Is it safe to take creatine every day?

The two largest reviews of the creatine-safety literature both describe daily supplementation — including years of continuous use — as safe and well tolerated in healthy people. Neither review is a claim about any specific brand's product; both are conclusions about the compound generally, built almost entirely on creatine monohydrate trials, and both say anyone with kidney disease should ask a doctor before taking it.

What the two main safety reviews found

The 2017 International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand reviewed the literature on short- and long-term creatine supplementation — including doses up to 30 g a day for as long as 5 years in the studies it covered — and concluded it is safe and well tolerated in healthy individuals and a range of patient populations. A separate narrative review focused specifically on kidney function looked at 19 clinical and experimental studies, covering doses from 5 to 30 g a day for periods from 5 days to 5 years, and found no known significant effect on kidney function, including glomerular filtration rate, in healthy athletes and bodybuilders without pre-existing kidney disease.

The exception both reviews make

Both reviews specifically advise against creatine use in people who already have kidney disease or a known risk of kidney dysfunction — that caution isn't a footnote, it's part of both conclusions. Anyone with an existing kidney condition, or taking a medication that affects the kidneys, should ask a doctor before adding daily creatine. See who should not take creatine for the fuller list of who that caution applies to.

What "safe" doesn't mean here

"Safe and well tolerated" in these reviews describes the compound across the trials and durations they covered — it isn't a claim that every possible daily amount is fine for every person, or a claim specific to our product. Our label directs one or two scoops (5,000-10,000 mg) a day after the initial loading phase; see how much creatine should you take a day? for how that compares to the research range, and creatine side effects for what specific, more limited findings exist beyond the broad safety conclusion (water retention, GI effects, a small hormone-marker study on DHT).

Our label's own caution

Like most supplements, our label directs anyone pregnant, nursing, under 18, or living with a medical condition to consult a physician before use — standard label caution, not a claim about what happens if someone in those groups takes it, since the safety trials above were done in healthy adults.

Questions people ask

Is creatine safe?

The two reviews above, covering decades of research and doses well above what most people take, describe it as safe and well tolerated in healthy people without pre-existing kidney disease. That conclusion is about the compound generally, not a claim specific to our tub.

Should I take creatine every day?

Our label's maintenance directions are daily — one or two scoops after the loading phase — and the safety research above was built on daily supplementation protocols, so daily use is what's actually been studied, not an alternative to it.

Is creatine safe for women?

Neither review above breaks the safety conclusion out by sex specifically on dose. Where the research differs by sex is in the size of the strength and muscle-mass effect, not in what's considered a safe dose — see creatine benefits for that distinction.

Is creatine safe for teenagers?

Our label directs anyone under 18 to consult a physician before use; it isn't formulated or dosed with a minor's use in mind, and we're not providing dosing guidance for that age group here. That question goes to a doctor, not this page.

How much creatine is safe for kidneys?

The kidney-focused review above found no known effect at doses from 5 to 30 g a day, for up to 5 years, in people without pre-existing kidney disease — and it specifically advises against use in people who do have kidney disease, regardless of dose.