Creatine: 3 g a day, and a single authorised claim
The most studied sports supplement in the world holds just one European claim — with a condition few people know about.
The claim, and its exact perimeter
Creatine holds one authorised claim in the EU register. Its wording precisely delimits what may be stated: it concerns physical performance in successive bursts of short-duration, high-intensity exercise.
That perimeter excludes much of what is commonly read. Neither muscle gain, nor recovery, nor endurance is the subject of an authorised claim for creatine.
Authorised claims — register wording
- « Creatine increases physical performance in successive bursts of short-term, high intensity exercise. »
- Créatine · 3 g de créatine par jour, chez l’adulte pratiquant un exercice intense.
The condition of use, usually truncated
The condition has two parts. The first is quantitative: 3 g a day. The second is about population: in adults performing high-intensity exercise.
That second part is nearly always dropped from commercial communication. It means the claim is not transposable to a sedentary person: it was authorised in a training context, and it holds in that context.
The 3 g dose corresponds to a daily maintenance intake. The loading protocols sometimes mentioned have no regulatory standing — they are neither banned nor supported by the claim.
Monohydrate and the rest
Creatine is sold in several forms: monohydrate, hydrochloride, malate, gluconate. Monohydrate is the reference form, the best documented and the cheapest to produce.
As with magnesium, the claim applies to “creatine”, not to a form. No alternative form unlocks an additional claim, and none has obtained regulatory recognition of its own.
Alternative forms generally cost more per gram of creatine actually delivered. Checking creatine content per portion, rather than powder weight, settles it.
Note · The weight gain seen at the start of supplementation largely reflects intramuscular water retention. It is not muscle mass, and no claim presents it as such.
Frequently asked
Is a loading phase necessary?
The European condition mentions only a 3 g daily intake. Loading protocols exist in sporting practice but are neither required nor covered by the claim.
Before or after training?
No condition of use sets a time. What is required is consistency of daily intake, including on rest days.
Is creatine suitable for vegetarians?
Monohydrate is produced by chemical synthesis, with no animal material — so it is compatible. Since dietary creatine comes mainly from meat and fish, vegetarian diets in fact show lower spontaneous intakes.
The products concerned
Sources
Only regulatory texts and public registers, checkable by anyone. No bibliographic reference is cited without verification: on a health topic, a false source costs more than none.
- Règlement (UE) n° 432/2012
Establishes the list of permitted claims other than disease-risk-reduction ones, with their conditions of use.
- Commission européenne — EU Register of nutrition and health claims
Searchable database of every authorised and rejected claim. The reference that lets anyone check, word for word, what a product may state.
Our method
No health claim is written by us: every such sentence is taken word for word from the EU register. An active with no authorised claim is presented with none — never with a softened wording.
Food supplements are not a substitute for a varied, balanced diet or a healthy lifestyle. This page is informational and is not medical advice. If you are on medication, pregnant or breastfeeding, seek advice from a healthcare professional.
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