• Alyssa Fontaine, RD
• Jan 13, 2025

Is Creatine Safe for Teens?

The fitness world has lately been making waves with supplements, including a supplement you may have heard of, creatine. Teenagers, who are looking to improve their muscle mass and workout performance, might be drawn in by the marketing of sports supplements and may consider using creatine.

However, before making this decision, it’s important to look beyond the claims made by supplement companies. Making an informed choice means to know the purpose, efficacy and safety of creatine, for this age group and relevance to their well-being.

What is Creatine?

Creatine is a natural chemical found in our bodies and in food sources. It is made up of three different amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein. It supplies energy to muscles, during high-intensity exercises performed in short bursts. Examples of these exercises include heavy lifting, squats, sprints and more!

Where Does Creatine Come From?

The liver, kidneys, and pancreas naturally produce creatine, and about 95% of it is stored in the muscles. However, approximately half of the creatine comes from our diet. Good dietary sources include:

• Red meat (beef, pork)
• Fish (tuna, salmon)
• Dairy (milk, cheese)
• Organ meats

Although plant-based foods are not rich in creatine, consuming protein-rich foods helps the body synthesize creatine.

Creatine Supplementation in Fitness

Since the 1990s, supplementation of creatine has been introduced. Numerous studies have been showing promising benefits, mostly studied in adults. 

Benefits to fitness are:

• Increased muscle mass and strength
• Faster muscle repair
• Fewer muscle injuries
• Improved fitness performance
• Reduced dehydration

On the other hand, studies on adolescents are limited. The few studies that were focused on adolescents were teens in competitive sports, such as soccer and swimming. Regardless, these studies showed some improved performance in this population. Benefits can vary from person to person. Factors like diet, exercise habits, genetics, and the amount of creatine taken all play a role. For adolescents, who are still in their growth phase, these factors can further complicate the effects of creatine use.

Side Effects and Risks

In adults, creatine use has shown to be safe over the years, with no reports of serious side effects. However, it should still be handled with care.

The most common side effect is weight gain, primarily due to water retention, as creatine encourages muscles to hold more water. This is just a sign that it’s working but could be concerning if you weren’t aware of this effect. Furthermore, It is important to have proper hydration. With more water drawn into the muscle, it is important to keep up water intake, to make up for higher needs.

There can be less serious downsides like nausea, diarrhea, dizziness, and excessive sweating. If these occur, it’s important to check with a healthcare provider to confirm they are related to creatine use and possibly adjust the dosage.

While no serious side effects have been reported in studies on creatine, there have been no long-term studies specifically focusing on its safety for teenagers.

Regulations and Labelling

Sports supplements are not tightly regulated in Canada, and regulations are even less strict in the U.S. This can lead to risks such as contaminants and unnecessary additives. Always read the label and choose a reputable, safe product.

It is worth mentioning that some individuals point to the warnings provided on product labels that individuals younger than 18 years of age should not take creatine and inappropriately extrapolate this as evidence that creatine supplementation is unsafe in younger populations, rather than acknowledging there are insufficient data to confirm the need for such warnings.

These warnings are not scientifically-based and are provided more as a legal precaution. Regardless, the point remains that no published studies are available to date that have used a rigorous study design to examine the impact of creatine supplementation on markers of health and safety in healthy populations, specifically athletes.

Should Adolescents Use Creatine?

Overall, it is not recommended for adolescents who do general activity to take creatine. While it is seemingly safe, creatine may not be useful or used properly. The International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) has stated adolescents under certain conditions may benefit if they meet all of these:

• Participate in a competitive, supervised sport
• Maintain a well-balanced diet
• Understand the proper use of creatine
• Take the recommended dosage

Studying creatine in minors is tricky because they’re still going through a growth phase which makes it an ethical issue. Therefore, the best thing to focus on first is diet, hydration and exercise, the well-known beneficiaries in sports and fitness.

What is the best creatine?

There is no such thing as the “best creatine”. However we do recommend looking for companies that are known to have good quality and produce a safe and sustainable product. Look for third party logos (e.g NSF, Informed choice) that help ensure quality and safety.

Bottom Line

In conclusion, creatine should be considered only as an addition (if needed) and not the focus. Creatine supplementation appears to be safe and beneficial, it should be done in a controlled and supervised manner from a healthcare provider or dietitian. This will mean it is personalized to your specific lifestyle needs for better health!