[NiteHawk]

This is kind of a lengthy post but Im hoping it will answer people's questions about creatine. It deals mostly with creatine monohydrate which is the most widely used but it does mention some of the other forms.


Creatine first came in the picture back in 1992 when British Olympic Track & Field athletes used it with great success in the Barcelona Olympic Games. A little over a year later it was introduced in America for the first time as a creatine supplement.

Creatine is produced naturally in the body from 3 amino acids; glycine, methionine, and arginine. It regularly combines with phosphate to create creatine phosphate. It's used by your muscles to resupply high energy phosphates to regenerate ATP rapidly. ATP is your muscle's energy. By resupplying phosphates for ATP production, it allows you to do high intensity exercise for a longer period of time.

The benefits of creatine have been heavily studied. About 90% of the people who take creatine have acheived benefits from it.There is a 5-15% improvement in exercise performance. People with a high intake of red meat will probably notice less of an improvement since meat contains creatine in it as well.

About 95% of the research on creatine has been done with creatine monohydrate. It is the least expensive form, easy to take and is virtually tasteless. German creatine has the best reputation of making the purest creatine available where as some Asian countries have the lowest or worst reputation. US manufactures are now close to German standards.
The newer forms of creatine can be more effective, more expensive, but have the least amount of research behind them. So in long-term results, its hard to say whether they are superior. The latest one is CEE - creatine ethyl ester. It has an ethyl ester attached to the creatine that is supposed to permeate the cell walls of the intestines and muscle cells easier than regular monohydrate. It has been shown to show the same results but with lower doses than regular monohydrate. Loading is also not necessary. I have gotten results with taking 4 grams per day.

The average person holds about 110-130 grams of creatine in thier muscles naturally. However, you have the capability to hold something like 150-170 grams. So using creatine supplements is to boost this ability and saturate your muscles with it for a performance boost.

How To Take Creatine ( Creatine Monohydrate):

You can load or not load, its your preference. Loading is not necessary. The loading phase means taking 20 grams a day in 4 divided doses for 5 days then doing a maintenance phase of about 3-5 grams per day. You can however achieve the same results by not loading and only taking 5 grams a day and it will take about 21 days to achieve the same muscle saturation as the loading phase. The 5 day loading phase will just get you saturated quicker. Some say to cycle off creatine for 4 weeks once every 2-3 months. There is no data to support doing this. It does take about 21-28 days of being off creatine to get your body's creatine levels back to normal.

After you train is the ideal time to take creatine. Use a carb/protein beverage will spike insulin levels helping to drive creatine into the muscle. A juice with a high glycemic index carbs to spike insulin is a good choice to use with your creatine. This too will create an insulin spike and help absorb the creatine better. A method I like to use is taking a heaping teaspoon of creatine, just putting it in your mouth and chasing it with a glass of grape juice and then drink another 8 ounces of water. Its easy, fast, and no mixing required. I currently am taking Cell-Tech at this time.

Recent research has indicated that reports of long-term creatine use causing muscle cramps, short term and long term kidney problems are not accurate.The number of problems seen with creatine users were the same with those seen in the placebo groups. So far, long-term useage has shown not to be harmful so take your creatine and enjoy the benefits!!

Below are the forms of creatine available:

Creatine Monohydrate- The first creatine product to start them all. Its been proven for years and is the least expensive form.

Creatine Ethyl Ester - This form of creatine was discovred and patented at the University of Nebraska. It has an ester attached to it to increase its bioavailability, absorption, and ergogenic effects. The cost is more than regular monohydrate. It has been shown to give greater benefits at a lower dose than monohydrate. I have used 4 grams daily and got good results.

Creatine Phosphate - This is the form found inside muscles. This type of creatine was made obsolete due to its costly nature and lower concentration of creatine compared to monohydrate.

Creatine Citrate - This form of creatine is coupled with the Kreb's Cycle intermediate, citric acid. This gives it more water solubility with possibly better absorption. It has a sour, tart taste. Its more expensive than monohydrate and has a lower concentration of creatine. It is listed in formulas as Di-Creatine Citrate or Tri-Creatine Citrate.

Creatine Malate - This is another Kreb's cycle intermediate bound to creatine. It dissolves in water easily and has a decent taste. The malic acid in it might assist in Kreb's Cycle energy production. It costs more and has less concentration creatine than monohydrate. Its listed in formulas as Di-Creatine Malate or Tri-Creatine Malate.

Creatine Tartrate - This is creatine bound to tartaric acid and has a very tart taste. Isnt used much and has no research to support this form. It has a lower percentage of creatine than monohydrate and is more costly.

Magnesium Creatine Chelate - This is a mineral chelate of creatine which is designed to improve the delivery of creatine and magnesium to muscles. Research has been shown that this formula produces better results than creatine supplemented with magnesium as well. Its a promising creatine form.

Creatine Anhydrous - This is pure creatine and similiar to regular monohydrate. It absorbs water from the air and its hard to work with when making it into a supplement. Its not found in many formulations.

Creatine Betahydroxy Beta Methylbutyrate (CHMB) - This is creatine bound to HMB. Once ingested, the creatine and HMB molecule seperate, so you are getting the benefits of both. Its expensive and not found in many formulas as well.

Creatine Ester Oratate - This is an esterfied form of creatine. It's new. I dont have much information on it at this time.