Podcast episode 131 (in German)
Liposomal creatine – fifteen percent better absorption and what the study shows
November 8, 2026
Liposomal creatine is advertised with 15 percent better absorption and 21 percent more creatine. Both numbers really exist — only they come from a study without a liposome, and the episode takes a close look at what they show and what they do not.
What it is about
A liposome is a tiny fat bubble meant to protect an active substance and carry it through the gut wall. For some substances this works; in 1995 the first drug of this kind was approved in the US. The technique, however, presupposes that something is lost along the way, and 99 percent of creatine monohydrate arrives. The episode traces the package numbers back to their source, a small blood measurement of a raw material in water, and asks why people buy such products anyway: often because of their stomach. In a large survey of creatine users, bloating and water retention were the most frequent complaints, especially among women. At the end stands a free answer to that and a question for shopping: what exactly is the sachet supposed to do better, and has exactly that been measured?
Key points
- According to a large 2022 review, less than 1 percent of the monohydrate breaks down during digestion; 99 percent ends up in tissue or urine.
- The package numbers come from a study of 37 trained men, around 11 per group, who drank a single serving of a raw material in water and gave blood for 6 hours.
- Compared with ordinary monohydrate, the blood curve and peak value were around 15 and 21 percent higher, not statistically significant; nothing was measured in muscle, and the raw material manufacturer paid for the study.
- A title search in the medical database for liposome and creatine yielded 3 hits, all about an enzyme, and no publication on liposomal creatine in humans.
- Earlier special forms did not keep up: buffered creatine brought no advantage in 36 strength athletes over 28 days with muscle biopsies, and of 343 randomized creatine studies only 5 compared different forms at all.
- In a survey of 2,178 app users, 98 percent wanted to continue, but only 55 percent noticed a benefit; among women aged 30 to 39, 18 percent complained of bloating.
- In 59 professional soccer players, 10 grams at once led to diarrhea in 55 percent, 2 times 5 grams in 28 percent and placebo in 35 percent.
Where the data stop
There are no data in humans on liposomal creatine itself, neither for nor against. Whether dry powders with sunflower lecithin in the jar form any bubbles at all that enclose the creatine has not been published by anyone. The authors of the raw material study themselves write that with practically complete absorption it is unclear whether small differences in the blood change anything in the body; muscle takes up creatine via its own transporter.
Convenience is a real reason: anyone who prefers a sachet to gritty powder may be more likely to stick with it, and creatine only works with regular intake. You then pay for the sachet, a good 50 cents per gram versus around 4 cents for monohydrate, not for better absorption. The survey is based on self-reports, and controlled studies find no more side effects on creatine than on placebo. The bloated feeling is nonetheless real. Whether a liposome helps against it has not been tested by anyone; smaller servings spread over the day cost nothing. Anyone with kidney disease should talk to a doctor beforehand.
Listen (in German)
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Published on November 8, 2026.
The topic in the database
- Creatine monohydrate in a fat shell or mixed with lecithin.Liposomal creatine
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Information only, not medical advice and not a usage or dosage recommendation. Prescription-only and unapproved substances belong in the hands of a physician. Last updated: 2026-10-09.