What it is
Creatine is a compound your liver makes from amino acids, and that you also get from meat and fish. Muscles store it as phosphocreatine — a quick energy reserve for short, hard efforts: a sprint, a heavy set, a repeated burst. Michel-Eugène Chevreul identified it in meat extract in 1832 and named it from the Greek for flesh. The powder in this tub is the same molecule, as creatine monohydrate.
What it does
Creatine is the reserve your muscles use when the effort is short and it has to happen again. Two things follow from that — and we say both.
Creatine increases physical performance in successive bursts of short-term, high-intensity exercise.
For adults performing high-intensity exercise, at 3 grams of creatine a day.
Regulation (EU) No 432/2012 · EFSA ID 739, 1520, 1521, 1522, 1535, 1536, 1572, 3822
Daily creatine consumption can enhance the effect of resistance training on muscle strength in adults over the age of 55.
For adults over 55 who do regular resistance training, at 3 grams of creatine a day.
Regulation (EU) 2017/672 · EFSA Journal 2016;14(2):4400
The first is the next sprint, the next set, the next burst. The second is for people over 55 who already lift. Neither replaces the work.
What it does not do
In 2024 the European Food Safety Authority reviewed an application that creatine improves memory or focus. It concluded that a cause-and-effect relationship has not been established. Some trials report effects on memory in narrow conditions. That is interesting. It is not a claim we will sell. If the evidence changes, this page will change with it.
How to take it
Daily use
One 5 g serving, every day. Mix with water or in a meal. Timing is not magic; consistency is. Muscle creatine stores rise over weeks, not hours.
Loading is optional
A loading phase (about 20 g per day, split, for 5–7 days) saturates stores faster. 3–5 g daily reaches a similar saturation in roughly three to four weeks. Skip loading if your stomach prefers it.
Drink water
Creatine draws water into muscle. That is cell hydration, not “bloat” in the cartoon sense. Keep daily fluids sensible, especially in training heat.
Who should ask a doctor first
Food supplements are not medicines. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, under 18, or have kidney disease, talk to a clinician before using creatine.
Papers we actually read
This is not a systematic review. It is the short shelf we use to keep the marketing honest. Follow the links.
2017 · Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition
ISSN position stand: safety and efficacy of creatine supplementation in exercise, sport, and medicineKreider RB, Kalman DS, Antonio J, et al.
The ISSN concludes that creatine monohydrate is the most effective ergogenic nutritional supplement currently available to athletes for increasing high-intensity exercise capacity and lean mass during training, and that short- and long-term supplementation is safe in healthy people.
Industry-adjacent society; cross-check against independent reviews.
2011 · EFSA Journal
Creatine and increase in physical performance during short-term, high intensity, repeated exercise boutsEFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies
A cause-and-effect relationship between creatine and physical performance in successive bursts of short-term, high-intensity exercise, at 3 g per day.
This is a performance claim, not a muscle-size, fat-loss, or cognition claim.
2016 · EFSA Journal
Creatine in combination with resistance training and improvement in muscle strength in adults over 55EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies
3 g creatine daily, taken with regular resistance training, can enhance the effect of that training on muscle strength in adults over 55.
The claim is for strength with training — not for creatine alone, and not a sarcopenia treatment claim.
2021 · Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition
Common questions and misconceptions about creatine supplementation: what does the scientific evidence really show?Antonio J, Candow DG, Forbes SC, et al.
Addresses kidney, hair-loss, bloating, loading, and timing questions. In healthy people, typical doses have not been shown to damage kidneys. Hair-loss evidence is weak and not established.
Anyone with diagnosed kidney disease should speak to a clinician, not a product page.
2003 · International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism
Effect of creatine supplementation on body composition and performance: a meta-analysisBranch JD
Pooled data showed creatine improved performance in repeated short, high-intensity efforts more than in endurance work. Lean-mass changes were modest and typically accompanied training.
Older meta-analysis; still useful as a conservative reading of the performance literature.
2024 · EFSA Journal
Creatine and improvement in cognitive function — evaluation of a health claimEFSA Panel on Nutrition, Novel Foods and Food Allergens
After reviewing the human trials, EFSA concluded that a cause-and-effect relationship has not been established between creatine supplementation and an improvement in cognitive function.
Some trials report effects on memory in specific conditions. That is not the same as a settled claim. We do not make one.
Then buy the molecule, not the myth.
500 g of creatine monohydrate. Unflavoured. Micronised. For the next sprint, the next set, the next burst. Ships in Ireland.
Shop the tub