This post includes the full transcript of this week’s Beyond the Buzz episode, followed by the clarity poll and full evidence.
🎧INTRO
My college-aged son occasionally takes creatine with his gym buddies.
It made me wonder two things: is it actually worth him spending money on —
and, since I’m in midlife and do regular strength training, is it something I should consider too?
Welcome to Beyond the Buzz — where curiosity meets clarity.
I’m Dr. Tara Moroz, scientist and communicator with decades of experience translating complex human research into clear, evidence-informed insight.
Let’s take a closer look together — starting with what’s driving the buzz.
📊THE BUZZ
Creatine is clearly having a moment.
Retail sales were up 56% year over year, and the global creatine-supplements market was estimated at 1.7 billion U.S. dollars in 2026. [H1,H2]
However, in a 2026 survey of current or recent creatine users, only 55% said they perceived a benefit, even though 98% intended to keep taking it. [H3]
So popularity, spending, and perceived value are not automatically the same thing.
When does creatine actually earn its place in a routine? [H1,H2,H3]
🧾RECEIPT CHECK
Let’s check the evidence — our kind of receipt check.
This is the moment to pause and ask the questions that matter — what’s the evidence,
how certain can we be, and what does it mean for your decision?
🔬WHAT THE EVIDENCE SHOWS
Here’s what the evidence shows.
For strength and power, creatine monohydrate has a real evidence base.
A 2025 meta-analysis — which pools results across studies — found benefits across several strength and power outcomes, with more consistent results in younger adults and men.
In younger adults, creatine was associated with about six and a half kilograms more improvement in squat strength and eight kilograms more in leg press than the groups they were compared with.
Those are average additional gains across studies of varying lengths — not an instant boost or a prediction of what any one person will lift. [E1]
Creatine is an add-on, not a substitute for training.
Research on body composition shows that training matters, especially when the goal is increasing lean mass — which includes muscle and body water — rather than simply seeing the scale move. [E2]
And the scale can move for different reasons.
The U.S. National Institutes of Health notes that people using creatine during strength training may gain about one to two kilograms in a month.
Some early weight gain can be water, especially with a loading phase.
Water retention tends to be most noticeable in the first several days
and does not consistently persist in longer-term studies.
Over time, especially with strength training, some of the additional weight can also reflect increases in muscle. [E2,E7,E8]
Creatine is typically taken every day.
A usual daily dose is three to five grams.
Loading — about 20 grams a day, divided into four smaller doses for five to seven days — raises muscle creatine stores faster, but it is optional.
You can simply take the smaller daily dose consistently
and get there more gradually. [E7]
That brings me back to the midlife question.
For postmenopausal women, a 2026 meta-analysis also found benefits,
particularly when creatine was combined with strength training.
In three trials involving 111 women, lasting roughly three months to a year, creatine was associated with about seven and a half kilograms more improvement in leg-press strength than in women who received a placebo without creatine. [E3]
The review concluded that benefits were particularly evident with at least five grams a day alongside strength training. [E3]
So for postmenopausal women, the strength story is promising, especially alongside strength training, but there are still relatively few studies. [E3]
But what if the goal isn’t strength?
For endurance, a meta-analysis in trained people did not show a clear overall improvement in endurance performance. [E4]
If your main goal is steady running or cycling performance, creatine therefore has a weaker case than it does for strength, power, or repeated high-intensity work. [E4,E7]
Then there’s the question of brain health.
The brain-health claims are also ahead of the evidence.
The European Food Safety Authority reviewed the evidence and concluded that a cause-and-effect relationship between creatine and improved cognitive function — things like memory, attention, or problem-solving — had not been established. [E5]
That leaves room for further study, but not for a broad claim that creatine improves cognition or brain health in everyday use. [E5]
Then there’s the other side of the decision: what are the downsides or risks of taking it?
On kidney safety, a review of the research did not find evidence that creatine damages kidney function in the people studied, although creatinine — a blood marker used when assessing kidney function — can rise and needs context. [E6]
For generally healthy adults taking the doses that have been studied, the broader safety picture is reassuring. [E6,E7]
There’s also the question of what’s actually in the product you buy.
Independent certification can provide extra assurance that a supplement contains the ingredients and amounts listed on the label. [E7]
🧠WHY THIS BUZZ RESONATES
So why does this resonate?
Part of the appeal may be that creatine feels concrete.
You can buy it, scoop it, take it, and connect it to a goal.
It can also land differently by life stage.
For a younger person, it may feel like part of gym culture.
In midlife, the same product can start sounding like a way to make strength training count for more.
And once one supplement appears in conversations about performance, muscle, aging, and the brain, it is easy to wonder whether you are missing something by not taking it.
🧭THE TAKEAWAY
Here’s your Evidence Clarity moment.
So what’s the takeaway?
Yes — creatine monohydrate works, with its clearest case for people whose goal is strength or power and who are doing strength training or other high-intensity exercise. [E1,E2,E7]
The strength results have been more consistent in younger adults and men, but postmenopausal women also appear to benefit when creatine is combined with strength training — although there is less research in postmenopausal women. [E1,E3]
It is less convincing for endurance performance, and the evidence does not support treating it as a proven cognitive or general anti-aging supplement. [E4,E5]
For someone deciding whether it is worth the money and effort, the useful question is not simply, “Does creatine work?”
