What is the best way to use creatine?
Creatine works best in combination with strength training: optionally start with a loading phase of 20 grams per day for 5 days and then maintain with 2 to 5 grams per day. If you have a kidney condition, discuss it with your doctor first.
A loading phase of 20 grams of creatine per day for 5 days quickly tops up muscle stores: creatine storage subsequently rises by 16 to 25%. Combining it with carbohydrates, such as a glass of fruit juice, produces the largest increase (25%). After that loading phase, 2 to 5 grams per day is sufficient to maintain the elevated stores for at least 6 weeks. A loading phase is not mandatory, by the way: building up more gradually with a lower daily dose also works, it simply takes a little longer for your muscles to become fully saturated.
Combine creatine with strength training for the best result. Creatine plus strength training produces 0.82 to 1.14 kg more lean mass than strength training alone, plus a small reduction in body fat percentage. Without training there is also some effect, but it is clearly smaller. In short, high-intensity efforts such as sprints, creatine demonstrably enhances performance, both after a loading phase and after several weeks of use. In endurance sports such as cycling or long-distance running, creatine offers no measurable benefit.
The best moment to take it, before or after training, probably makes little difference in the long run as long as you take it daily. There are weak indications that taking it after training is slightly more favourable, but the evidence is too limited for a firm recommendation.
Weight gain is a well-documented effect of creatine, partly due to water retention in the muscles. Complaints such as cramps, diarrhoea or dizziness have been reported but have not been confirmed as direct side effects in controlled studies. Kidney function and liver values did not deteriorate in healthy athletes in the available research. In people with a pre-existing kidney condition, long-term use has not been adequately studied; in that case, discuss it with your doctor first.
This answer is based on multiple human studies, including a number in which participants were randomly assigned and received an allocated intervention. The effects on muscle mass and sprint performance have been confirmed repeatedly. The safety data come largely from research in which athletes were followed retrospectively rather than from long-term controlled experiments; the researchers emphasise that long-term safety in people with kidney conditions has not been sufficiently mapped. The timing question has been too little studied to allow firm conclusions.
What does eating an avocado every day do for your health?
Eating an avocado every day probably has beneficial effects on your cholesterol, especially when it replaces other, less healthy fats. Whether it also actually prevents heart attacks has not yet been proven in controlled research.
What is best not to combine with creatine?
Combining creatine with caffeine powder adds nothing to your performance and increases the risk of gastrointestinal complaints; ready-made pre-workout blends with many ingredients carry additional risks due to possible contamination and unknown long-term effects.
How many grams of creatine per day is worthwhile?
For muscle strength and explosive performance, 3 to 5 grams of creatine monohydrate per day has a clear effect; a loading phase is convenient but not obligatory. For other goals the evidence is thinner, but safety for healthy adults is reasonably well supported.