Health Reference LibraryHow much creatine should I take, and can you take too much?
This entry is part of the Nutri Tailor Health Reference Library — cited research on supplements, nutrients and adjacent areas of health.
Summary
Three to five grams of creatine monohydrate a day, every day, is the dose nearly every trial used and the one worth copying. A loading week of 20 g a day fills muscle stores faster but is optional, because the daily dose reaches the same place within a month. More than 5 g a day adds nothing once stores are full and is more likely to upset the stomach. The sports nutrition position stand reports no harm from long term use at these doses in healthy adults; the two things to know are that early water weight is normal and that creatine raises the creatinine reading on a blood test without harming the kidneys.
Dose calculator: capsules to reach your creatine target
Enter the daily amount of creatine you are aiming for and see how many servings of each Nutri Tailor product reach it. Nothing you enter leaves this device. No AI is used.
This tool does arithmetic on the label figures. It is not personal dosing advice and it knows nothing about your history or blood results. The reference intake, the safe upper guide and the trial doses are on this page; talk to your GP or a registered nutritional therapist before changing what you take.
Effective dose
The reference intake is none, because creatine is not an essential nutrient; the body makes about 1 g a day and a meat eating diet supplies another 1 to 2 g. 3 to 5 g of creatine monohydrate a day, every day, is the dose almost every trial used and the one to copy. Loading, 20 g a day split into four doses for five to seven days, fills muscle stores in a week instead of four, and is optional; the maintenance dose gets to the same place by the end of the month. Larger people and vegetarians, whose starting stores are lower, sit at the top of the 3 to 5 g range.
Safety profile
How much is too much: the International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand reports no harm from 3 to 5 g a day long term in healthy adults, and the European Food Safety Authority accepts 3 g a day as the dose for the performance claim. More than 5 g a day buys nothing after stores are full and increases the chance of stomach upset and loose stools, especially on an empty stomach. The 1 to 2 kg of water weight in the first fortnight is expected, not fat. Creatine raises the creatinine reading on a blood test without harming the kidneys, which confuses GPs who have not been told; say you take it. Anyone with kidney disease should ask their GP before starting.
Guideline positions
NHS vitamins and minerals guidance for creatine. NIH Office of Dietary Supplements fact sheet for creatine where one exists. The trial doses quoted above are from the sources listed on this page.
Practical framework
Capsules to reach the dose, from the Nutri Tailor range, all made in the UK: [micronised creatine monohydrate powder](/products/creatine-micronised-monohydrate-powder), 5 g per serving, one scoop a day; [creatine capsules](/products/motion-nutrition-creatine), 3 g of creatine monohydrate per four capsule serving, with a cognitive support complex. To read your own result against the UK ranges, use the free blood test result interpreter. This is a summary of published research, not personal health advice. Talk to your GP or a registered nutritional therapist before changing what you take, especially if you are pregnant, have a diagnosed condition or are under ongoing care.
Common misconceptions
That more creatine works faster: above the doses the trials used there is no extra effect, only more side effects. That the front of the bottle states the dose: read the per capsule figure and the serving size on the back. That the NHS figure is a toxic threshold: it is the level below which harm is unlikely, which is a different thing.
Sources
- Kreider RB, Kalman DS, Antonio J, Ziegenfuss TN, Wildman R, Collins R, Candow DG, Kleiner SM, Almada AL, Lopez HL 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.
- EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies 2011. Scientific Opinion on the substantiation of health claims related to creatine and increase in physical performance during short-term, high intensity, repeated exercise bouts. EFSA Journal 9(7):2303.