Creatine, being one of the most searched fitness products, comes with its controversial theories which are spread all over social media. One being dry scooping creatine. You might have seen many fitness influencers do this, by can you actually dry scoop creatine. Is it safe? Are there any benefits?  

The answer is simple. Just don’t do it! Creatine comes in a powder form that you mix with water, or any liquid you like, and drink to get the most out of it. However, if you follow the tik tok trend and dry scoop your creatine, there are more side effects and not many benefits.

In fact, dry scooping creatine does NOT provide any performance improvements. Instead, it can cause tooth damage, choking, coughing, and creatine wastage. Technically, you can dry scoop your creatine but there are risks involved.

So why do people do it? As I said, because of the controversial theories and myths surrounding this popular fitness topic. We will look into all of this in more detail but first let’s look at what dry scooping creatine actually is.

What is Dry Scooping Creatine?

Dry scooping creatine involves taking a scoop of powdered creatine and dumping it directly into your mouth without mixing it with any liquid. You could either swallow this creatine or wash it down with liquid, usually water.

The key question is why? Why do people dry scoop creatine? Well, it’s because of some popular myth that creatine will enter the bloodstream a lot quicker giving you some magical effects. However, there is no scientific evidence proving this claim.

In fact, there are no science backed claims that dry scooping creatine has any health benefits. Instead, it actually has some risks involved.

Risks Involved When You Dry Scoop Creatine.

Social media is such a powerful platform. It can help inspire, connect, and educate us. It can also provide us with fake information and unnecessary trends like dry scooping creatine.

So, before you start following those trends, you better do your research because a lot of these fitness and nutritional trends literally have no science involved.

Luckily, we’ve done the research for you. Below are the potential risks involved when you dry scoop your creatine.

1. Coughing

If you dry scoop your creatine, you’re likely going to end up coughing a lot of it out. The reason for this is because creatine, being consumed in a powdered form, can be easily inhaled before you get the chance to swallow it or drink water to wash it down.

This results in the powder entering the wrong pipe when you try to swallow it which results in you coughing and because of the irritation in your airways.  

2. Choking

Ever stuffed a spoon full of powder in your mouth? I remember dumping a spoon full of chocolate powder in my mouth when I was a kid. It did taste good, but it wasn’t the best feeling when I started coughing and choking on it.

The same goes with creatine, or any powder in fact. If you dry scoop creatine, there is a chance that you start choking.

This is because of the powder being exposed with the moisture in your mouth which creates a unique texture that makes it harder to swallow. Hence resulting in choking.

Another thing that may cause choking is if the creatine powder goes down the windpipe, or the trachea. Apart from causing throat and airway irritation, this causes something called aspiration which occurs when something enters your airways and lungs. This can get extremely serious.

So why risk it? Just mix your creatine with water or your favorite juice or in your protein smoothie and drink that.

3. Wastage

I’ll be honest. When I first started taking creatine, I was literally just dry scooping. I would dump 5 grams of creatine directly into my mouth. The reason behind this was that I thought I was getting all the creatine I planned to consume.

I guess this is the reason why people dry scoop creatine in the first place because creatine dissolves poorly in water and often leaves a sediment at the bottom of your shaker or glass. This leaves people to believe that they aren’t consuming all the creatine they wanted.

However, by dry scooping your creatine, you would surprisingly get much less than you planned. Why? Well, you would be coughing a lot of it out and some of the creatine would get stuck to your teeth, which could cause serious dental health problems.

Instead, use a shaker or water bottle and mix the creatine with water. Yes, it might leave a sediment at the bottom, but keep refilling the bottle and you will get all the creatine you planned to consume.

4. Impact on Dental Health

As we mentioned previously, when you dry scoop your creatine, some of it may get stuck to your teeth. Now this may not sound serious, but it can have some detrimental impacts on your dental health.

Depending on what type of creatine you’re having, it may contain some acidic ingredients including citric acid (the sour flavor) or hydrochloric acid (if you’re taking Creatine HCL instead of monohydrate).

Essentially, these acids get stuck to your teeth and eat away the enamel. What is enamel? Well, it is the outer, shiny, protective layer of your tooth.

Ever seen a person that has yellow teeth? Well, that’s because the enamel wears away. So, save your teeth from going yellow and stop dry scooping your creatine!

