The claim is everywhere: creatine raises testosterone and DHT. Gym bros swear by it. Some fitness content creators treat it as gospel. And there's a kernel of truth — but the full picture is far more nuanced.
Let's look at what the evidence actually says, and what it doesn't.
The One Study Everyone Cites
In 2009, van der Merwe and colleagues published a study in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. They found that rugby players taking 5g creatine daily for seven days saw their DHT increase by 56% compared to placebo.
One study. Modest sample size. Never cleanly replicated.
And everyone heard about it. Creatine and DHT became linked in popular fitness discourse. People started taking creatine assuming it would boost their testosterone.
The problem: that's not how science works. One study, even if well-designed, is a hypothesis. It needs replication. The van der Merwe study has not been cleanly replicated in the way that would make us confident the effect is real and reliable.
What Else Does the Evidence Show?
Numerous other studies have looked at creatine and testosterone. The overall picture: creatine does not meaningfully increase testosterone in most men.
A 2017 meta-analysis by Gualano et al. in Sports Medicine found that creatine supplementation produced no significant increase in testosterone levels across most studies. Some studies showed modest increases; others showed nothing.
For DHT specifically, the evidence is thin. One study in a subset of subjects showed an effect; others haven't replicated it.
The honest answer: we don't know if creatine raises testosterone or DHT in any clinically meaningful way. The evidence is weak.
What Creatine Actually Does
Creatine's proven effects have nothing to do with hormones:
ATP regeneration. Creatine phosphate helps regenerate ATP (your cellular energy currency) during high-intensity exercise. This allows your muscles to maintain force for longer.
Strength and power output. Creatine consistently improves performance in anaerobic activities — sprinting, heavy resistance training, repeated maximal efforts. The effect is well-established and reliable. Most gains are 5–15%.
Muscle hypertrophy. By allowing more training volume (more sets and reps), creatine indirectly supports muscle growth. The effect is modest but real.
Brain function. Creatine is used in the brain and may support cognitive function, especially under fatigue.
Body composition. Creatine increases water retention (intramuscularly and intracellularly), which adds a kilogram or two of scale weight. Some of this is muscle, some is water.
None of these effects depend on testosterone.
The Indirect Argument
Some argue: "Creatine doesn't directly raise testosterone, but it improves training, and better training triggers bigger testosterone adaptations."
There's logic here. Better training = larger stimulus = larger adaptive response, potentially including hormonal adaptation.
This is theoretically plausible, but empirically it's weak. If creatine meaningfully boosted testosterone via this pathway, we'd see it in the hormone studies — and we don't.
Should You Take Creatine?
Yes — but not for testosterone.
Creatine monohydrate is one of the most well-researched, effective, and safe supplements available. Doses of 3–5g daily consistently improve strength, power, and training performance.
The evidence is rock solid:
- Improves maximal strength by 5–15%
- Improves repeated sprint performance by 5–15%
- Supports muscle hypertrophy (indirectly)
- Well-tolerated, minimal side effects
Cost: Creatine monohydrate is extremely cheap — typically £5–15 for a month's supply.
Safety: Decades of use, thousands of studies, no serious adverse effects in healthy individuals. Ensure adequate hydration.
Loading or not: You can load (20g/day split into 4 doses for 5–7 days, then 3–5g/day), or simply take 3–5g daily from the start. Loading is slightly faster but not necessary.
Creatine types: Creatine monohydrate is the standard, most studied, cheapest, and most effective. "Buffered" forms, creatine ethyl ester, and others are marketed as superior but lack superior evidence. Stick with monohydrate.
The Honest Take on Creatine and Testosterone
Does creatine raise testosterone? The evidence says no, or at least not reliably.
Will creatine help you build muscle and strength? Absolutely.
The relationship between creatine and testosterone is much weaker than fitness culture suggests. Creatine is excellent for what it actually does — improving strength and training performance. But if your primary goal is to raise testosterone, creatine is not a primary tool.
Focus on:
- Sleep (7–9 hours)
- Adequate protein and calories
- Resistance training
- Weight management
- Managing stress
- Fixing any underlying health issues (thyroid, prolactin, oestradiol)
Creatine is a solid addition to the toolkit, but don't expect it to do the hormone work that sleep and training do.
The Bottom Line
Creatine is effective and safe. Take 3–5g daily of creatine monohydrate. It'll improve your strength and training performance reliably. But don't take it expecting a testosterone boost — the evidence doesn't support it. Use it for what it actually does: helping you train harder and recover faster.
Buy it from a reputable supplement company or via Amazon. Cost is trivial. The benefit to your training is real, even if the testosterone link is not.