Creatine Products: Which Form Of Creatine Is Right For You?
There are few supplements that can boast the supporting clinical evidence that creatine does—and by creatine I mean creatine monohydrate, which is the gold standard and the version upon which all credible clinical studies have been performed (see some for yourself; J Am Diet Assoc. 1997 Jul;97(7):765-70, Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2002 Feb;34(2):332-43, Med SCI Sports Exerc. 1998 Jan;30(1):73-82 , J Strength Cond Res. 2003 Aug;17(3):425-38).
While many retailers claim to have developed forms of creatine which are both more potent (requiring lower dosing) and more effective, there is no credible clinical evidence to demonstrate that any of these new forms work better than good old creatine monohydrate.
In fact, they may not even work as well.
Case in point; creatine ethyl esther (CEE). Once enthusiastically described as the “future of creatine”, evidence now shows CEE degrades quickly and is less stable in stomach acid than creatine monohydrate. Despite this, CEE remains a mainstay ingredient in many dedicated creatine products.
Thus, it is important to remain critical of retailers’ advertising claims, and to choose your creatine supplement carefully. Here are some suggestions…
1. Creatine monohydrate: Simple. Effective. Cheap. What’s not to like? The gold standard in creatine, you won’t go wrong here.
2. BSN’s CellMass: Despite its seeming complexity, this is a solid, simple, and worthwhile formula. Good taste helps too!
3. Nutrex’s Volu-Gro: This product combines creatine monohydrate with waxy maize to enhance muscle uptake. Some users report getting a decent “pump” when using this product, much like the one you would obtain from an arginine-based pre-workout supplement.
4. Cell Tech Hardcore: Yes, it`s from Muscle Tech. Yes, its formula is needlessly complicated and the benefits exaggerated. But the bottom line is simple; the blend of creatine, dextrose and alpha lipoic acid works.
5. Kre-Alkalyn: Take regular creatine monohydrate, and buffer it (treat it with alkaline salts to render a high pH when dissolved in water) and what you end up with is Kre-Alkalyn. There is plenty of controversy over how effective this form of creatine is, but it has garnered enough positive anecdotal evidence to suggest it is no less so than “regular” creatine monohydrate.
