How does creatine work?

Creatine is creatine monohydrate, also listed as CrM. This site's profile says it loads muscle phosphocreatine, which regenerates ATP from ADP during high-intensity work lasting seconds. That extra work capacity over months is the likely route to most of the strength gain rather than any direct anabolic action. Molecular weight is 131.1 daltons. Plasma half-life is about 3 hours; muscle stores deplete over roughly 4 to 6 weeks after stopping. It is sold as a dietary supplement and is not an approved drug. Strength and high-intensity work capacity are the claims that hold across decades of trials. When hypertrophy is measured by direct imaging rather than whole-body composition, the pooled effect is small and its credible interval crosses zero. Cognition: a 123-person randomized trial found no benefit, with more side effects on creatine than placebo, and the European Food Safety Authority rejected a manufacturer's cognition claim. Hair: the 2009 hormone-ratio study in 20 rugby players never measured hair; a 2025 trial in 45 resistance-trained men, 38 of whom finished, found no group difference in androgens or hair. Kidney: a 12-week randomized trial in resistance-trained adults eating at least 1.2 g/kg/day protein found glomerular filtration by a gold-standard tracer did not differ from placebo. This FAQ does not invent a dose. Full record at /compounds/creatine.

Educational use only. This database summarizes published research and is not medical advice. Where a dose appears it is a record of what a trial or clinic ran, or what people describe doing, with its source attached. Nothing here is a recommendation for personal use.

Part of healing and recovery peptides. BPC-157, TB-500, GHK-Cu, and the tissue repair family, including what actually has human data.