Creatine is one of the safest, most effective, and popular types of sports nutrition for gaining muscle mass. This explains the keen interest of manufacturers in it in an attempt to develop the formula for the best creatine. The result of these attempts is a huge number of types and forms of creatine, each of which claims to be the best. Below we provide a list of the most popular varieties of creatine, a description of their key features, and a brief assessment of their effectiveness from a scientific perspective.
Main thoughts:
Types of Creatine
Creatine Monohydrate – the best creatine in terms of price/quality
Creatine monohydrate is the most popular type of creatine used in most sports supplements. Creatine monohydrate is very well absorbed and contains ~88% of creatine itself.
If we remove water from creatine monohydrate, we get pure 100% creatine – anhydrous creatine – which, when it comes into contact with water, transforms back into monohydrate. This concentrated form is sometimes used in tablets and powders to increase the dosage.
Creatine monohydrate is considered the best form of creatine due to its low price and high content of creatine itself
Micronized Creatine
Micronized creatine is a form in which the particles of creatine are mechanically compressed to reduce their size. This improves solubility in water. In terms of effectiveness, this form is equivalent to creatine monohydrate.
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Creatine Hydrochloride
Creatine hydrochloride (creatine HCl) is a type of creatine in which its molecule is bound to hydrochloric acid. Some claims suggest that creatine hydrochloride is more effective than monohydrate, meaning a lower dose is required; however, this statement seems to lack sufficient scientific support: there is enough hydrochloric acid in the stomach, and when regular creatine enters it, it can easily form hydrochloride.
Creatine hydrochloride likely breaks down into creatine and hydrochloric acid in the stomach, which means it is approximately equivalent in effectiveness to creatine monohydrate.
According to manufacturers, creatine hydrochloride is more effective than monohydrate. Scientists dispute this
Liquid Creatine – the Worst Quality Creatine
Liquid creatine is less effective than powdered creatine monohydrate 1. The reason is that creatine degrades very quickly in water, turning into useless creatinine 2. This specifically concerns the liquid form sold in sports nutrition stores, as the degree of its degradation is proportional to the time spent on the shelf.
By the way, when dissolving powdered creatine in water at home, it should also be consumed immediately (within 10 minutes) for the same reason – to gain maximum benefit and avoid degradation.
Liquid creatine is the most ineffective form of creatine, as a large part of the creatine itself is degraded. When preparing a creatine solution at home, it is important to consume it immediately
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Buffered Creatine
Buffered creatine (branded as Kre-Alkylyn) is claimed by the manufacturer to be more effective than monohydrate, as it has a higher pH level, penetrates cell walls better, and accumulates more effectively in muscles.
There is no scientific evidence to support these claims. On the contrary, recent comparative studies of buffered creatine and monohydrate have shown that there is no significant difference between them 3.
Buffered creatine is also claimed by the manufacturer to be more effective than monohydrate, but this is not supported by scientific research
Creatine Ethyl Ester
Creatine ethyl ester accumulates worse in muscles than creatine monohydrate.
Creatine Magnesium Chelate
Creatine magnesium chelate has the same effectiveness as creatine monohydrate 4. This form of creatine was created based on the premise that magnesium, like carbohydrates, enhances the absorption of creatine 5. Magnesium chelate creatine
Liquid creatine is considered the worst form of creatine and is not recommended for purchase and consumption, as it contains a very high percentage of degraded active substance (creatine is unstable in water). For the same reason, if you use water to dilute creatine, it is recommended to do so just before consumption.
