A recent study is challenging everything we thought we knew about creatine supplements.
So have we been wasting our money all this time?
Table of Contents
- The Existing View
- The New Study
- Response to the Study
- Creatine and Performance
- Back to the Study
- References
1. The Existing View
Creatine has been widely used since the 90s. And one of the study results you’ll see talked about most often is its link to muscle mass gains.
For example, a meta-analysis in 2022 pulled together the data from 35 studies. The analysis revealed that creatine supplementation increased lean body mass by 1.10 kg (about 2 1/2 pounds) when combined with resistance training [1].
Notice something important in the results of this analysis. Creatine was found to increase lean body mass. That’s not the same as muscle mass. Lean body mass is the weight of everything in your body apart from fat. So muscle mass is a key part of that. But it also includes bones, organs, water weight, and a few other things.
If we assume most of these factors are staying relatively stable, lean body mass gains are a good proxy for muscle mass gains. So when we find creatine boosting lean body mass, it seems like a reasonable assumption that what we’re seeing is a gain in muscle tissue.
2. The New Study
But this brand new study suggests we’ve been interpreting the results of earlier research all wrong.
The researchers wanted to figure out if creatine was indeed helping to increase muscle, or if it was just water weight.
Here’s how the study was set up. Researchers randomly assigned participants to one of two groups. The first group got a creatine supplement of 5 g per day. The other group took nothing. For the first week of the study, the creatine group took the supplement, but neither group exercised. Starting with week two, both groups began a carefully supervised workout program that lasted for the remaining 12 weeks. They took measurements of lean body mass for all participants three times: once before the study began, once after the first week, and once more at the end [2].
Now there have been lots of studies of the effects of creatine on lean body mass before. They look almost exactly like this. But this study introduced a unique twist. In the past, studies always started the exercise program and the creatine supplementation at the same time. In this study, it was just creatine alone for the first week.
Why? The researchers were curious about something. Though the evidence is mixed, we’ve had some indicators that creatine increases the amount of water in our bodies in the short term. Recall that water is part of our lean body mass. So they wondered if part of the gains due to creatine were actually from increased water, not increased muscle [2].
And that’s what the first week was all about. Those taking creatine weren’t exercising at all during that time. So if they had lean body mass gains, those must be due to increased water uptake.
So what did they discover? After initial measurements, they first checked lean body mass after the first week. As they expected, there was a significant difference between the two groups. Those taking creatine gained about half a kg (or 1 pound) of lean body mass. Those in the control group showed no gains [2].
So this first result was interesting. It confirmed some earlier evidence that found creatine could boost water uptake. That wasn’t a big shocker, however. The really interesting question was this: Would those taking creatine get any extra benefits during the exercise phase?
To find out, they tested lean body mass again after 12 weeks of supervised exercise. They worked hard to ensure both groups were exercising in the same way. And this is the part that’s been getting all the attention. The creatine group didn’t seem to get any benefit in terms of lean body mass gains during the 12 weeks of exercise compared to the control group. When we compare the change in lean body mass after the first week to the end of study, both groups gained the same amount. It was about 2 kg (or 4 1/2 pounds) [2].
The study authors drew a startling conclusion. Creatine doesn’t give any benefits for lean body mass gains beyond an initial boost in that first week. And that likely doesn’t have anything to do with muscle gains [2].
3. Response to the Study
So do these results mean creatine use is all built on a mistake?
Let’s unpack this. Look again at the numbers they report for the gains during the 12-week exercise period. There actually is a difference between the groups. The supplement group gains a bit more, on average [2].
When they say “no difference,” technically, what they mean is no statistically significant difference. In other words, the math says the difference we see here is likely just due to chance.
But it’s also possible the difference creatine makes is small with this particular study setup. It might just be hard to see in the noise of individual variation, which is quite large. The study involved only 60 participants, a relatively small group, and it’s a study duration of only 12 weeks.
Ideally, we’d want a larger, longer term trial to get a clearer picture. More data equals more precision.
