Arguably the most important supplement and athlete can take, Creatine supplementation can literally be a game changer in the gym, on the field, or during any other physically demanding endeavor you embark on. The market is flooded with dozens of different Creatine products which makes finding the best Creatine supplement difficult to say the least.
After the successful introduction of Creatine Monohydrate in the 1990’s, supplement companies have been chomping at the bit, trying to further the evolution of Creatine supplementation. To date there numerous variations of Creatine currently on the market:
Creatine Monohydrate – Creatine is a metabolite; it is basically composed of three important amino acids namely l-methionine, l-arginine and l-glycine. It is naturally found in the skeletal and muscular system as well as small creatine stores in the brain, heart and in the testes.
Micronized Creatine Monohydrate – Micronized creatine monohydrate is nothing but pure creatine monohydrate powder. This type of creatine was formulated because creatine monohydrate does not fully dissolve in water or in any kind of liquid.
Creatine Hydrochloride – is 59 times more absorbent and has been tested to be more effective than other creatine forms like creatine ethyl ester and kre-alkalyn.
Creatine Phosphate – Creatine phosphate is also called phosphocreatine (Pcr), is an organic compound and a form of creatine.
Creatine Citrate – Creatine citrate is a creatine molecule attached to a citric acid molecule.
Creatine Ester Ether – An ester is attached to creatine that enables the creatine compound to be absorbed by the muscle cells much easier than its predecessors.
Creatine Malate – Creatine malate is a form of creatine that is bonded to Malic acid.
Creatine Magnesium Chelate – Creatine is bonded to magnesium that makes it easily absorbed by the muscle cells.
Kre Alkalyn – It has a pH buffered formulation that is efficient enough to be used even in smaller amounts. You don’t need to build up you creatine stores to grow larger and stronger muscles with Kre-Alkalyn.
Most of the information that can be found regarding these variations are marketing ads that come direct from the manufacturers themselves and they’re the ones trying to sell you the product! Since many of these variations do not have a lot of (if any) independent scientific studies to support their validity, taking one of these variations is literally like rolling the dice. That’s not to say that they do not work. Many variations seem to be more effective than others based on particular additives, manufacturing methods, and overall value. I personally like Micronized Creapure Creatine, however, because there are so many brands and variations out there, try every single brand out there would become a full time job. Creatine HCl and Creatine Magnesium Chelate both seem to be the most recommended variations of Creatine Monohydrate amongst many of the testimonials ive read.
But still, there had to be a way to determine what the best Creatine supplement is.
So after spending countless hours of sifting through all the marketing hype, bias, and straight up lies, what emerged were some commonalities that could help me better determine which ones stand out from the rest.
So staying true to form, I’ve decided to put together a list of the top 10 best Creatine supplements currently on the market based on 5 major categories that when combined together, form the best Creatine supplement you can get your hands on.
The 5 major ranking categories that make up the best Creatine supplement are:
- Purity– Often overlooked, the purity of your Creatine is important because if careful attention is not paid to filtering out impurities then over time the slight impurities will begin to have an adverse effect on your body. We don’t want that.
- Muscle Absorption– Perhaps the most critical and most controversial aspect of Creatine supplements is how much of the supplement is actually absorbed into your muscles. If you ingest a Creatine supplement and you just expel most of it then what’s the point of taking it to begin with?
- ATP Synthesis– Adenosine TriPhosphate, or ATP Synthesis refers to the ability of the Creatine supplement to harness energy for your cells, therefore increasing your ability to lift heavier weights, run faster, jump higher, etc… This category refers to the Creatine supplement’s potential ability to increase your power output.
- Side Effects– Another controversial aspect of Creatine are the potential side-effects to supplementing with it. More common side-effects are bloating, dehydration, and gastrointestinal distress.
- Overall Value– This category is self-explanatory. What is the overall value of the supplement and is it worth the price?
Top 10 Best Creatine Supplement
#1 – Beast Sports Nutrition: Creature Powder
Quick Review:
Coming in at the #1 position is Creature Powder. This Creatine blend of 4 different Creatines include: Creapure® Brand Creatine Monohydrate, Creatine Magna-Power® Brand Of Creatine Magnesium Chelate, Creatine Alpha-Ketoglutarate, Creatine Anhydrous, & Vanadium Citrate. The Magnesium bonded element included in Creature Powder increase muscle absorption levels while the Creatine AKG boost ATP output levels. This is a top-notch Creatine supplement that is great for athletes, bodybuilders, and non-responders that have difficulties with Creatine absorption. You can also read the full Creature Powder Review for more detailed information.
Buy Beast Sports Nutrition: Creature Powder
#2 – MusclePharm: Creatine
Quick Review:
Coming in at #2 is MusclePharm’s new Creatine supplement. This supplement is has an impressive 5 Creatine blend that include: Creapure, Creatine AAB, Di Creatine Malate, Creatine Nitrate, Con-Cret® Creatine HCl (100% Concentrated Creatine), Cinnulin PF®. Creapure has become the new standard in monohydrate due to its incredible purity and can be found as the main ingredient in Muscle Pharm’s Creatine. Di Creatine Malate increases bioavailability, while Creatine HCl increases absorption levels. This 5 pronged approach to Creatine should deliver all the necessary Creatine to your muscles.
