Kreatin – träningsforskning, monohydrat och rätt portionsmängd

Öppna källan

Complete Creatine synthesis section including efficacy, safety and implications for use; no linked trial originals assigned.

URL: https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/ExerciseAndAthleticPerformance-HealthProfessional/
Title: Dietary Supplements for Exercise and Athletic Performance — Creatine section
Source updated: April 1, 2024
Capture: Complete Creatine section, from its heading through Efficacy, Safety and Implications for use, ending before Deer antler velvet, read in the official NIH web reader on 2026-10-18. Citation anchors represented by their displayed numeric labels. This is not the full fact sheet, bibliography or linked original studies. Web-reader HTTP status not captured; no direct request made in this capture.

Creatine

Creatine is one of the most thoroughly studied and widely used dietary supplements to enhance exercise and sports performance [112]. Creatine is produced endogenously and obtained from the diet in small amounts. It helps generate ATP and thereby supplies the muscles with energy, particularly for short-term events [113].

Creatine might improve muscle performance in four ways: by increasing stores of phosphocreatine used to generate ATP at the beginning of intense exercise, accelerating the re-synthesis of phosphocreatine after exercise, depressing the degradation of adenine nucleotides and the accumulation of lactate, and/or enhancing glycogen storage in skeletal muscles [113].

The liver and kidneys synthesize about 1 g/day creatine from the amino acids glycine, arginine, and methionine [114]. Animal-based foods, such as beef (2 g/lb), pork (2.3 g/lb), and salmon (2 g/lb), also contain creatine. A person weighing 154 pounds has about 120 g creatine and phosphocreatine in his or her body, almost all in the skeletal and cardiac muscles [112].

However, it is only when users consume much greater amounts of creatine over time as a dietary supplement that it could have ergogenic effects. Metabolized creatine is converted into the waste product creatinine, which is eliminated from the body through the kidneys.

Efficacy

Studies in both laboratory and sports settings have found that short-term creatine supplementation (for 5 to 7 days) in both men and women often significantly increases strength (e.g., for bench presses) and power (e.g., for cycling), work involving multiple sets of maximal effort muscle contractions, and sprinting and soccer performance [112,115].

In one example, a study randomized 14 healthy, resistance-trained men (age 19–29 years) to receive 25 g creatine monohydrate or a placebo for 6–7 days [116]. Participants taking the supplement had significant improvements in peak power output during all five sets of jump squats and in repetitions during all five sets of bench presses on three occasions. In another study, 18 well-trained male sprinters age 18–24 years received either 20 g/day creatine or a placebo for 5 days [117].

Compared with those taking the placebo, participants taking the creatine improved their performance in both 100-meter sprints and six intermittent 60-m sprints.

Supplementation with creatine over weeks or months helps training adaptations to structured, increased workloads over time. For example, in a randomized study of 14 female collegiate soccer players during the off-season, those who received creatine (15 g/day for 1 week and then 5 g/day for 12 weeks) had significantly greater increases in muscle strength, as measured by bench press and full-squat maximal strength testing, but not lean tissue compared with participants who took a placebo [118].

Individuals have varied responses to creatine supplementation, based on factors such as diet and the relative percentages of various muscle fiber types [114,119]. Vegetarians, for example, with their lower muscle creatine content, might have greater responses to supplementation than meat eaters.

Overall, creatine enhances performance during repeated short bursts of high-intensity, intermittent activity, such as sprinting and weight lifting, where energy for this predominantly anaerobic exercise comes mainly from the ATP-creatine phosphate energy system [38,114].

Creatine supplementation seems to be of little value for endurance sports, such as distance running or swimming, that do not depend on the short-term ATP-creatine phosphate system to provide short-term energy, and it leads to weight gain that might impede performance in such sports [113,114].

Furthermore, in predominantly aerobic exercise lasting more than 150 seconds, the body relies on oxidative phosphorylation as the primary energy source, a metabolic pathway that does not require creatine [114].

