Dehydration isn’t good, in fact it can be deadly. Would be creatine users may wonder if what their friend at the gym or someone on a forum says about creatine causing dehydration is true or not. It’s always good to have questions on anything, particularly supplements, so let’s answer this question. Does creatine dehydrate you or doesn’t it?

There’s a few things you need to be aware of…

Saturation Phase

When you first start taking creatine, many go through a loading phase in the hopes of reaching ‘saturation’ (creatine saturation within the muscles) quicker. This involves taking more creatine than standard for a short period of time and then going onto a lower dose soon after. Others skip this loading phase and simply go on the regular dose for a little longer. There are conflicting opinions on whether loading is necessary or not.

Either way, during the phase in which you saturate your muscles with creatine, there’s often a reported sudden weight gain that can’t be attributed to new lean muscle mass or fat gains, and that’s usually increased water retention. If you don’t take in more water while your body adjusts, there is a chance you could become a little dehydrated, but certainly not dangerously so, because when you start feeling even a little thirsty, you soon know about it.

Increased Workout Capacity

Creatine gives you greater anaerobic energy, which means you can work out harder and for longer. Anything that involves longer or harder workouts is going to cause greater heat and greater water loss, so if you customarily only take a little water to the gym, it may be wise to take more whilst on creatine as you can go through it pretty quickly.

Conclusion:

Creatine does not dehydrate you, but a lack of water does. Keep in mind the two points made and adjust your water intake accordingly and there is pretty much no chance you can become dehydrated through creatine usage.

You can see more about studies in creatine usage and hydration status here.