But also, if we compare the baseline to end of study differences, the creatine group still does have an overall greater change in lean body mass [2].
4. Creatine and Performance
I also want to point out something easy to miss.
This study didn’t address the main benefit of creatine.
This benefit that I’m going to discuss is the reason I take creatine. So even if the conclusion is right that creatine doesn’t boost lean mass gains, that doesn’t mean creatine is worthless. Let me explain why.
So what is the main benefit of creatine? Creatine helps restore the ATP that’s the primary energy source for cells. It is particularly important when we need high-intensity, short bursts of muscle movement. Think of it like an emergency battery pack for our muscles.
Our muscles can store a certain amount of creatine. Taking creatine supplements increases how much creatine is available in our muscles. It’s like filling that battery pack to 100% [3].
And this results in measurable performance gains when it comes to exercise. Studies have found benefits ranging from increased power and endurance in strength training to enhanced recovery [3].
And since we can push a bit harder during strength training with creatine, we see gains faster. A meta-analysis of studies in adults under 50 years old backs up this effect. When compared to placebo, those taking creatine saw their strength grow more quickly [4].
A separate meta-analysis focused on studies of older adults. The results were the same. Creatine supplementation increased the chest press and leg press one-rep maximum [5].
A report from the International Society of Sports Nutrition summarized the evidence this way. Hundreds of peer-reviewed studies have evaluated the impact of creatine supplements on exercise performance. About 70% of them have found a significant improvement in exercise capacity [6].
5. Back to the Study
This is a really important distinction.
This new trial casts doubt about creatine’s effects on lean body mass. But it did NOT measure muscle performance.
So creatine lets us exercise with more intensity. And this translates into strength gains. But then the natural question to ask is, if our strength is growing, shouldn’t our muscles be growing, too? And wouldn’t that show up as gains in lean muscle mass? Again, that recent study raises a question mark.
The simple answer is — it isn’t that simple. We might assume that our strength grows because our muscles get bigger. But the reality is more complex. Consider this fascinating example. Bodybuilders and weightlifters both engage in rigorous resistance training. And they both gain a lot of muscle. But the relationship between their muscles and their strength is different.
In one analysis, researchers measured the size of the triceps muscle along with its power. In their sample, the bodybuilders had, on average, larger muscles. But for a given amount of muscle, the weightlifters were stronger [7].
So, surprisingly, strength gains and muscle gains aren’t identical. One study found a group of young healthy people had average strength gains of 21% during the study period. But that corresponded to only a 7% gain in muscle size [7].
Incredibly, several people in the study increased their leg strength without any gains in muscle size at all [7].
So what explains this? The reason is that strength gains are partly a result of muscle mass. But they are also driven by changes in things like nerve activity [7].
In other words, we get stronger in part because our body gets better at using what we already have. And the research suggests our early strength gains have more to do with neural adaptations. Later gains are more connected with muscle growth [7].
And this raises an intriguing possibility. Could those taking creatine in this latest study have seen benefits in terms of strength gains? We have no way to know, since this wasn’t measured. But it’s certainly likely. Earlier studies have consistently shown this effect. In other words, maybe participants didn’t add extra lean body mass because of creatine. But they probably added extra strength and muscle performance, like the mountains of existing trial data suggests.
Overall, the new study raises a question about whether earlier studies may have overstated muscle mass gains. But for reasons we’ve looked at here, I don’t think it casts doubt on the usefulness of creatine. We still have very good evidence that it boosts exercise performance and strength gains. To emphasize, this new study didn’t measure muscle performance at all.
And it’s the muscle performance effects that are the main reasons why I personally take creatine monohydrate 5g as part of MicroVitamin+.
We’re on formula version 6 of the overall MicroVitamin package, and I’m working on formula version 7 at the time of writing this article. For me, I want to continue receiving the muscle performance benefits from creatine, and this study doesn’t change that nor compel me to remove creatine for formula version 7.
But just because I take a supplement does not in any way mean that you should as well.
