Types of Creatine Powders and Which to Use

Last Updated 3 years ago

What is creatine?

Creatine is one of the most widely used and studied nutritional supplements in the world.

It is produced naturally by the body in protein metabolism and is present in much living tissue. The body stores it primarily in our muscles, but a small amount is also transported to the heart and brain.

Formed from amino acids, its primary purpose is the supply of energy for muscular contraction.

Creatine is involved in the formation of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is a major source of cellular energy.

In particular, it rapidly produces energy during exercise, allowing you to train harder.

As such its benefits include significantly improved performance, endurance and explosiveness in intense physical activity.

Alongside your body’s natural production of the compound, some foods contain creatine, namely beef and fish.

Because meat is the primary source of creatine in our diets, vegetarians tend to have lower amounts of it in their bodies than non-vegetarians and may be lacking.

However, plenty of non-vegetarians also choose to consume it as a supplement as it increases muscle creatine content by up to 40%.

Some studies have reported that athletes taking a creatine supplement may increase strength gains from a weight training program by an average of 10%.

What are the benefits of creatine?

As mentioned above, the key advantage of creatine is its ability to increase strength and performance during training.

And this isn’t even just a marketing scam.

Plenty of research and testing has been done to prove the positive outcomes of creatine as a supplement.

Because it’s safe and easy to use, it is backed up by the general public as much as it is by the lab scientists.

At a glance, the key benefits of taking supplementary creatine are:

• It helps muscle cells to produce more energy.
• As a result, creatine improves high-intensity exercise performance.
• It also helps support other muscle functions, stimulating several key biological processes that lead to increased muscle growth and size.
• Speeds muscle growth.
• May lower blood sugar levels and fight diabetes.
• Can reduce fatigue and tiredness.
• Creatine may even reduce some symptoms of Parkinson’s disease by improving muscle strength and function.

Alongside the physical benefits, creatine is thought to affect cognitive abilities including working memory and fight other neurological diseases.

However, it has not been sufficiently tested to fully confirm these effects.

By now you’re probably wondering where this super-suplement has been all your life.

But with seemingly endless different forms of the supplement for sale, it can make choosing one confusing.

All of them aim to support exercise performance so that you can continue to train at an optimum level for the entire duration of your workout, by slowing down the depletion of creatine stores.

But they work in slightly different ways and have their own drawbacks.

Below we take a look at the five main types of creatine, including which form is best and why.

Different types of creatine

Recently, multiple new and “improved” forms of creatine have established themselves in the market, supposedly claiming to be better than the original creatine monohydrate.

They all promise to deliver different/superior results – in some cases with a smaller dose than the original monohydrate form.

1. Creatine Monohydrate

Creatine monohydrate is the most widely used and scientifically studied form of creatine. All the positive effects seen with creatine are linked to this form of the supplement.

Manufacturers of newer forms of creatine claim that their version improves the percentage of creatine available to the muscles.

But with as much as 99.1% of creatine monohydrate delivered to your muscles, any advantages will be tiny and purely aesthetic e.g. taste, solubility.

The most widely advertised effects of creatine, like improved strength in large upper and lower body muscles, have most frequently been seen using the monohydrate form of the supplement.

In terms of creatine micronisation (processing the compound to break particles down into smaller one), the theory goes that it improves water solubility and your body’s uptake of it.

Creatine supplements will also draw water into the muscles, causing them to swell and grow in size. However this does not equal actual increases in strength.

Creatine is safe to consume, with side effects being minor and not dissimilar to other supplements.

Minor side affects can include an upset stomach or some cramping. There are multiple ways to get around this i.e. dosage and brand, but will differ for individuals.

Due to being safe and affordable, creatine monohydrate has long been chosen over other forms and is held in high regard as the gold standard for the supplement.

2. Creatine Hydrochloride (Hcl)

Due to its micronised form, manufacturers state that HCL is better absorbed and takes less dosage to achieve the same results.

Considering this, users can expect to feel less bloating as they are consuming less water and supplement.

