Dose of Creatine
If you have never used creatine before or it has been a while since you’ve taken it, general recommendations suggest that you go through a starter phase of creatine use, commonly referred to as creatine loading.
During the creatine loading phase, you’ll take 20 to 25 grams of creatine, split into four or five doses for five to seven days. A recommended personalized dosage for creatine loading is 0.3 grams per kilogram of body weight each day. This phase is often recommended for those new to creatine supplementation because it allows you to build up the creatine stores in your muscles rapidly.
In just one week, the amount of creatine in your muscles can increase by anywhere from ten to 40% using this regimen.
By quickly upping your creatine stores, your body starts to experience the benefits of the supplement sooner. That means you’ll hit your workouts harder and start building strength more quickly.
It should be noted that you’ll only experience the benefits of creatine once your muscles are fully saturated with the molecule. Thus, most people try creatine loading to get there as quickly as possible.
If you’d prefer to take a more gradual approach to building your creatine stores, it is possible to take a lower dose of creatine for a longer period. Studies show that it takes about 28 days to build up your body’s creatine stores when consuming 3-5 grams per day.
You’ll still achieve creatine saturation, but it will take you about a week longer than by using the creatine loading method. Some people prefer a gradual buildup of creatine saturation because you can consume the supplement in just one dose per day instead of four to five doses spread throughout the day.
Ultimately, you will reach the same goal regardless of your chosen method.
Maintenance Dose of Creatine
Once your muscles are fully saturated with creatine, you do not need nearly as high a daily dose to maintain this level.
Instead, studies show that consuming about three to five grams per day (14 mg per pound of body weight or 30 mg per kg of body weight) is all that you need in order to maintain your muscle stores.
The dosage amount is consistent for both men and women regardless of athletic ability. Even those who are elderly may be able to help support healthy muscle tone by consuming creatine at this amount.
The supplement is one of few health and fitness supplements with equal effectiveness regardless of athletic ability.
Does Creatine Have Any Side Effects?
You may be wondering if creatine has any side effects.
While creatine is generally well tolerated, some people may experience some mild side effects when using it.
Bloating
One of the side effects most commonly associated with creatine supplementation is bloating.
Bloating is particularly common during the creatine loading phase and may occur because creatine draws water into the cells of the muscles, causing water retention. Some people may notice that they gain several pounds during this time.
A study conducted on the topic found that the body weight of participants taking creatine supplements over a four-week period increased by an average of 2.9 pounds.
Bloating tends to improve with time and exercise. Not everyone who takes creatine will experience bloating, but some people do. If you notice significant bloating, try skipping the creatine loading phase and consistently consuming a lower dose of three to five grams per day.
Gastrointestinal Distress
Some people may also experience gastrointestinal issues when taking creatine, particularly when taking a large amount at once. One study found that consuming ten grams of a creatine supplement in one serving caused side effects like diarrhea, belching, and stomach upset.
Study participants who consumed just two to five grams in a single dose did not experience the same side effects.
You may be able to minimize your likelihood of experiencing gastrointestinal distress by limiting the amount of creatine you consume in a single dose to no more than five grams at a time, including during the loading phase.
During creatine loading, make sure to divide your total daily dose into four or five equal doses throughout the day so that you are not consuming more than five grams at a time.
Is It Possible To Take Too Much Creatine?
With the potential for creatine to cause uncomfortable side effects at high doses, you may be concerned about taking too much of the supplement. Taking in high amounts of creatine (more than 25 grams per day) is more likely to cause side effects like bloating and gastrointestinal distress.
The good news is that taking more than 25 grams of creatine per day is not likely to be harmful; it’s just uncomfortable.
When you take in more creatine than your body can absorb and store, the excess ends up being secreted through your urine. While you won’t hurt yourself, you will likely end up wasting money without any additional benefit.
Is Creatine Safe?
Creatine is widely considered to be a safe and effective nutritional supplement. Numerous studies have confirmed the supplement’s safety for the majority of people.
That said, it is always best to consult your doctor before trying new supplements, especially if you have certain health conditions. For example, those with kidney issues may be more likely to experience side effects even when taking low amounts of creatine. Your doctor will be able to work with you to determine whether creatine is safe for you to use, and in what doses.
The Bottom Line
Creatine is a safe and effective nutritional supplement that is commonly used to increase strength, build muscle, improve endurance during high-intensity exercise, and boost exercise performance.
