Creatine
Base · Supplement
Tier A
What this is
Gold-standard sports supplement — most studied ergogenic aid ever. Emerging benefits for cognition, bone, and in older adults. Only monohydrate form has strong RCT evidence; avoid fancy variants.
Mechanism
Phosphocreatine energy buffer enables rapid ATP regeneration; increased muscle PCr stores; brain PCr effects on cognition
Dose & route
3-5 g/day monohydrate (no loading needed); optional 20 g/day x 5 days loading
Citations
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5469049/
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7871530/
- https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12970-021-00412-w
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This is an independent synthesis of published research by a non-clinician. Scores are opinions supported by citations, not prescriptions. See the full disclaimer and methodology for how this score was produced and what it does and doesn't mean.