How people get it: Sold as a powder or capsules, usually as creatine monohydrate.
The basics
What it is
Your body makes some creatine, and you also get some from animal foods such as beef and salmon. Creatine supplements, usually creatine monohydrate, give much larger amounts than food does.
Source: NIH Office of Dietary Supplements: The Scoop - Fall 2017 ↗
What people use it for
- Creatine supplements can increase strength, power, and the ability to contract muscles for maximum effort.
- It is helpful only for repeated short bursts of intense activity, such as sprinting and weight lifting.
- For endurance activities like distance running, it appears to have little value.
Source: NIH Office of Dietary Supplements: The Scoop - Fall 2017 ↗
What the research has found so far
On Creatine and aging, PubMed lists 62 trials in people, 10 studies that watched people over time, 46 animal and lab studies. See the counts and searches
Stage 2 because 62 published trials and 173 registered trials in people have been found, but no large ones yet.
A stage shows how far research has got, not whether it will work for you. How stages work
Side effects and risks
Creatine can cause weight gain because it tends to cause the body to hold water. Reported effects include weight gain from water retention, plus anecdotal (unconfirmed) reports of nausea, diarrhea, muscle cramps, muscle stiffness, and heat intolerance.
Sources: NIH Office of Dietary Supplements: The Scoop - Fall 2017 ↗ · NIH Office of Dietary Supplements: Dietary Supplements for Exercise and Athletic Performance - Health Professional Fact Sheet ↗
Who should be careful, and drug interactions
Most studies of these supplements included only conditioned athletes, so it is often unclear whether they apply to occasional exercisers. Safety of combination products cannot be predicted unless trials tested that particular combination.
Roughly what it costs
The 10 products we list that contain Creatine cost from $14.99 to $84, as read from the makers' pages. See the products
Questions to ask your doctor
- Is Creatine a sensible option for me, given my health and the medicines I take?
- Could Creatine interact with any medicine or supplement I already take?
- What side effects should I watch for, and when should I stop or call you?
- Supplements aren't checked by the FDA before sale. Is there a brand or a third-party test seal you would trust?
- How would we tell whether it is helping, and when should we review it?
This is general information gathered from the sources listed, not medical advice. Talk to your doctor before starting anything new.
Products that contain it
Read from each maker's page. The research stage is for the ingredient, not proof that a product works.
| Product | Form | Creatine per serving | Price | Per serving |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Creatine - 180 ServingsThorne · maker's page ↗ | — | 5gserving: 1 Scoop(s) | $84.00180 servings | $0.47 |
| Creatine - 90 ServingsMomentous · maker's page ↗ | — | 5g* | $42.9990 servings | $0.48 |
| Creatine - 90 ServingsThorne · maker's page ↗ | — | 5gserving: 1 Scoop(s) | $44.0090 servings | $0.49 |
| Longevity Creatine Pure Powder - 450 gramsProHealth Longevity · maker's page ↗ | powder | 5 gserving: 1 Scoop (5 g) | $49.9590 servings | $0.56 |
| Creatine - Travel PacksThorne · maker's page ↗ | — | 5gserving: 1 Packet(s) | $36.0030 servings | $1.20 |
| Micronised Creatine PowderOptimum Nutrition · maker's page ↗ | powder | See label | $14.99 | — |
| Creatine [+]Optimum Nutrition · maker's page ↗ | gummy | See label | $16.99 | — |
| Micronized Creatine PowderOptimum Nutrition · maker's page ↗ | powder | See label | $20.49 | — |
| Advanced Collagen Peptides + Creatine - UnflavoredVital Proteins · maker's page ↗ | — | 5 g | $24.99 | — |
| Creatine+Elysium Health · maker's page ↗ | — | See label | $70.00 | — |
Amounts, servings and prices are as each maker lists them on its own page, checked Oct 16, 2026. Price per serving is the price divided by the servings per container on the label; “—” means the page didn't say. A serving is the maker's serving size, not a recommendation.
What experts say
No expert views collected yet. Each one we add names the person and links to where they said it.
What others are writing
Recent articles about Creatine from health journalists, hospitals and universities. We link to them; we don't write or endorse them.
Influencers tout the benefits of creatine supplements. Is it healthy or all hype? ↗
“Research shows that increasing the amount of creatine stored in muscles can help to add lean muscle mass and improve athletic performance and speed recovery from workouts.”
NPR reports that creatine supplements have strong evidence for adding lean muscle when combined with resistance training, though brain benefits need more research.
Does Creatine Cause Hair Loss? ↗
“The concern about creatine and hair loss stems from creatine’s effect on the hormone dihydrotestosterone (DHT) . DHT is a byproduct of testosterone.”
The article says creatine probably does not cause hair loss, though a small study reported DHT increases that others could not reproduce.
What is creatine? Potential benefits and risks of this popular supplement ↗
“Creatine may enhance athletic performance. It contributes to rapid energy production and may enhance power or speed bursts requiring short periods of anaerobic activity.”
The article explains that creatine may enhance athletic performance and is generally safe at 3 to 5 grams daily, with caveats about supplement regulation.
Commentary in journals
Recent research
Testing creatine and HMB with home exercise for muscle loss in Huntington's disease
Researchers plan to compare creatine, HMB, both together, and a placebo, with all groups doing home exercise.
Creatine and walking football for older adults in Madrid: a planned study
This is a planned study that has not started recruiting people yet.
Trials
ClinicalTrials.gov lists 173 registered trials that mention Creatine, for any condition (the count in The science below). Here we show the ones about aging. See them all ↗
The science
Counted from PubMed and ClinicalTrials.gov on Oct 30, 2026, using one search for Creatine in relation to aging. Each link opens the exact search.
- Randomized trials in people
- 57 search ↗
- Large trials (multicenter or phase 3)
- 1 search ↗
- Phase 3 trials
- 0 search ↗
- Trials in people
- 62 search ↗
- Studies that watched people over time
- 10 search ↗
- Animal and lab studies
- 46 search ↗
- Registered trials
- 173 search ↗
PubMed search used
creatine[tiab] AND supplement*[tiab] AND (aging[tiab] OR ageing[tiab] OR longevity[tiab] OR lifespan[tiab] OR "life span"[tiab] OR healthspan[tiab] OR "Aging"[mh] OR "Longevity"[mh] OR "older adults"[tiab] OR sarcopenia[tiab])
Counts are search results, so they include some records that only mention Creatine. How we count
Cite or share this page
Longevity Progress. (n.d.). Creatine: Research stage and evidence. Retrieved October 30, 2026, from https://longevityprogress.com/treatments/creatine
<iframe src="https://longevityprogress.com/embed/stage/creatine" title="Creatine: research stage on Longevity Progress" width="340" height="72" style="border:0" loading="lazy"></iframe>
The badge shows this treatment's current research stage and links back here. It updates by itself when the stage changes.