People who do not regularly use creatine may start building their creatine stores by taking a dose of 20 to 25 grams of creatine spread out evenly over four to five servings for five to seven days.
The effects of creatine can be beneficial no matter what point of your fitness journey you are at. Sufficient creatine levels can help you see muscle growth faster.
After the initial loading period, a recommended maintenance dose of three to five grams per day is adequate to maintain the muscle stores.
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Recommended dosage and possible side effects of creatine
The effective dosage of creatine is carefully researched, just like safe dosages, duration of supplementation and potential side effects. After all, creatine has been produced on an industrial scale since the 1950s and is commonly used in sport. What is the best dosage of creatine? Is creatine safe? Does it have any side effects?
Creatine – dosage and supplementation schedules
According to scientific research, there are several dosing schedules for creatine, but they are not very different. Its intake is distinguished into two phases – loading and maintenance. The first one is aimed at the maximum possible increase in the amount of creatine stored in muscles, and the second one at maintaining this concentration at a stable, high level.
The loading phase can be achieved in two ways. The first recommends dosing 3 g of creatine per day for 30 days. The second, much more popular, indicates taking 20 g of creatine for 4-7 days.
Maintaining increased creatine levels in muscles is achieved by taking the supplement in a dose of 2-3 g daily.
This creatine dosing protocol is the most popular and most often repeated in the literature. However, these are not the only tested and recommended supplementation methods. What are the other possible ways of creatine intake?
- 0.3 g creatine per kg body weight daily for 5-7 days, then 0.03 g/kg body weight/day for 4-6 weeks.
- 20 g creatine per day for 4-7 days, then 2-10 g per day with no fixed duration of supplementation.
- Without loading phase on training days 10 g of creatine, on non-training days 5 g of creatine for 8 weeks.
- For loss of muscle mass progressing with age in older people – 20 g of creatine per day for 4-7 days and then 2-10 g per day without a set supplementation time, but absolutely in combination with resistance training. Otherwise, the effect of increased muscle mass will not be achieved.
Recommended creatines
Side effects of creatine
Creatine is a supplement that is completely safe for health and does not cause any undesirable side effects. It has been studied for over 70 years and during this time, no side effects that could cause concern have been noticed. The side effects of creatine use are harmless, temporary and easily remedied. A frequently reported side effect of creatine is temporary water retention in the body. Strength athletes say that “muscles are filled with water”. This effect occurs at the beginning of supplementation and passes naturally with time. Other side effects may occur because of taking large amounts of creatine at one time and are linked to stomach problems – difficulties with digestion and stomach cramps. To avoid side effects from high doses, you can divide the daily portion of creatine into several smaller ones. It is not necessary to consume the entire daily serving of creatine at once.
Some studies have tried to prove that creatine supplementation causes side effects in the form of uncontrolled weight gain, gastrointestinal problems and increased risk of kidney dysfunction. However, these claims have not been confirmed, and, on the contrary, studies on the side effects of creatine use rule out their possible occurrence with the correct dosage. Liver and kidney problems may occur among people who exceed the recommended doses over a long period of supplementation.
What dosages of creatine do not cause side effects?
Various protocols for taking creatine have been analysed in scientific studies in an attempt to establish a dosage that is safe for health. It is currently recognised that:
- creatine taken in an oral dose of 25 g per day for 14 days is safe for your health.
- supplementation with 4-5 g of creatine per day for 18 months has no side effects.
- taking 10 g of creatine a day for 5 years has no side effects.
How to use creatine – useful tips
Scientific studies show that the effects of creatine are better if it is taken together with glucose or a carbohydrate-protein mixture. Taking creatine in combination with carbohydrates helps to increase both creatine and glycogen storage in the muscles. This is related to the beneficial effect of insulin secreted during carbohydrate metabolism. As a result of supplementation, the amount of creatine in muscles increases from 20 to 40%. This value depends on its use – together with carbohydrates or separately. However, we must not forget about individual predispositions which also largely determine the effects of creatine use.
How to use creatine with carbohydrates?
- dissolve in fruit juice or milk instead of water,
- mix with warm water with honey or tea with honey,
- add the powder to pancakes, omelettes, muffins and other baked products.
It is worth knowing that creatine dissolves better in warm liquids than in cold ones. It does not affect its effectiveness but definitely makes it easier to use.
During the muscle loading phase with creatine, stomach pains or other digestive complaints may occur. Then it is worth dividing the daily dose of creatine into several smaller portions, e.g. 4 times 5 g.
