Creatine is one of the most researched supplements on the market. It also has the most research supporting its performance benefits. Some of these benefits include supercharged strength, faster reaction times, elevated testosterone, and greater muscle growth. If you’re not completing your workout, let us tell you everything you need to know and recommend the cleanest creatine supplements you can buy right now.

What is creatine?

Creatine is an amino acid found naturally in animal products like chicken, steak, and fish. For this reason, vegetarians have been reported to have lower creatine stores and therefore may see a greater increase in muscle creatine after taking supplements. The body uses creatine as an energy source for quick bursts (think 5-15 seconds). It helps maintain ATP (energy) availability, especially during maximal effort anaerobic exercises, such as sprinting. On average, a normal diet provides about 1-2g/day of creatine from food, leaving muscle creatine stores at about 60-80% saturation. Therefore, dietary creatine supplementation can increase muscle creatine by 20-40%. Performance of high intensity and/or repetitive exercise is typically increased by 10-20% after creatine loading.

Can creatine help performance?

As we mentioned, creatine has many benefits. Here’s a more in-depth look:

• Reinforced training. About 95% of creatine is stored in the muscles, while 5% is found in the brain. Creatine supplementation may allow you to perform more work over a series of sets or sprints leading to greater gains in strength, muscle mass and/or performance through improved training quality.
• Greater glycogen storage. Creatine supplementation with carbs or a combination of carbs and protein has been reported to promote greater muscle glycogen storage than carb supplementation alone, so you don’t tire as quickly.
• Reinforced neuroprotection. Creatine supplementation may, in fact, reduce the severity of spinal cord injury, cerebral ischemia, and concussion or traumatic brain injury by promoting cellular homeostasis.
• Improved recovery. Creatine supplementation can reduce muscle damage and improve recovery after intense exercise. It can also help athletes tolerate large increases in training volume.

How to dose creatine?

The fastest way to increase muscle creatine stores is to ingest 5g of creatine monohydrate (approximately 0.3g/kg body weight) four times a day for 5-7 days, followed by a dose of maintenance of 3 to 5 g/day or 0.1 g/kg body weight/day. However, such a loading dose is not necessary. You can also use the daily dose of 3-5g/day if you don’t need to reach creatine saturation quickly. Larger athletes may need an additional 5-10 g/day as a maintenance dose.

To note: It has been reported that ingesting creatine with carbs or carbs and protein (eg, a post-workout recovery shake) may more consistently promote better creatine retention.

Creatine Monohydrate vs Creatine Hydrochloride

Creatine monohydrate
The name “creatine monohydrate” comes from the fact that this type of creatine includes a water molecule. Accordingly, the monohydrate contains approximately 88% creatine by weight. The most studied form of creatine in the literature is creatine monohydrate, both in terms of efficacy and dose. It is also relatively inexpensive.

Creatine Hydrochloride
Creatine HCl is creatine bound to a hydrochloride molecule. The HCL version contains approximately 72% creatine by weight. Creatine HCl claims to be more soluble, better absorbed, and effective at lower doses, all with less water retention. Although the HCl version is more water soluble and potentially absorbed faster, faster intestinal absorption does not result in increased bioavailability. Creatine HCl is also much more expensive than monohydrate, even when taken in small doses.

At the end of the line : While creatine HCl can potentially be effective in small doses, the overwhelming literature supports creatine monohydrate as the optimal choice.

Common error

1. Although the initial loading phase of creatine supplementation may lead to water retention, long-term data suggests that no potential water retention remains.
2. When consumed in recommended doses (3-5 g/day), creatine supplementation does not cause kidney damage or kidney dysfunction in healthy people.
3. Current research does not show a causal relationship between creatine supplementation and dehydration or muscle cramps. In fact, most research actually supports the opposite.

The Cleanest Creatine Supplements You Can Buy

1. Creatine Thorne

• NSF certified for sports
• Easy to mix, highly researched, colorless and odorless micronized form of creatine monohydrate

[$36; thorne.com]

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2. Memorable Creatine

• NSF certified for sports
• Highly soluble, colorless, and flavorless creatine monohydrate (we’re big fans of their whey and vegan protein powder; consider making a morning smoothie or post-workout shake)

[$35; livemomentous.com]

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3. Clean Creatine

• NSF certified for sports
• Flavorless, highly soluble creatine monohydrate

[$29; kleanathlete.com]

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4. Creatine Onnit

• Certified Sports Informed
• Unfavorable and highly soluble creatine monohydrate

[$15; onnit.com]

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5. Creatine Pure Encapsulations

• Flavorless, highly soluble creatine monohydrate

[$58.70; pureformulas.com]

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Jordan MazurMS, RD, is the director of nutrition for the San Francisco 49ers

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