On FITsociety, we have written several articles about the popular dietary supplement creatine. Because we have devoted quite a bit of attention to this topic, it may be somewhat overwhelming with information when you, as an athlete, are looking for the best creatine. Hence, this article in which we aim to provide you with the answer to this question.
What is the Best Creatine
Creatine, also spelled as Kreatine, is a naturally occurring substance that plays a significant role in energy supply to muscle cells. When you administer creatine as a supplement, it can increase the amount of creatine phosphate in the muscles, allowing you to have more energy and strength during fitness training. This can result in a strength difference of between 2 and 5 percent. Due to these positive effects, producers of dietary supplements have heavily capitalized on this substance, and you can find it in many products. It is our task to answer the question: what is the best creatine?
Given that each individual goes to the supplement store with different goals and budgets, this question is not easy to answer. When we consider absorbability, we see that sufficient water is needed for proper absorption of creatine. For the absorption of 14 grams of creatine, 1 liter of water is required. If you use less water, there is a high chance that the powdered creatine ends up in the stomach where it cannot be properly absorbed.
For this reason, supplement brands with liquid creatine have entered the market. At first glance, this seems like a good solution because it would improve solubility. But unfortunately, research conducted so far has shown that this does not improve the absorption of creatine into the muscle cells. Initially, this is because creatine in solid powdered form is more stable than in liquid form. In liquid form, creatine is more prone to breakdown into the breakdown product creatinine. This could mean that a liquid creatine, which has been sitting in a warehouse for months, may contain much less effective creatine than if you were to mix it yourself. Secondly, it has been found that the amount of creatine in liquid creatine is often lower. When you add this to the lower absorbability, you could conclude that this does not outweigh the trusted creatine monohydrate.
Is Creatine Monohydrate the Best Creatine?
Because the absorbability of creatine plays a significant role in the effect of creatine, we can conclude that creatine monohydrate is a better choice than the liquid variants. Provided it is administered with sufficient water, at the correct temperature and acidity. Additionally, regular monohydrate is often cheaper than the expensive liquid forms.
In addition to the absorbability of creatine, the amount also plays an important role. Newer products often contain less creatine per gram than the traditional monohydrate form per 100 grams. Additives are included that could promote absorbability, but in fact, 100 grams remains 100 grams. The amount per gram is important because it determines how much of this dietary supplement can effectively be absorbed into the body and thus into the muscle cells. Above, you have read that absorbability can be influenced by various factors. Below you can find how much creatine per gram is found in the new products.
In the table above, we can make 1 exception, and that is anhydrous creatine. This form is the purest form of creatine because the water molecule is omitted from CM, creatine monohydrate. This water molecule causes the CM to form a crystal, and when you let it dry out at a temperature of 100 degrees, you lose this and you are left with 100% creatine. This does not mean that the anhydrous variant is more effective. You simply get more creatine.
Conclusion
Based on the research conducted to date and the knowledge available on the effectiveness and absorbability of various types of creatine, we dare to conclude that creatine monohydrate is one of the better choices in terms of effectiveness and absorption. If you mix creatine with sufficient water, at least a liter for 14 grams, and do this at a pH level of 7, then you should be able to achieve the maximum effect of this popular supplement. If you increase the acidity, this will improve absorbability, and you can absorb almost four times as much creatine at a pH level of 2.6. Often, the monohydrate variant is also the cheapest.
