{"id":775309,"date":"2026-05-05T16:54:28","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T16:54:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/775309\/"},"modified":"2026-05-05T16:54:28","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T16:54:28","slug":"the-science-on-creatine-dosage-is-shifting-heres-how-many-grams-you-should-take","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/775309\/","title":{"rendered":"The Science on Creatine Dosage Is Shifting. Here\u2019s How Many Grams You Should Take."},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Estimated5 min read<\/p>\n

DEATH, TAXES, AND <\/strong>five grams of creatine monohydrate<\/a> daily. For a long time, those were life\u2019s certainties.<\/p>\n

That amount of creatine was all you needed to saturate your muscles to readily supply them with ATP, a molecule that supplies energy vital for exercise. And with a steady supply ATP in your system, you could push one more rep beneath the bar<\/a> or power through a few more box jumps<\/a>. Couple that effort with the right nutrition (protein, protein, protein<\/a>) and your battered post-workout muscles could then build back stronger.<\/p>\n

If you wanted to fire up muscle and strength, that five grams of daily creatine was your kindling\u2014and decades of research on creatine and physical performance bore this out.<\/p>\n

Then within the last decade or so something curious started surfacing. Emerging research has begun looking into higher doses of creatine for benefits that might extend beyond your biceps<\/a>. Creatine and cognitive function<\/a>. Creatine and traumatic brain injury. Creatine and depression symptoms<\/a>. The mechanism behind all this is fairly straightforward: One reason being that your brain also uses ATP as an energy source, and supplying your OS with more may help improve its performance.<\/p>\n

This emerging science has wellness influencers worked up. Andrew Huberman, PhD, has excitedly (well, for him) labeled<\/a> creatine as \u201cvitally important for the forebrain\u2014the part responsible for planning, action, and rule setting.\u201d Gary Brecka<\/a> has posted<\/a> that creatine is \u201camazing for cognitive function.\u201d Dave Asprey<\/a> has said<\/a> the nutrient is important to the \u201cworld of consciousness.\u201d Some influencers are even suggesting<\/a> taking as much as 25 grams of creatine daily.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see the hype,\u201d says Darren Candow, PhD<\/a>, a professor at the University of Regina in Saskatchewan. Taking super doses of creatine for either physical or mental benefit, he says, \u201cis overhyped\u2014and very context specific.\u201d Candow would know because he\u2019s published roughly 100 scientific studies on creatine, including a few in the past five years on the nutrient\u2019s cognitive effects.<\/a><\/p>\n

OUR GUIDE TO THE BEST CREATINE SUPPLEMENTS<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe lowest dose shown to increase brain creatine levels and have benefits is four grams a day, but that was in long COVID<\/a> patients,\u201d Candow says. The emerging research on creatine and the brain indicates benefits only for people with certain conditions. Plus, the extent of the research is extremely limited.<\/p>\n

One of Candow\u2019s longtime collaborators is Scott Forbes, PhD,<\/a> a sports science researcher and professor at Brandon University in Manitoba. Forbes puts the current state of creatine and cognitive science this way: \u201cThough the data is fairly consistent when the brain is stressed\u2026often there are fewer than four publications on each of those \u2018stressed\u2019 populations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Forbes says there\u2019s only one published trial investigating the effects of creatine following a traumatic brain injury. Same goes for Alzheimer\u2019s. \u201cI believe there are five published randomized controlled trials examining creatine and depression. It\u2019s promising, but far from a scientific consensus.\u201d<\/p>\n

The reason that creatine-cognition studies involve high doses\u2014sometimes as high as 30 grams daily\u2014has less to do with creatine than it does with the brain. \u201cThe brain needs greater amounts of creatine due to lower transport over the blood-brain barrier in comparison to the muscles,\u201d says Richard Kreider, PhD<\/a>, a professor at Texas A&M University and director of its Exercise & Sport Nutrition Lab.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re having flashbacks to the early days of creatine, when any dose of the supplement was thought to wreck your kidneys<\/a>, know that modern science has debunked all that. In fact, Forbes, Candow, and Kreider published a study review this year showing that at doses of 10 grams, longterm creatine supplementation is safe. The study<\/a> concluded \u201cthat [creatine monohydrate] appears to be well-tolerated, and at the study level, does not increase the risk of gastrointestinal, renal, liver, musculoskeletal, or other [side effects] compared to placebo\u2014even at high doses or longer durations.\u201d<\/p>\n

But just because creatine is safe at high doses doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s necessary. If you take it in pill form, that\u2019s a lot of pills. If you stir the powder into liquid, that\u2019s prolonging what has always been a somewhat unpleasant experience. (Why hasn\u2019t science solved for creatine\u2019s \u201ccrunchiness\u201d yet?) Creatine isn\u2019t cheap, either.<\/p>\n

Until the research catches up with the hype, you don\u2019t need to quintuple your intake of five grams of creatine daily. That said, you may want to double it. \u201cI personally take 10 grams a day, as that dose likely checks all the boxes for muscle, bone, and brain,\u201d Candow says.<\/p>\n

Yes, your bones. There is a sliver of research indicating that \u201ccreatine can change the geometry of bones to make them stronger,\u201d says Forbes.<\/p>\n

One important caveat: \u201cCreatine by itself won’t do much for bone. It needs to be combined with resistance training,\u201d says Brian St. Pierre, RD, CSCS, director of nutrition at Precision Nutrition<\/a>, and a Men\u2019s Health Advisor.<\/p>\n

This bone benefit, coupled with emerging research that shows creatine may help with brain functioning following a bad night\u2019s sleep or general mental fatigue, might be enough for you to double your dosage. Better still: \u201cOur current research shows greater health and cognition benefits when people take two doses of five grams of creatine spread throughout the day,\u201d says Kreider.<\/p>\n

All that said, five grams of creatine daily is still a great dose, says St. Pierre. \u201cIf you tolerate it well and are content there, you don’t need to increase to 10 grams,\u201d he says. \u201cHowever, if you want to experiment with the higher dosages to see how you respond and how your gut tolerates it, there’s no real harm in doing so. And you might get a little bone and brain boost to boot.\u201d<\/p>\n

As more research (and influencer attention) focuses on creatine, these recommendations very well may change again in a few years. But there\u2019s still one certainty you can count on: \u201cWe know that the benefits of creatine to enhance muscle performance across the lifespan is well-established,\u201d says Forbes. So however old you are, now\u2019s a great time for creatine. Can\u2019t say the same about death or taxes.<\/p>\n

MH-Approved Creatine Supplements<\/p>\n

For our full list of editor-tested and expert-reviewed products, check out our Best Creatines Guide<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Best Creatine For Athletes Of All Ages<\/p>\n

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Best Entry Creatine<\/p>\n

\"Creatine\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Best Premium Creatine<\/p>\n

\"Creatine<\/a>Transparent Labs Creatine HMB<\/p>\n

Photography by Julia Gartland.<\/p>\n

Prop Styling by JoJo Li.<\/p>\n

\"Headshot<\/p>\n

Paul Kita is a Deputy Editor at Men’s Health, where he has covered food, cooking, nutrition, supplements, grooming, tech, travel, and fatherhood at the brand for more than 15 years. He is also the author of two Men’s Health cookbooks, Guy Gourmet and A Man, A Pan, A Plan, and the winner of a James Beard Award.<\/p>\n