However, if you still plan to dry scoop creatine (I really don’t know why you would after reading this article), choose the unflavored option to avoid some of those acidic ingredients.

The Best Way to Take Creatine.

As we’ve mentioned previously, the best way to take creatine is simply to mix it in water or juice first and then consume it. Here are the steps on how to take creatine.

• Grab a shaker bottle (or a water bottle) and fill it with water.
• Add a scoop of creatine (about 3-5 grams) into the shaker bottle.
• Mix or shake the bottle well before you drink.
• Keep drinking water from that same bottle so any leftover creatine also gets consumed.

Related Reading: Does Creatine Make You Look Fat?

Tips on Taking Creatine

Now that we have established that the best way to take creatine is to mix it with water or any liquid of your choice, let’s take a look at some tips to consider when taking creatine.

1. Mix it With Juice

Personally, I’ve been simply dumping 5 grams of creatine in water for a while now. However, I do know how boring it gets. To fix this, literally add creatine in your favorite juice or smoothie.

This is why I recommend getting the unflavored creatine option. It just gives you more variety to mix your creatine with different juices or your favorite smoothies.

Plus, I was never a fan of flavored creatine. It’s just more expensive and the taste isn’t that special.

 2. Mix it with your Protein Powder

If you want, you could add your creatine to your protein shake. And no. It will not give you some magical muscle building benefit. In fact, it offers no additional benefits when it comes to muscle and strength.

It’s just more convenient for some people. So, it all comes down to preference.

Having said that, if you include oats or peanut butter into your protein shake, you might get some more benefits. Why? Because it contains carbs.

3. Carbs With Creatine

Research has shown that taking carbohydrates with creatine results in a “60% greater increase of muscle total creatine content”.

And it’s not just one study proving this claim. Another study has shown that creatine, with carbohydrates and protein, gives “greater creatine retention”

Well, why is this? This is because carbs will increase your insulin levels and insulin helps drive more creatine into your muscle cells.

So, next time you take creatine, have some oats or a peanut butter sandwich along with it.

Related Reading: Creatine Powder & Muscle Mass: The Great Debate.

How to dry scoop creatine?

You’ve probably realized, after reading this article, that I don’t dry scoop my creatine. And as I’ve mentioned, there are no additional benefits. If anything, there are just risks of coughing, choking or your teeth going yellow when you dry scoop your creatine.

But if you still want to dry scoop your creatine, there is a way which is safe.

1. Start off with taking a sip of water.
2. Add creatine in your mouth.
3. Exhale through your nose and keep your mouth closed.
4. Wash the creatine down with water making sure no creatine is left on your teeth or your gums.

Frequently asked questions.

Here are some common and frequent questions that are asked involving dry scooping your creatine.

Is dry scooping more effective?

Absolutely not. There is no scientific evidence that supports any claims suggesting that dry scooping creatine has improved effects in performance. In fact, creatine works best when it’s taken with water.

You should aim to consume between 300 – 500 ml of water after taking a 3–5-gram dose of creatine. The reason is that creatine draws water to your muscles which leaves your body with water in the organs which impacts their daily function.

Should you dry scoop creatine?

Technically you can, but I wouldn’t recommend it. There are more risks and no benefits whatsoever. You’re likely going to cough, choke and damage your teeth. Hence, there is no point.

So, before you start following random fitness and nutritional tik tok trends, make sure you do your research.

Does Dry Scooping Give Me Quicker Results?

Either mixing creatine with water or dry scooping, the absorption rates are the same. According to research, creatine will take about an hour for it to be absorbed.

Hence, there are no benefits of dry scooping creatine. Instead, mix it with water, juice or your protein shake and have some complex carbohydrates along with it to give the best benefits.

Key Takeaway

Simply don’t dry scoop your creatine! That’s the key takeaway for today’s article.

Dry scooping creatine has risks involved including choking, creatine wastage, coughing and tooth damage. Instead, mix the creatine with water or your favorite juice and stay hydrated to get the most out of the creatine supplement.

I hope this has answered your question and helped you decide whether to dry scoop your creatine or not.

Stay tuned for our upcoming articles and as always, stay Fit & Healthy.