Creatine vs Protein for performance
Short answer: For performance, users rate them about the same: 98% report improvement with Creatine (542 reports) and 95% with Protein (20 reports).
Creatine has 763 meta-analyses and 2,794 randomized trials on PubMed; the other has not been graded.
Based on 2,279 reports about Creatine and 142 about Protein. Not medical advice.
| Creatine Supplement | Protein Supplement | |
|---|---|---|
| Users say it helped | 72%helped1,048 reports · high confidence | 79%helped48 reports · medium confidence |
| Verdict | Mostly positive | Mostly positive |
| Research | AResearch: Strong | Not graded |
| Meta-analyses / RCTs | 763 / 2,794 | — |
| Mainly used for | ||
| Performance % reporting improvement | 98% (542) | 95% (20) |
| Energy % reporting improvement | 97% (268) | 80% (5) |
| Focus % reporting improvement | 93% (249) | — |
| Mood % reporting improvement | 87% (125) | — |
| Recovery % reporting improvement | 98% (95) | 100% (11) |
| Common side effects | stomach issues, hair loss, insomnia, water retention | acne |
| Typical dose reported | 5 g / daily | 100 g / daily |
The results of the meta-analysis suggest that creatine supplementation did not significantly alter serum creatinine levels (standardized mean difference = 0.48, 95% confidence interval 0.24-0.73, P = .001, I2 = 22%), and did not alter plasma urea values (standardized mean difference = 1.10, 95% confidence interval 0.34-1.85, P = .004, I2 = 28%). The findings indicate that creatine supplementation does not induce renal damage in the studied amounts and durations.
J Ren Nutr, 2019 ↗“I actually feel a lot better. Mentally clearer and more balanced, like I have my brain back.”
“I notice I will have much more energy, and stable energy through out the day when I eat a lot of protein.”
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Percentages come from first-hand user reports and are not clinical outcomes. Talk to a doctor before starting, stopping or combining anything. How we rate