Can You Take Maca Root With Creatine?

Quick answer

No official source we read names an interaction between maca and creatine, and we found no study of the two together. Their evidence is very different: creatine at 3 to 8 g a day is graded strong for strength with training, while 2 g of maca a day for two weeks did not change athletic performance in one small trial.^1,2,3,4

Key facts

Neither one changed testosterone in the trials that measured it: creatine at 5 g a day for 12 weeks, and maca at 1.5 or 3 g a day for 12 weeks.^5,6
Weight often rises 1 to 2 kg in the first month of creatine, mostly water held in muscle.²
Maca trials used 1.5 to 3.5 g a day, and our Ashwagandha Complex lists 150 mg of maca root powder per serving.^7,8
No upper limit is set for either one. Maca's trials mostly lasted 12 weeks or less, while creatine has been studied for years.^9,10

What is known about the two together

Nothing documents a problem with the pair, and nothing shows a reason to combine them. The official sources checked for creatine name no medicine interactions, the LiverTox chapter on maca names none, and a PubMed search found no study that gave people both.^2,4

They are very different things. Creatine is a compound the body makes from three amino acids and stores in muscle. Maca is a root of the mustard family grown high in the Peruvian Andes and eaten there as food, and how it might act in the body is not known.^2,4

What each has evidence for

The grades below say how much human research stands behind each finding, not how large the effect is. For training, the evidence sits with creatine.

Supports muscle strength during resistance training*^1,2,9

Strong evidence

A 2025 meta-analysis of 69 randomized trials (1,937 people) found that creatine plus resistance training added about 1.4 kg to bench or chest press and 5.6 kg to squat strength over placebo. Strength gains were seen at maintenance doses of 8 g a day or less and were clearest in younger adults, men and people who already train.

Amount studied: 3 to 8 g a day, with or without a loading phase

May support self-rated mood and energy*¹¹

Early evidence

One randomized trial gave 175 adults in Peru 3 g a day of red or black maca extract or a placebo for 12 weeks. Among those living at low altitude, more people on either maca rated their mood higher from week 1 and their energy higher from week 2. Among highlanders, mood on red maca differed from placebo only in the first month. Each outcome was a single self-rated question, and one of the authors manages a company that makes nutraceuticals.

Amount studied: 3 g a day of red or black maca extract, for 12 weeks

Exercise trials are few and small. In 10 trained basketball players, 2 g a day for 2 weeks did not change jump height, shooting accuracy, repeated sprints or fatigue compared with placebo.³

Maca's graded finding is about self-rated mood and energy in one trial in Peru, not about exercise. Creatine's comes from 69 trials in which people trained with weights.^1,11

Testosterone: neither one moved it

In a 12-week trial of resistance-trained men, 5 g a day did not change DHT, testosterone or measured hair growth compared with placebo.⁵

In healthy men, 1.5 or 3 g a day for 12 weeks did not change testosterone, estradiol, LH, FSH or prolactin compared with placebo.⁶

In 80 men over 40, 12 weeks of gelatinized maca did not change total or free testosterone, body weight or waist size compared with placebo.¹²

A 2024 review of 52 studies of supplements sold to raise testosterone found that most did not, and maca was not among the few that did.¹³

No trial tested the pair, but neither one moved testosterone on its own, so there is no hormone effect for the other to add to.^5,6

The two side by side

Creatine and maca compared^{2,7,8,9,10,14}
	Creatine	Maca
Amounts in trials	3 to 5 g a day, after an optional loading week of 20 g a day	1.5 to 3.5 g a day
Best-graded finding	Strong, for strength with resistance training	Early, for self-rated mood and energy
Longest use studied	Up to 30 g a day for 5 years, per a position stand	Mostly 12 weeks or less, the longest controlled trials about 4 months
Our products	Creatine and Creatine + Electrolytes, 5 g a serving	Ashwagandha Complex, 150 mg a serving

Loading fills muscle stores in about a week. A steady 3 g a day reached a similar level in about 28 days in a study of 31 men.¹⁵

Most trials split the daily amount: 1,500 mg twice a day, two 500 mg capsules twice a day with meals, or two tablets three times a day before meals. No trial compared times of day.^12,14,16

What's in ours

What’s in ours

Creatine: Creatine Monohydrate, 5,000 mg per serving, from the label
Creatine + Electrolytes: Creatine Monohydrate, 5,000 mg per serving, from the label

What’s in ours

Ashwagandha Complex: Maca Root Powder, 150 mg per serving, from the label

Our Ashwagandha Complex lists 150 mg of maca root powder, a tenth or less of the trial amounts, so we make no maca claim for it. Our two creatine products each give a full 5 g, so take one or the other, not both.^2,7

Side effects and who should ask first

A small rise in blood creatinine on lab tests, without a change in estimated kidney filtration¹⁷

Nausea, diarrhea or stomach upset have been reported by some users.²

Stomach upset was the most frequent side effect in a small dose-finding trial, reported by 31% of participants. In a 12-week trial in 80 men, two on maca had mild stomach complaints and kept taking it.^4,12,18

In a 90-day trial in adults with metabolic syndrome, 0.6 g of maca powder a day moderately raised the liver enzyme AST and diastolic blood pressure.¹⁹

FDA told consumers in 2019 not to buy or use a product sold as Peru Maca, after its laboratory found sildenafil, a prescription drug ingredient, that was not on the label.²⁰

Ask your doctor first if you have kidney disease or reduced kidney function, or tell the lab you take creatine before a kidney blood test¹⁷
Ask first if you have liver disease or high blood pressure¹⁹
Ask first if you take a prescription medicine, including an antidepressant, hormonal birth control or a medicine for blood pressure
Ask first if you have a hormone-sensitive condition, because trials of one branded maca reported changes in estradiol and FSH¹⁴
Ask first if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, or under 18

Questions people ask

Will maca make creatine work better?

No study has tested that. Creatine's strength gains come from fuller muscle stores during training, and in the one small exercise trial of maca, 2 g a day for 2 weeks changed nothing measured.^3,9

When should you take maca and creatine?

No study tested timing for the pair. Creatine works by filling muscle stores over days to weeks: a loading week fills them in about a week, and 3 g a day took about 28 days in one study. Maca trials mostly split the day's amount into two or three doses.^14,15,16

See what we make

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See the Full Measure line Creatine + Electrolytes Creatine Ashwagandha Complex

Sources

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

This page is information, not medical advice. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about your own situation.