Safety

Studies have found no consistent set of side effects from creatine use, except that it often leads to weight gain, because it increases water retention and possibly stimulates muscle protein synthesis [112,113]. Several studies have found that supplemental creatine monohydrate, when used for a strength-training program, can lead to a 1–2 kg increase in total body weight in a month [73].

Creatine is considered safe for short-term use by healthy adults [12,112-114]. In addition, evidence shows that use of the product for several years is safe [112,120-122]. Anecdotal reactions to creatine use include nausea, diarrhea and related gastrointestinal distress, muscle cramps, and heat intolerance.

Creatine supplementation may reduce the range of motion of various parts of the body (such as the shoulders, ankles, and lower legs) and lead to muscle stiffness and resistance to stretching [114]. Adequate hydration while taking creatine might minimize these uncommon risks [113].

Implications for use

In a position statement, the AND, DoC, and ACSM advise that creatine enhances performance of cycles of high-intensity exercise followed by short recovery periods and improves training capacity [12]. In its position statement, the ISSN states that creatine monohydrate is the most effective nutritional supplement currently available for enhancing capacity for high-intensity exercise and lean body mass during exercise [112].

The ISSN contends that athletes who supplement with creatine have a lower incidence of injuries and exercise-related side effects compared to those who do not take creatine [112]. The Australian Institute of Sport supports the use of creatine for improving sports performance in suitable athletic competitions under the direction of an expert in sports medicine, but it notes that more research might be required to understand how the supplement should be used for best results [29].

A typical protocol for creatine supplementation in adults, regardless of sex or body size, consists of a loading phase for 5–7 days, when users consume 20 g/day creatine monohydrate in four portions of 5 g, followed by a maintenance phase of 3–5 g/day [112-114]. In some studies, the loading dose is based on body weight (e.g., 0.3 g/kg) [114].

Another creatine supplementation protocol consists of taking single doses of about 3–6 g/day (0.03–0.1 g/kg body weight) for 3 to 4 weeks, without a loading phase, to produce ergogenic effects [112,114,119].

Creatine monohydrate, which is 88% creatine by weight, is the most widely used and studied form [112,114,123]. Other, usually more expensive, forms of creatine (e.g., creatine ethyl ester, creatine alpha-ketoglutarate, and buffered forms of creatine) have not been proven to have superior ability to creatine monohydrate for enhancing muscle creatine levels, digestibility, product stability, or safety [73,112,123].

Öppna källan

Full current exact imported definitions of distinct identities; not an identity merge

{"id":"chebi-16919","version_id":"aba0c2d5-af2c-49a5-a485-6c5c72a94fac","name":"creatine","definition":"A glycine derivative having methyl and amidino groups attached to the nitrogen."}

{"id":"chebi-57947","version_id":"f4185572-be42-4dfb-a603-eb37711c1d18","name":"creatine zwitterion","definition":"Zwitterionic form of creatine arising from transfer of a proton from the carboxy to the guanidino group; major species at pH 7.3."}

Läs produktdeklarationen på ActiQs

Kreatinmonohydrat, klumpförebyggande medel (kiseldioxid).

Innehåll	Per sachet
Kreatinmonohydrat	3 g

Läs produktdeklarationen på ActiQs

Fyllnadsmedel (maltitol), kreatinmonohydrat, fuktighetsbevarande medel (glycerol), surhetsreglerande medel (äppelsyra), geleringsmedel (karragenan, akaciagummi, agar, pektin), surhetsreglerande medel (natriumcitrat), naturlig arom, sötningsmedel (sukralos), växtkoncentrat (safflor, citron), färgämne (indigotin).

Innehåll	Per 2 gummies	Per 4 gummies
Kreatinmonohydrat	3 400 mg	6 800 mg

Läs produktdeklarationen på ActiQs

Vanilj: Vassleproteinkoncentrat 80% (instant), kreatinmonohydrat, L-Arginin, (Digezyme®: amylas, proteas, laktas, lipas, cellulas), emulgeringsmedel (solroslecitin, naturlig arom, sötningsmedel (Steviolglykosider från stevia).