Andrew Huberman· PhD
Creatine hydrochloride has some hype around it. Apparently, it's a little more soluble. The claim is that you need less. But there's only a couple of studies on it. And it's more expensive.
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The headline is broadly defensible, but the qualifications matter. Effect sizes vary by population, the strongest claims rest on shorter trials, and credible voices push back on how it's typically framed.
Creatine hydrochloride has some hype around it. Apparently, it's a little more soluble. The claim is that you need less. But there's only a couple of studies on it. And it's more expensive.
Every Sunday: the week’s new conflicts and verdict changes — and nothing else.
Native comments, Twitter mentions, and Reddit threads about this claim — surfaced together so the conversation isn't fragmented across platforms.
I've been recommending this to patients for 6 months now. The big shift is patients actually do it because the explanation is concrete.
Same in nutrition counseling. The before/after framing helps.
Tracking with a CGM on top of this for 3 months. Variability dropped quickly and stayed dropped.
Worth noting the 0.71 SMD in the Kreider meta is in trained athletes. Effect in untrained adults runs closer to 0.3 — still meaningful, but the panel should reflect that gradient.
Good catch. Could the brief surface the training-status interaction inline?
Creatine HCL is more soluble in water, often making it easier on the stomach, but it is far more expensive and there is no evidence it more efficacious than monohydrate.
Creatine HCL is more soluble in water than monohydrate but the same after that.
Zero evidence it works better than monohydate.
Monohydrate and HCL look exactly the same to your muscle.
There's no evidence creatine HCL works better
Creatine HCL is more soluble in water that monohydrate
Now, the dosing of HCL looks different, though. Like, do dosing of HCL is is significantly lower than monohydrate. It's like one to three grams a day, you know, of of HCL. So, it's it's apparently in studies it's much more absorbable interesting you know, bioavailable.
5 g of creatine monohydrate daily improves muscle strength and lean mass in healthy adults at standard training loads.
Creatine improves cognitive performance, especially under sleep deprivation and high cognitive load.
Creatine improves cardiovascular health markers and reduces all-cause mortality risk.
Creatine supports bone-mineral density in post-menopausal women when paired with resistance training.
Women need higher creatine doses (8–10 g/day) than men to reach the same intramuscular saturation.