It is, “Does the outcome it is most likely to improve actually match my goal?”
For my son, that shifts the question away from whether his gym buddies take it
and toward whether his own training goals make the likely benefit worth paying for.
For me, the decision is pretty practical: am I willing to pay for and take five grams of creatine every day alongside my strength training for the possibility of a modest additional strength gain?
In the postmenopausal studies, the average advantage was about seven and a half kilograms more improvement in leg press — but that is an average, not a prediction of what I would gain. [E3]
Match creatine to the outcome you want, not the size of the buzz.
💭REFLECTION PROMPT
Something to reflect on…
When you think about a supplement you take — or are considering — are you clear about the specific outcome you want from it?
And would an additional improvement in that outcome actually be worth the cost, effort, and trade-offs for you?
📬OUTRO & CTA
If you found this useful, follow Beyond the Buzz and share it with a friend who likes a little science with their scroll.
You can also explore the full transcript, the clarity poll, and evidence in The Evidence Edit.
Until next time, stay curious.
This is Beyond the Buzz — I do the research so you don’t have to.
Next week: Do IV Vitamin Drips Actually Work?
📊 POLL
📚REFERENCES — What’s the Hype (H1–H#) / What’s the Evidence (E1–E#)
🔓 Open Access |🔒Paywalled
H1
SPINS. (2026). Creatine, Industry Watch. SPINS. https://www.spins.com/industry-watch/creatine/ Published July 1, 2026; statistic observed on August 19, 2026.
H2
Grand View Research. (2026). Creatine Supplements Market Size, Share Report 2026–2033. Grand View Research. https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/creatine-supplements-market-report Report published June 2026; last updated July 2026.
H3
Burridge, J., Boolani, A., Zhang, Z., & Glenn, J. M. (2026). Real-world creatine supplementation: a large-scale cross-sectional study of use, knowledge, and experiences. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 23(1), 2702952. https://doi.org/10.1080/15502783.2026.2702952 🔓
E1
Kazeminasab, F., Bahrami Kerchi, A., Sharafifard, F., Zarreh, M., Forbes, S. C., Camera, D. M., Lanhers, C., Wong, A., Nordvall, M., Bagheri, R., & Dutheil, F. (2025). The Effects of Creatine Supplementation on Upper- and Lower-Body Strength and Power: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Nutrients, 17(17), 2748. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17172748 🔓
E2
Pashayee-Khamene, F., Heidari, Z., Asbaghi, O., Ashtary-Larky, D., Goudarzi, K., Forbes, S. C., Candow, D. G., Bagheri, R., Ghanavati, M., & Dutheil, F. (2024). Creatine supplementation protocols with or without training interventions on body composition: a GRADE-assessed systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 21(1), 2380058. https://doi.org/10.1080/15502783.2024.2380058 🔓
E3
Naddafha, S., Antonio, J., Kreider, R. B., & Stout, J. R. (2026). Creatine monohydrate for lean mass, strength, and bone density in postmenopausal women: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 23(1), 2668435. https://doi.org/10.1080/15502783.2026.2668435 🔓
E4
Fernández-Landa, J., Santibañez-Gutierrez, A., Todorovic, N., Stajer, V., & Ostojic, S. M. (2023). Effects of Creatine Monohydrate on Endurance Performance in a Trained Population: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Sports Medicine, 53(5), 1017–1027. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-023-01823-2 🔒
E5
EFSA Panel on Nutrition, Novel Foods and Food Allergens (NDA), Turck, D., Bohn, T., Cámara, M., Castenmiller, J., de Henauw, S., Hirsch-Ernst, K.-I., Jos, Á., Maciuk, A., Mangelsdorf, I., McNulty, B., Naska, A., Pentieva, K., Thies, F., Craciun, I., Fiolet, T., & Siani, A. (2024). Creatine and improvement in cognitive function: Evaluation of a health claim pursuant to article 13(5) of regulation (EC) No 1924/2006. European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Scientific Opinion; EFSA Journal 22(11):e9100. https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2024.9100 🔓
E6
de Souza Almeida, A., Dias da Silva, L. O., Takahasi, B. N. A., Terada, B. D., Gonçalves, F. G. A., Porto, B. C., Sardenberg, R. A. da S., Passerotti, C. C., Maia, R. S., Samaan, F., Thoman, M., Molina, W. R., & da Cruz, J. A. S. (2026). Impact of creatine supplementation on kidney health: a systematic review and meta-analysis. International Urology and Nephrology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11255-026-05287-x 🔓
E7
National Institutes of Health (NIH), Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS). (2024). Dietary Supplements for Exercise and Athletic Performance. National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements. Fact Sheet for Health Professionals; Updated April 1, 2024. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/ExerciseAndAthleticPerformance-HealthProfessional/ 🔓
E8
Antonio, J., Candow, D. G., Forbes, S. C., Gualano, B., Jagim, A. R., Kreider, R. B., Rawson, E. S., Smith-Ryan, A. E., VanDusseldorp, T. A., Willoughby, D. S., & Ziegenfuss, T. N. (2021). Common questions and misconceptions about creatine supplementation: What does the scientific evidence really show? Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 18, 13. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12970-021-00412-w 🔓
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