What types of creatine are there?
There are many different forms of creatine supplements on the market today. The 4 major types of creatine include - creatine monohydrate, creatine phosphate, creatine citrate and creatine ethyl ester.
Creatine Monohydrate
Creatine Monohydrate is basically creatine bound with water. Each molecule of creatine monohydrate is made up of 88% creatine and 12% water. Or to put it another way - 1 gram of creatine monohydrate has 880 milligrams of creatine. This means that if you take 5 grams of creatine monohydrate you will really be putting 4.40 grams (5 * .88) of creatine in your body. Creatine Monohydrate is by far the most common form for a creatine supplement. The majority of studies and research have been conducted using creatine monohydrate.
Creatine Phosphate
Remember that in order for creatine to be effective it needs to bond with a phosphate group and become Creatine Phosphate. For this reason, you may think that directly taking Creatine Phosphate would be better than just taking Creatine Monohydrate. The fact is - taking a creatine phosphate supplement has never been shown to be more effective than just taking creatine monohydrate. Creatine Phosphate has only 62.3% creatine and 37.7% phosphate. This means that 1 gram only produces 623 milligrams of creatine. In addition, creatine phosphate is more expensive than creatine monohydrate.
Creatine Citrate
Creatine Citrate became popular because it is more water soluble than other forms of creatine. Simply put, it dissolves better when you mix it up. The problem is that Creatine Citrate has only 400 milligrams of creatine per gram of creatine citrate. In addition, it is more expensive than Creatine Monohydrate.
Creatine Esters
Creatine ester is a creatine monohydrate that has been esterified with either the alcohol methanol (creatine methyl ester) or ethanol (creatine ethyl ester).
After being absorbed by the body, creatine esters are split into creatine and the alcohol methanol or ethanol. This conversion occurs very quickly. Ten minutes after oral administration, the ester is no longer detectable and has been broken down completely into creatine, creatinine, and methanol or ethanol.
It has been shown that this breakdown takes place before it has been absorbed into the muscle cells.
Twelve percent of orally administered creatine ester is converted into creatinine after 30 minutes, and, in addition, esterification strongly promotes the conversion into creatinine. Creatinine is excreted via the kidneys. The alcohol—in the form of methanol or ethanol—needs to be detoxified by the liver. Methanol in particular is highly toxic and even small amounts can damage the nervous system.
If you're a creatine non-responder you may have success with the CEE
Creatine ethyl ester technology can potentially lead to improved absorption, less bloat and minimal water retention - comparative to creatine monohydrate
There are no studies that prove that creatine esters enhance performance. It is especially significant that there is no indication that these esters have an advantage over pure creatine monohydrate.
So is Creatine Monohydrate the best creatine supplement?
Not necessarily. Everyone responds differently to bodybuilding supplements. Every body is different, yielding different results with creatine supplementation. The problem comes from the fact that just getting the most creatine into your body is not the end of the story. How the creatine is absorbed plays a key rule. People who defend Creatine Citrate claim that it has a 90% absorption rate while Creatine Monohydrate has only a 40% rate. This means that while Creatine Citrate delivers less creatine per gram - a much higher percentage is absorbed by the muscles. If you do not respond well to regular forms of creatine, you may want to try creatine ethyl ester, as it has been shown to have higher absorption rates and may lead to larger gains in the gym.
Since almost every major study has been done with Creatine Monohydrate - it would be our choice for a creatine supplement. |
