Creatine Supplementation: (Methylgluanido-Acetic Acid)
Introduction
Creatine is one of the most potent muscle building supplements in the supplement world, and has been around for quite a long time too! An amino acid, creatine is found normally in the body, with 95% of it found in the skeletal muscle tissue. The body receives its creatine from food that is eaten, typically 2 grams per day. The body also makes its own creatine in the liver from other amino acids.
Creatine is an ergogenic (muscle building) supplement, and numerous studies have proven its effect. “Extra creatine is therefore ergogenic, because it may help generate more power output during intense exercise.” (Exercise & Sports Nutrition Laboratory).
Creatine has also been proven to increase strength, performance, and muscle mass. “In addition, long term creatine supplementation produces greater gains in strength and sprint performance and may increase lean body mass.” (Exercise & Sport Nutrition Laboratory).
Other studies have proven creatine’s health benefits, not only to bodybuilders or athletes, but to non-athletic and aging individuals.
“Recent creatine research suggests creatine may have therapeutic applications in aging populations[…]” (William D. Brink). To view my full, un-edited post, click here. [(Editor)].
Most people have no idea that creatine has such amazing health benefits as well as the obvious muscle building and energy providing one.
Believe it or not, research has shown that creatine can increase growth hormone production! Its no surprise that creatine is the most wide sold muscle building supplement in the world!
Various Forms:
Is there a difference between the various forms of creatine?
Of course! Every type of creatine is different in composition, solubility, and effectiveness. Some creatines are more soluble than others, which, in turn, increases their effectiveness. Other creatines have chemicals attached which increase their absorption and uptake into the muscle, which eliminates the need for a loading phase. But basically, all creatines do the same thing:
- Volumizing muscle (increasing mass).
- Improving strength.
- Increases energy (ATP levels) for activities that require short bouts of quick energy such as lifting, sprinting, and HIIT cardio.
Here are the different types, their advantages and disadvantages, and find some that we sell!
Creatine Monohydrate:
Creatine Monohydrate is the normal, original creatine that people have been using for decades. It is still the most wide sold creatine product out of all the rest. Purity is important when searching for a creatine product, because, the purer, the more effective! SKW creatine (made in Germany) is the purest creatine around (99.8%). Companies that use it will have to say CreapureTM.
Pros:
- Almost all studies conducted concerning creatine used creatine monohydrate, and reached to amazing results and conclusions.
- Most effective type of creatine yet.
- Cheap.
Cons:
- Not very soluble in water.
- Low surface area, which decreases uptake of creatine into the muscle, causing only about 1% to be absorbed into the body.
- May contain impurities if not bought from a reputable company.
- Reports of diarrhea and stomach discomfort because insoluble creatine sits in the stomach attracting water.
- Causes water bloating in some people, which is an extra layer of water under the skin.
- Some people do not respond to this type of creatine (non-responders).
- Unstable in water and should be taken immediately after dissolving it.
- Does not require a loading phase.
Micronized Creatine:
Micronized Creatine is essentially creatine monohydrate, except it has been micronized, which means the molecules of creatine have been divided or cut up. This increases their surface area 20 times, increasing absorption and reducing stomach discomfort.
Pros:
- Essentially the same as monohydrate but with a larger surface area and smaller molecules, so the same amazing effects of monohydrate.
- Greatly reduces unwanted monohydrate side effects such as bloating and stomach discomfort.
- More effective than monohydrate, and most monohydrate non-responders should respond to this.
- Purer than monohydrate because it goes through more processes.
Cons:
- Slightly more expensive than monohydrate
- Requires a loading phase
Creatine Ethyl Ester (CEE):
CEE is a creatine molecule with an ester attached. Normal creatine molecules are zwitterions, or molecules with one positive end and one negative end. This causes less absorption into the body.
However, the ester counteracts the charges and allows for almost 99% absorption into the body! This removes the need for a loading phase, and is THE MOST absorbent creatine by far yet!
Pros:
- More effective because of increased absorption.
- All users will respond to this.
- Does not cause any of the side effects of monohydrate such as bloating or stomach discomfort.
- No loading phase or a 1 day loading phase.
Cons:
- Foul taste in powder form, some users reported it tasted like battery acid! There are capsule forms, however, that eliminate this.