Buy MusclePharm: Creatine
#3 – Athletic Edge Nutrition: Creatine RT
Quick Review:
Creatine RT is a new Creatine supplement from Athletic Edge Nutrition. It is comprised of Creapure® (Creatine Monohydrate), Taurine, and Russian Tarragon Extract. At first glance, it may not seem to exciting, however adding Russian Tarragon Extract to Creatine has been shown to drastically increase Creatine uptake into the muscles, much like Simple Carbs. only without the extra calories. At 6.54g per serving you’re getting about 20 servings per canister which is on the lower side compared to many of the others, but were Creatine RT lacks in servings, it makes up for it by utilizing Creapure Creatine and a fantastic delivery system.
Buy Athletic Edge Nutrition: Creatine RT
#4 – ProMera Health: Con-Cret
Quick Review:
Con-Cret is a new type of Creatine that utilizes Creatine Hydrocloride which is said to be a stronger and more potent form of Creatine. Unlike standard Creatine Monohydrate, Creatine HCl does not require a loading phase nor do you need to cycle the product which makes this form of Creatine desirable indeed. Because of its concentration, taking large amounts of Con-Cret is not necessary which makes taking this product convenient as well as having the benefit of accurately taking the right amount based on bodyweight. I’ve read some positive feedback from many who have taken this product, however there isn’t much independent research to back its claims so the jury is still out regarding it.
Buy ProMera Health: Con-Cret
#5 – Controlled Labs: Green MAGnitude
Quick Review:
Perhaps one of the oldest Creatine supplements out of the bunch, Green MAGnitude has proven itself to be an effective Creatine supplement. Green MAGnitude consists of: Magnesium Creatine Chelate, 2CM™ Dicreatine Malate, Betaine Anhydrous, L-Taurine, and L-Tyrosine. Utilizing Magnesium in one form of Creatine and Malic Acid in another, absorption levels into the muscles are increased compared to standard Creatine Monohydrate making ATP synthesis a huge plus. Betaine Anhydrous is used to regulate toxic byproducts and including L-Taurine and L-Tyrosine increases protein synthesis.
Buy Controlled Labs: Green MAGnitude
#6 – Nutrex: Volu-Gro
Quick Review:
Volu-Gro by Nutrex utilizes Creatine Monohydrate as its only source of Creatine which makes it a safe bet, but what makes Volu-Gro an even better than standard Creatine Monohydrate is the inclusion of Waxy Maize and its Electrolyte blend. With the inclusion of Waxy Maize, the Creatine Monohydrate has better absorption properties which increase the uptake of both Creatine and Glycogen into the muscles. I’m always a fan of including Electrolytes into any workout supplement for hydration purposes and including it into a Creatine Monohydrate based supplement is wise.
Buy Nutrex: Volu-Gro
#7 – Optimum: Micronized Creatine Powder
Quick Review:
Optimum Nutrition makes some great no-frills supplements. What you see is what you get here with their Micronized Creatine Powder supplement. They use the patented Creapure method of Creatine Monohydrate, but also take it one step further by Micronizing the Creatine. By using micronized Creapure Creatine you get a more pure version on Creatine that absorbs much quicker into the muscles. Another great aspect of this product is that it comes in 5 different sizes which greatly increase affordability to anyone who is on a budget. If you’re a fan of Creatine Monohydrate and want to steer clear of the newer Creatines than this is your Creatine.
Buy Optimum: Micronized Creatine Powder
#8 – Betancourt Nutrition: Creatine Chewies
Quick Review:
Creatine Chewies? Yep, you read right. Perhaps this will be a growing trend in the future but when I first noticed Betancourt’s Creatine Chewies I was like “WTF?” But actually, if you think about it, what a great idea! They are convenient, portable, and actually work just as good as an equivalent powdered version. Creatine Malate is the primary version of Creatine used which is said to increase ATP levels more than standard Monohydrate and with the inclusion of simple carbs., uptake is at its peak. The pack that it comes in offers 3 different flavors in the pack and will run you about $.086 per serving. Give’em a try, they work well and they can change up the same boring routine.
Buy Betancourt Nutrition: Creatine Chewies
#9 – AST: Micronized Creatine
Quick Review:
Micronized Creatine is a better, safer, and more efficient version of Creatine Monohydrate because it’s surface area is 20 times smaller. AST Micronized Creatine’s smaller particle size means quicker digestion and faster utilization. AST Sports Science Micronized Creatine mixes easier and stays in solution. Regular creatine powder drops to the bottom of the glass even before you are finished stirring which can leave a gritty taste in your mouth and may lead to stomach upset. With 110 servings per container, AST’s Micronized Creatine is a great value and will get the job done right.
Buy AST: Micronized Creatine
#10 – Integrated Supplements: 100% Creapure Creatine Monohydrate
Quick Review:
Completing my list of the top 10 Creatine supplements is 100% Creapure Creatine Monohydrate. I included this supplement for a few reasons. The first reason is that many people like to stick to what works and no other supplement has more research done on it than good ole Creatine Monohydrate, but what makes this Monohydrate different is that it is the purest version you can get. At 99.99% pure you know you’re getting a supplement that has no impurities or fillers. The next reason why I encluded this supplement is that at 1000g per canister you get a whopping 200 servings! That’s $0.14 per serving. You get cheap, high quality Creatine. What more do you want?
Buy Integrated Supplements: 100% Creapure Creatine Monohydrate
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