Does Creatine Cause or Help With Infections? What the Research Does and Doesn't Show

The evidence doesn't support creatine monohydrate causing, treating, or preventing any infection, fungal or viral. We found no published study on creatine and yeast (Candida) infections at all — the "creatine yeast infection" search doesn't have a research answer either way. The closest related research measured inflammation markers after intense exercise, in a small group of triathletes, which is a narrower and different question than infection risk.

What the evidence doesn't support

It doesn't support creatine monohydrate causing a yeast infection, a urinary tract infection, or any other fungal or bacterial infection — we found no study connecting the two. It doesn't support creatine causing or worsening a viral infection either. And on the other side, it doesn't support creatine treating, shortening, or preventing any infection: nothing in the literature measures creatine against infection outcomes directly, in athletes or anyone else.

What the trials found

No trial we found tested creatine monohydrate against yeast, fungal, viral, or bacterial infection rates or diagnoses. The nearest related research is a small double-blind trial in 11 experienced triathletes, split into a creatine group (5 people, 20 g/day for 5 days before a half-ironman) and a carbohydrate-comparison group (6 people). Researchers measured several inflammatory blood markers — TNF-alpha, interferon-alpha, IL-1beta, and prostaglandin E2 — 24 and 48 hours after the race. All of these rose in both groups after the race, which is expected after that kind of exertion, but the rise was markedly smaller in the creatine group. A separate marker, IL-6, rose similarly in both groups with no meaningful difference between them.

That trial measured inflammatory blood markers, not infections, immune cell counts, or illness rates. Eleven people is a small sample, the population was elite endurance athletes around one specific race, and the result doesn't extend to a claim about infection risk, susceptibility, or immune function broadly. The 2017 International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand, which reviews creatine's wider safety and performance literature, doesn't identify infection risk — higher or lower — as a documented effect of creatine supplementation.

Questions people ask

Can creatine cause a yeast infection?

We found no study on this. Nothing in the published research connects creatine monohydrate to yeast or Candida infections.

Does creatine affect viral infections?

No trial we found tests that question. Creatine's documented effects are on the phosphocreatine energy system and, during loading, body water — not on viral infection risk or outcomes.

Does creatine weaken your immune system?

The one small trial that measured related markers (inflammatory blood proteins after a half-ironman, not immune cell counts or infection rates) found creatine blunted the post-race inflammatory rise rather than adding to it. That's a narrow, specific finding in 11 elite athletes around one race, not a general statement about immune strength.

Is it safe to take creatine while sick?

No trial specifically tests creatine use during an active infection. If you're sick enough to be asking, that's a question for a doctor rather than the research on file here.

When to talk to a doctor

A yeast infection, viral illness, or any other infection is diagnosed and treated medically — creatine monohydrate is not a treatment, cause, or preventive measure for any of them. If you have symptoms of an infection, or a diagnosed infection you're managing, talk to a doctor; that applies whether or not you take creatine.

Related reading: creatine side effects and creatine and medications: what to check.