No creatine with coffee?

[Legit]

I just saw something that said it’s not good to mix creatine with coffee. Is that true?

 

[eazy_team usp]

not good to mix creatine with coffee

Studies show creatine still works when taken with caffeine. Some older research suggested caffeine might slightly reduce creatine’s muscle performance benefits, but newer evidence indicates the interaction is minimal or not significant for most people.

References

• Trexler & Smith-Ryan (2015): “Creatine and Caffeine: Considerations for Concurrent Supplementation”
  This is a review that summarizes existing research up to 2015. It notes some studies suggest caffeine may blunt certain ergogenic effects of creatine (e.g. strength/sprint performance), possibly via effects on muscle relaxation or gastrointestinal discomfort. It also says there's no strong evidence for a pharmacokinetic interaction (i.e., caffeine doesn’t prevent creatine uptake). PubMed
• Mabrey et al. (2024): “The Effect of Creatine Nitrate and Caffeine Individually or Combined on Exercise Performance and Cognitive Function”
  Randomized, double-blind, crossover study in resistance-trained individuals. They tested creatine nitrate, caffeine, and their combination. They found that combining them had improvements in some cognitive tasks, but little effect on some exercise performance outcomes compared to when each was used on its own. So not fully “creatine works same with caffeine”, more “it depends on what you measure.” PMC
• Ojeda et al. (2024): “Combined Impact of Creatine, Caffeine, and Variable …”
  (Short-term caffeine supplementation did not significantly alter the effect of chronic creatine supplementation in this context.) PMC
• “Creatine O'Clock: Does Timing of Ingestion Really Matter?” (Candow et al. 2022)
  This paper discusses how timing and co-ingestion (with other things like carbs, protein, possibly caffeine) might influence creatine uptake or performance. It mentions older studies (e.g. Vandenberghe et al. 1996) showing that with certain dosing, caffeine coingested with creatine reduced some positive effects of creatine in isometric contractions. But also more recent work that did not find large negative interaction.

 

[STEROID MARKET]

It really depends on individual's condition (if he has diseases or a tendency of water retention, general health, etc.).
Basically it's not bad to mix coffee and creatine but it may decrease creatine effectiveness. Also, some of my friends noted that they suffered from indigestion and bloating after drinking creatine-coffee mix.

 

[jolter604]

I have always taken mine with pre workout of after pre workout.