Why Creatine May Cause Digestive Upset
Creatine can cause diarrhoea and stomach upset, but the cause is usually a large dose taken all at once rather than creatine itself. Split your dose, take it with food, and dissolve it well, and the problem generally disappears.
Key takeaways
- Diarrhoea comes from taking too much at once, not from creatine itself.
- In a controlled trial a single 10 gram dose caused far more diarrhoea than two 5 gram doses.
- Split your dose, take it with food and water, and stay at 3 to 5 grams a day.
What the research shows
The clearest evidence comes from a controlled trial in 59 top-level footballers. Over 28 days, one group took a single 10 gram dose each day, another took the same 10 grams split into two 5 gram doses, and a third took a placebo. The single large dose caused diarrhoea in about 56 percent of players, compared with roughly 29 percent in the split-dose group.1
The revealing detail is that the split-dose group actually had slightly fewer digestive complaints than placebo. So the message is not that creatine causes diarrhoea, it is that taking a big amount in one go can upset your stomach. The authors concluded there is no reason to think short-term creatine harms the digestive tract when taken in a recommended amount split into smaller doses.1
How to stop diarrhoea from creatine
The fixes follow directly from that research. Split your dose so you are never taking a large bolus at once, and if you are loading, divide 20 grams into four 5 gram servings across the day.1,2 Take creatine with food and enough water, since well-dissolved creatine taken with a meal is gentler on the stomach.2 If symptoms persist, drop to a steady 3 to 5 grams a day, which is enough to keep your muscles saturated over time and rarely causes any upset.2
Powder quality also plays a part. A fully dissolving micronised powder leaves less undissolved grit in the stomach. Our Pure Micronised Creatine Sachets are micronised and portioned into 5 gram servings, which makes splitting doses simple and keeps each serving easy to mix.
Does creatine cause other stomach problems?
Alongside diarrhoea, the other complaints people report are nausea, stomach cramping and belching, and these too cluster around large doses taken without enough water.1,2 At sensible maintenance doses, creatine is well tolerated by most people and stomach problems are uncommon.
The bottom line
Diarrhoea from creatine is real but avoidable. It comes from taking too much at once, not from creatine being hard on the gut. Split your dose, take it with food and water, use a micronised powder, and stay around 3 to 5 grams a day. If your concern is the opposite problem, see our guide on creatine and constipation, and for the complete picture read creatine side effects and safety.
Related reading
Frequently asked questions
Does creatine cause diarrhoea?
It can if you take a large dose at once. In one trial a single 10 gram dose caused far more diarrhoea than the same amount split in two.1
How do I stop diarrhoea from creatine?
Split your dose, take it with food and water, use a micronised powder, and stay at 3 to 5 grams a day.1,2
Is creatine hard on the stomach?
At recommended, split doses it is well tolerated. Stomach upset is linked to large single doses taken without enough water.1,2
This article is for general information and is not medical advice. If you have a health condition or take medication, speak to your doctor before starting any supplement.
References
- Ostojic, S. M. & Ahmetovic, Z. Gastrointestinal distress after creatine supplementation in athletes: are side effects dose dependent? Research in Sports Medicine 16, 15-22 (2008). National Library of Medicine
- Examine. Creatine. Examine
