Creatine boosts strength, not cognition: EFSA and rigorous trials settle the debate
While creatine reliably increases short-term strength by 5-15%, evidence for cognitive benefits in healthy adults is weak and inconsistent, according to the European Food and Safety Authority and recent large-scale trials.
A comprehensive analysis of creatine supplementation confirms that the nutrient reliably enhances short-term strength and sprint performance by 5 to 15 per cent, yet evidence supporting cognitive benefits in healthy adults remains weak and inconsistent. This conclusion, supported by the European Food and Safety Authority and recent high-quality randomised controlled trials, contradicts earlier smaller studies that suggested significant intelligence quotient gains.
Creatine is a nutrient found in meat and synthesised by the body, essential for delivering energy inside cells via the phosphocreatine system. While the brain uses creatine to shuttle energy from mitochondria to areas of high demand, rigorous reviews indicate that modest increases in creatine levels do not translate to measurable improvements in cognitive function. This stands in contrast to creatine deficiency disorders in humans, which lead to intellectual disability and seizures, underscoring the nutrient’s fundamental importance for brain metabolism.
The European Food and Safety Authority published a definitive evaluation in 2024 regarding health claims for creatine and cognitive function. The authority concluded there is no consistent evidence of creatine improving cognitive function across multiple domains, rejecting the claims for advertising purposes. This decision follows an application by a firm seeking to market cognitive benefits, leading to a thorough review of the available human intervention studies.
A 2023 randomised controlled trial by Sandkühler et al., described as the highest-quality study to date, involved 123 participants and found only minor, non-significant improvements in cognitive tests. The study reported effect sizes of 0.17 standard deviations for backward digit span and 0.09 for Raven’s matrices, neither of which reached statistical significance. These findings contradict earlier 2003 studies by Rae et al. that suggested large IQ gains, which have not been replicated in larger, more rigorous trials.
Further scrutiny of aggregated data revealed methodological flaws in a 2024 meta-analysis by Xu et al. A 2026 commentary highlighted errors, including the double-counting of data, which led to unreliable confidence intervals. When corrected, the results were not statistically significant, reinforcing the consensus that while creatine is a proven performance enhancer for physical exertion, it does not offer reliable cognitive advantages for healthy adults.
