Dietary Supplements for Exercise and Athletic Performance (NIH ODS)

Tier 1: Established: peer-reviewed research or government health authority
Publisher: National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements · Published: August 23, 2026 · Accessed: August 23, 2026

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Claims this source supports

• Creatine is one of the most thoroughly studied and widely used dietary supplements to enhance exercise and sports performance.
• Creatine supplementation improves performance in repeated short bursts of high-intensity, intermittent activity such as sprinting and weight lifting, and supports training adaptations over weeks or months; it is of little value for endurance sports like distance running or swimming.
• The International Society of Sports Nutrition states that creatine monohydrate is the most effective nutritional supplement currently available for enhancing capacity for high-intensity exercise and lean body mass during training.
• Creatine monohydrate is the most widely used and studied form; other, usually more expensive, forms have not been proven superior.
• Most research on performance supplements involves young adults, more often male than female; whether the findings apply to middle-aged women is less well studied.
• Multi-ingredient products often contain proprietary blends listed by weight without the amount of each ingredient; effects and safety of untested combinations cannot be predicted.
• Creatine commonly causes water-retention weight gain of 1-2 kg in the first month when combined with strength training.