Deciding On The Best Creatine

Creatine: everyone has heard of the benefits of this supplement, yet many people are confused as to which form of the supplement to take. Supplement companies manufacture and market many different forms of the supplement, making claims that their supplement is the best creatine. Although it may be difficult to wade through all the different products and the claims that come along with them, with a bit of education, the decision process can be simple and painless. By the end of this article, you will be able to understand the different forms of creatine, the benefits and drawbacks of each form of the supplement, allowing you to easily decide which form of creatine is the best creatine for you.

Creatine monohydrate is the original form of creatine. This was the creatine that was popular during the 1980’s and helped many of the old school bodybuilders put on their bulking weight. The premise behind creatine is that when you have higher levels of creatine in your body, you are able to use this excess creatine to quickly refill your body’s energy stores because creatine can quickly be converted into the body’s energy currency, andosine triphosphate, or ATP as it more commonly known as. Although creatine monohydrate has stood up to the test of time, this particular form of creatine is the most tedious to take, as you must do a two week “loading phase” before your body gets used to the higher levels of creatine in your body. In addition to the loading phase, it has been noted that creatine monohydrate will cause water retention and bloating. Because of these side effects, it often makes people look for alternatives to traditional creatine monohydrate.

When creatine ethyl ester made its debut on the bodybuilding supplement scene, it was touted as the next best creatine. Studies soon showed, however, that creatine ethyl ester fell short of matching the results the traditional creatine monohydrate had shown. It has since been discontinued as an addition to many muscle building products.

A patented form of creatine, Kre-Alkyln is unique in that it is a pH-buffered creatine. This particular supplement has been shown to work right off the bat, allowing the user to forego the loading phase of traditional creatine monohydrate. The side effects of Kre-Alkyln are also much less than that of monohydrate, showing little to no bloat or water retention. It is also a very efficient type of creatine, as 1.5 to 2 milligrams have the same effect as 5 milligrams of creatine monohydrate. This is beneficial to the user, as the lower dosage means that the supplement is less taxing on the organs that process supplements, such as the kidneys and liver.

In the end, the decision as to which is the best form of creatine is up to the user. The best way to decide is to try a few different forms and figure out which one your body responds to best. If your body responds well to monohydrate, it may not respond well to Kre-Alkyln; if your body responds well to Kre-Alkyln, it may not respond well to creatine monohydrate; everyone’s body is different. Take some time to experiment and educate yourself on what creatine does in the context of your own body.