This will vary depending on the individual however and most will be able to cope with creatine monohydrate just fine.

No studies have confirmed that this form is superior to monohydrate, however it is down to personal choice. If micronised creatine is easier on your digestive system, then it is the one for you.

Recent marketing and reviews indicate that increased solubility has generated excitement for the product and because of said solubility in water, not as much supplement is needed to achieve the same results. In turn this should be easier on your stomach.

There are currently no published experiments on creatine HCl in humans.

Given the large amount of data supporting the effectiveness of creatine monohydrate, the HCl form can’t really be considered as superior until the two have been compared in experiments.

3. Buffered Creatine (Kre-Alkalyn)

This form includes an alkaline powder such as bicarbonate and product manufacturers claim that the addition of this powder or similar can reduce breakdown in the stomach and gut, instead preserving it to improve uptake into the muscle.

In 2012, a study essentially reported that subjects who took creatine monohydrate saw similar physical improvements to those who took the same amount of Kre-Alkalyn.

A further study directly comparing buffered and monohydrate forms found no differences in regards to effectiveness or side effects.

In both groups, strength and power increased, demonstrating that Kre-Alkalyn does not offer any substantial superiority over its monohydrate sibling.

Overall, while buffered forms weren’t worse than monohydrate forms in this study, they weren’t better either.

As Kre-Alkalyn has offered no leading advantage, plenty of critics argue that creatine monohydrate is still more favourable and reliable as it has a multitude of scientific studies surrounding it.

4. Creatine magnesium chelate

Magnesium creatine chelate is yet another form of creatine.

The theory behind MCC is that by using a different transporter (magnesium) to get the creatine to the muscle cells, less is lost in transport and broken down into the waste product creatinine.

As such, using magnesium creatine chelate can lead to greater absorption of creatine into muscle cells with less bloating and side effects associated with creatine monohydrate. However, this is largely just theoretical for now.

Its effects were examined in one study in which experts compared bench pressure and the performance of athletes divided into three groups.

The first group received creatine monohydrate, the second creatine magnesium chelate and the third group a placebo.

Both groups receiving the creatine saw equal improvements in performance over the placebo (fortunately for the supplement industry) but again, magnesium chelate provided no edge over monohydrate.

A fairly dated study from 2003 also suggested creatine magnesium chelate could improve physical performance without adding the weight of water that usually goes with creatine consumption.

This could be useful for athletes who are need to maintain a stable bodyweight.

However more studies need to be carried out before this can be proven as fact.

5. Creatine ethyl ester

This form contains an organic ester component. Manufacturers claim this gives it the edge with a better absorption rate than other forms and it also has a longer half life than normal creatine monohydrate.

Unfortunately science can’t back this up and studies are still inconclusive.

One study found that seven weeks of creatine ethyl ester replenishment actually resulted in a lower ratio of creatine in muscles and blood than by creatine monohydrate.

In addition to this, it can also lead to higher concentrations of the by-product creatinine in blood plasma.

Creatinine is processed by the kidneys as a waste product but it can be tough for them to process, and therefore the extended use of creatine ethyl ester is not recommended.

On the whole more studies need to be carried out in order for this form to be found reliable and claims of its benefits to be substantiated.

Most health professionals and knowledgeable athletes tend to recommend avoiding the ethyl ester form.

The Bottom Line

Creatine can improve strength, increase lean muscle mass, and help the muscles recover more quickly during exercise.

This muscular boost may help you to achieve bursts of speed and energy, especially during short bouts of high-intensity activities such as weight lifting or sprinting.

Research also indicates that taking creatine can reduce mental fatigue.

Despite the introduction of various new creatine products over the last few years, good old creatine monohydrate seems to still be the best option for most people.

Its high solubility and bioavailability make uptake efficient and its solubility issues seem to pale in comparison to issues with other forms.

However, there is some concern that creatine taken in high doses can be unsafe and cause damage to the liver, kidneys or heart.

Excess creatine ingestion can also cause painful muscle cramping, so always stay within the guideline amounts.