- Expensive compared to monohydrate and micronized.
Creatine Serum:
Creatine Serum is arguably the most debated type of creatine every to be introduced to the market. Some users report astonishing results, while others claim no results at all. This is basically creatine dissolved in water. However, users who saw results reported better results with monohydrate. I would not suggest to anyone to use this kind of creatine.
Pros:
- 1. No loading phase required because it absorbs easily.
- 2. Easy to use, just put a drop under the tongue.
- 3. Usually mixed with other vitamins and amino acids.
Cons:
- Mounting scientific evidence indicates that serum is useless.
- Creatine is unstable in liquid and breaks down to creatinine if dissolved in liquid for a prolonged period of time. Creatinine is a useless substance which puts strain on the kidneys.
- Extremely expensive.
- Much less effective than monohydrate in aspect of increasing muscle mass, and to a lesser degree in aspect of increasing muscle strength.
Effervescent Creatine:
Effervescent Creatine is basically creatine combined with sugar or sodium, and a chemical which causes bubbles in the liquid. This increases absorption and has a better taste.
Pros:
- More absorption.
- Better taste.
Cons:
- Extremely Expensive.
- Is combined with sugar and sodium, 2 foods bodybuilders should reduce.
- Debatable whether this is actually any different than monohydrate, or whether it even gives the same results.
Creatine Citrate:
Creatine Citrate is another form of creatine bonded with other molecules that increase absorption. Although slightly water-soluble and absorbent than creatine, they require double the amounts than monohydrate does and they are also much more expensive.
Pros:
- Soluble and absorbent, will cause less stomach discomfort
Cons:
- Expensive.
- Requires double the dosage to be as effective as monohydrate.
Tri & Di Creatine Malate:
These are another type of creatine bonded with other molecules (companies seem to love this) which increases absorption. The difference is, these have gotten positive feed back and do work! Tri is the more absorbent and soluble of the two. Tri Creatine Malate is a compound of molecules created from malic acid and creatine. Tri Malate has 3 monohydrate molecules attached and Di Malate has 2.
Pros:
- Faster recovery and less fatigue during workout.
- More water soluble and absorbent.
- Cell Volumizing effect.
Cons:
- Usually very expensive because it is mixed with other chemicals.
- Health effects are unknown.
Creatine Kre-Alkalyn:
Creatine Kre-Alkalyn is basically a special protected creatine which does not convert into useless creatinine as readily as other creatines before being absorbed into muscle tissue. It is another form of creatine bonded to a molecule. No clinical trials have been made on this type of creatine yet, but most user feedback is positive.
Pros:
- No loading phase required.
- Less bloating and stomach discomfort.
Cons:
- Expensive.
- No studies have been carried out on this type of creatine yet.
Creatine Orate:
Creatine orate is another type of creatine bonded to a molecule. This time, the molecule is orotic acid. Orotic acid is a precursor of nucleic acids which help optimal cell functioning and energy use from ATP. So this is actually creatine, which has its own energy enhancing properties, and orotic acid, which increases ATP levels in 3 ways.
Pros:
- More energy than what monohydrate will give.
- Decrease symptoms of fatigue.
Cons:
- EXTREMELY expensive.
- Its effects have not been proven by studies or tests.
Creatine Cocktails (Mixed With Glutamine/Nitric Oxide, Sugar… )
Creatine cocktails are usually mixed with other amino acids such as glutamine and taurine. Other creatine cocktails are mixed with nitric oxide. These products allow us to gain from both products, which help each other, and allow us to synergistically maximize their effects.
For example, the most famous of this effect is stacking (using at the same time) NO and creatine. They always give their users much more muscle gains than when using nitric oxide or creatine alone! So if you have the cash, and you’re not worried about putting lots of supplements in your body, then this is for you!
Pros:
- Cheap compared to the amount of supplements in the arsenal.
- Extremely effective as they take advantage of the synergetic effects of combining different supplements.
- Contain creatine transports and transports for the other ingredients which increase absorption. This doubles the effectiveness of these already extremely effective products.
Cons:
- Uses many kinds of chemicals, not all their effects have been thoroughly studied.
- Means putting a large amount of supplements in the body.
- Expensive as a product.
