How to Read a Creatine Supplement Label: Active Ingredient vs. Filler

A supplement label is a regulated document with a specific structure, but the regulations give manufacturers enough flexibility to present information in ways that can confuse consumers. Understanding the structure allows you to determine, before purchasing, whether a creatine product provides what the research says you need: 3 to 5 grams of creatine monohydrate per serving, with minimal unnecessary additions.

The Supplement Facts Panel

The Supplement Facts panel is the most important section of any supplement label. It is required by the FDA under 21 CFR Part 101.36 and must include the following information:

1. Serving size: The amount the manufacturer considers one serving (e.g., "1 scoop (5.25g)" or "4 capsules").
2. Servings per container: How many servings the package contains.
3. Active ingredients: Listed with the amount per serving. For creatine, this should show "Creatine Monohydrate" and a gram amount.
4. Other ingredients: Everything else in the product, listed in descending order by weight.

What to Look For

The active ingredient line should read something like: "Creatine Monohydrate ... 5 g" per serving. The specific form should be named. If the label just says "Creatine" without specifying the form, you cannot evaluate it against the research base. Creatine monohydrate is the studied form. Other forms (HCl, ethyl ester, buffered) have different research profiles.

The Serving Size Trap

Some products use a small serving size to make the per-serving creatine amount look reasonable while actually underdosing. For example, a product with "2.5g creatine per scoop" is technically accurate but provides only half the standard research dose. The consumer must take two scoops to reach 5 grams, effectively halving the number of servings per container.

Always check: at the labeled serving size, am I getting 3 to 5 grams of creatine? If not, how many servings do I need per day, and what does that do to the cost per day and the container lifespan?

Proprietary Blends

A proprietary blend is a mixture of ingredients listed under a single label entry with only the total weight of the blend disclosed. Individual ingredient amounts are hidden. This is legal under current FDA regulations. Manufacturers argue it protects trade secrets. In practice, it prevents consumers from knowing their dose.

Example of a proprietary blend on a label:

Performance Matrix (8g)
Creatine Monohydrate, Beta-Alanine, L-Citrulline, Taurine, L-Glutamine

In this example, the total blend is 8 grams, but the amount of creatine is unknown. It could be 5 grams. It could be 1 gram. Ingredients in a proprietary blend are listed in descending order by weight, so creatine being listed first means it is the heaviest ingredient. But "heaviest" could mean 5 grams out of 8, or it could mean 2 grams out of 8 with the remaining 6 split among the other four ingredients.

The recommendation is straightforward: avoid proprietary blends for creatine. The effective dose is well-established. There is no reason for it to be hidden.

Other Ingredients: What Belongs and What Does Not

The "Other Ingredients" section lists everything in the product that is not considered an active dietary ingredient. For a pure creatine monohydrate powder, this section should be very short.

Acceptable Other Ingredients

• Silicon dioxide: An anti-caking agent that prevents the powder from clumping. Inert and present in trace amounts.
• Gelatin or HPMC (hypromellose): Capsule shell materials, present only in capsule products.
• Magnesium stearate: A flow agent used in capsule manufacturing to prevent powder from sticking to equipment. Present in small amounts.

Ingredients That Signal Unnecessary Additions

• Artificial colors (FD&C dyes): Serve no functional purpose in creatine. Present purely for aesthetic appeal.
• Artificial sweeteners (sucralose, acesulfame-K): Present in flavored creatine products. Unnecessary if you choose unflavored.
• Maltodextrin: A carbohydrate filler sometimes added as a bulking agent. Adds calories without adding creatine. In some products, maltodextrin makes up a significant portion of the serving weight.
• Proprietary blends of additional ingredients: BCAAs, glutamine, taurine, and other additions that increase the ingredient count and typically reduce the creatine proportion per scoop.

The Weight Math

The serving size weight (the total grams per scoop) should be close to the active ingredient weight. If a product lists a serving size of 10 grams but only 5 grams of creatine, the other 5 grams are coming from somewhere. Check the "Other Ingredients" section to determine what accounts for the difference.

For a pure creatine monohydrate product, the serving size will be approximately 5 to 5.3 grams (the slight excess accounts for the included scoop imprecision and any anti-caking agent). If the serving size is significantly larger than the creatine amount, the product contains filler.

Label Scenario	Serving Weight	Creatine Listed	Assessment
Pure creatine powder	5.0 g	5.0 g	Clean label, effective dose
Creatine + sweetener	7.0 g	5.0 g	2g of non-creatine content (flavoring/sweetener)
Multi-ingredient blend	12.0 g	3.0 g	75% non-creatine; likely underdosed
Proprietary blend	10.0 g	Unknown	Cannot evaluate; avoid

Claims on the Front Label

The front of a supplement label is marketing real estate. Unlike the Supplement Facts panel, which is regulated, front-label claims have more flexibility. Common claims on creatine products and what they actually mean:

• "Pharmaceutical grade" — Not a regulated term in the supplement industry. It implies purity standards but does not obligate the manufacturer to meet pharmaceutical manufacturing requirements.
• "Lab tested" — Does not specify what lab, what tests, or what standards. Could mean comprehensive HPLC analysis or basic identity testing.
• "No fillers" — Check the Other Ingredients section to verify. Anti-caking agents are not typically considered fillers, but maltodextrin and other bulking agents are.
• "Micronized" — Indicates smaller particle size for better mixability. Does not affect efficacy or absorption. A legitimate processing descriptor.
• "Advanced absorption formula" — Marketing language. No creatine form has demonstrated clinically significant absorption advantages over monohydrate.
• "5X more effective" — Unsubstantiated unless accompanied by a specific peer-reviewed citation. These multiplier claims are almost never supported by comparative research.

Allergen and Dietary Statements

Creatine monohydrate itself is free of common allergens (soy, dairy, gluten, nuts). However, the manufacturing facility or other ingredients in the product may introduce allergen risks. Products manufactured in shared facilities should disclose this, typically with language like "manufactured in a facility that also processes milk, soy, wheat."

For consumers with dietary restrictions:

• Vegan: Creatine monohydrate is synthetically produced and is vegan. But capsule shells made of gelatin are animal-derived. Look for HPMC (vegetable cellulose) capsules if this matters.
• Kosher/Halal: Some brands carry kosher or halal certification. The creatine molecule itself does not have religious dietary concerns, but the gelatin in capsules may.
• Gluten-free: Creatine monohydrate is inherently gluten-free, but cross-contamination from shared manufacturing equipment is possible.

The Quick Label Audit

When evaluating a creatine product label, run through this checklist:

1. Does the Supplement Facts panel list "Creatine Monohydrate" (not a vague term like "creatine blend")?
2. Is the creatine dose per serving 3 to 5 grams?
3. Is the creatine listed as a standalone ingredient (not inside a proprietary blend)?
4. Is the serving size weight close to the creatine weight (minimal filler)?
5. Are the "Other Ingredients" minimal (anti-caking agent, capsule shell)?
6. Does the product carry a third-party certification (USP, NSF, Informed Sport)?

If the answer to all six is yes, the product meets evidence-based quality criteria regardless of what the front label says.

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