Goals:
Should you change forms of creatine when changing your goals such as bulking/cutting?
I do suggest one change the form of creatine he or she uses when cutting. Some creatines, such as creatine monohydrate and micronized creatine to a lesser degree, have been reported to cause bloating and water retention. During cutting, your objective is to get as ripped and fat-free and lose as much weight as possible.
Water retention increases weight, and makes you bloated and soft, so you will gain weight and lose definition if you use a creatine such as monohydrate or micronized. As a result, I would suggest, for cutting, one use a more soluble creatine such as CEE or creatine serum or tri creatine malate.
For bulking, your aim is to gain as much muscle weight as possible, and you don’t care about how ripped or defined you look. As a result, it’s ok to take creatine monohydrate or micronized creatine during a bulking phase.
But for someone who wants to keep his definition up all year round, I would suggest to use CEE, because it is the most soluble and absorbent creatine yet, and it is even more effective than regular monohydrate.
Note, creatine will lose its effectiveness during cutting, and will not put on any muscle. It will only serve as a supplement to give you energy pre-workout, so it is not necessary to take creatine post-workout during cutting phases. As a result, one doesn’t need to use creatine during cutting, but it can help to a lesser extent.
Is It Improving?
Is creatine getting better as technology is getting better, or is nothing better than the original?
In my opinion, there are some advancements in creatine that have been extremely effective to improve it. An example of this is CEE, which I believe is the most effective form of creatine currently out there. It is much more soluble and absorbent, and absorbs 99% as opposed to the 1% of monohydrate! This makes it much more effective.
However, there have also been advancements that are useless and create products that are less effective than monohydrate. Unfortunately, these new creatines have just been scams by companies to make a new creatine and call it a breakthrough.
An example of these advancements is the creatine serum, which is useless. If it hasn’t been made within the same month, the chances of it being pure creatine instead of creatinine are very low.
The original still has its uses and advantages, such as being cheap, available, and most reliable form. I believe the disadvantages such as the bloating effect, the low amount of responders, and the stomach pains and diarrhea outweigh the advantages. I believe micronized creatine should now be considered the original, because it is essentially pure monohydrate, but broken into smaller molecules to increase surface area and therefore absorption.
I believe that the best form of creatine is CEE, and more and better forms will eventually come out. We must learn to differentiate between company scam forms such as the serum, and high quality, increasingly effective products such as CEE and micronized creatine. More of these will be created by technology; we just have to spot them!
Future:
What do you see in the future for creatine?
The future will surely bring is more stunningly effective products, each more effective than before. I believe we will see a change in trends from combining molecules to creatine, to more effective creatines with added chemicals into the powder which allow the muscle to utilize more of the creatine, and increase its capacity to handle creatine.
We may even see new forms of creatine such as trans-dermal gels, injections… . Only the future can tell, but what’s for sure is it will keep getting better!
Creatine Myths Exposed:
- Caffeine will not counter-act the effects of creatine, and may even help! (Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, Volume 34, Number 11, 2002 Mike Doherty, Paul M. Smith, R. C. Richard Davidson, and Michael G. Hughes)
- Creatine is not a steroid!
- Sugar is not necessary for absorption of creatine, but it will help. There are easier ways for absorption such as using micronized creatine or CEE.
Creatine Truths:
- Drink lots of water with creatine.
- Creatine should not be taken dissolved in an acid.
- Some people do not respond to monohydrate.
- Creatine causes some people to bloat or retain water.
- Taking creatine with sugar will increase absorption, but taking creatine with sugar and protein will double that!
- Take the creatine with the protein and take the sugar after 1 hour. This will allow the insulin spike, protein spike, and creatine spike to be roughly at the same time. Insulin spikes occur roughly 30 min after ingesting the sugar, while protein and creatine tend to take about 90 minutes to be at their highest concentration in the blood stream.
Bibliography:
- www.sportsci.org
- www.man-health-magazine-online.com
- www.bodybuilding.com/fun/likness2.htm
- www.bodybuilding.com/fun/dimaggio2.htm
- www.teenbodybuilding.com/jay2.htm
- www.bodybuilding.com/fun/mohr81.htm
- www.teenbodybuilding.com/nathan6.htm
- www.bodybuilding.com/fun/catupdate.htm
