By James Wilson, MSS

Creatine monohydrate has long been the poster child for the "scientific" revolution behind the supplement industry. After years of washout products such as boron and smilax, creatine was the first true performance enhancing natural supplement and marked the beginning of scientifically based supplement formulations. However, despite creatine's tremendous success the supplement wizards have far from forgotten about it. Since it first hit the market in large quantities in 1994 creatine has seen several new supplements arrive that all promise to improve on the original. But have these newcomers really succeeded in making plain powdered creatine obsolete?

Walk into any health food store or visit any online nutrition site and you will be overwhelmed at all the forms and brands of creatine floating around now. The new millennium has dawned with effervescent creatine, micronized creatine, creatine transports and liquid creatine all having all taken their place on the shelves next to the original. All these new versions are significantly more expensive than the plain creatine as well. Are they worth it? Let's take a look at each and see.

• Creatine Transports - These were the first of the new generation of creatine. From the first time Bill Philips suggested in the pages of Muscle Media 2000 that we all mix our creatine in grape juice, the synergism between creatine and insulin has been well documented. By ingesting a high glycemic index (GI) carb with our creatine we induce an insulin spike which effectively drives more creatine into the muscles. Almost every supplement company has come out with some sort of creatine transport system, each quoting several studies that showed improved results from the creatine/ carb mixture. However, there is something that they are not telling you.
  
  These same studies that they quote when promoting their products also used as much as 3 times the carbs in the study as the supplement companies include in their formulations. The 30 or so grams that they include in their creatine transport is no where near the same amount used to produce the results in the studies they quote, yet no one seems to notice. One company, MuscleTech, has come out with a creatine transport that has close to the same amount use in the studies, and that is one reason I feel that they have the superior creatine transport on the market, but people also fail to see another small fact. They are paying significantly more for a creatine product simply to have someone mix their creatine with sugar. You can achieve the same results by buying the plain powdered creatine (a kilo now goes for less than $40 in most areas) and mixing it in Kool-Aid. Simply add 5 tablespoons of honey to it and you have a creatine transport that is nearly the same as used in the quoted studies at a fraction of the cost. However, there are some long term health concerns about the daily hammering of your pancreas with such large quantities of carbs, so if you are going to use this creatine product then cycle your use of it.
  
  
• Micronized Creatine - This was the next attempt at improving on the creatine concept. One of the main complaints of creatine users was that it did not dissolve well in liquid. Micronized creatine solved this problem by dissolving very quickly in almost any liquid. Some people who had problems stomaching regular creatine also found that this form was easier to tolerate. While manufacturers claimed that the micronized creatine was also absorbed better, this has turned out to be more hype than fact. While those who have trouble stomaching regular creatine might want to try this version it's benefits over regular creatine can be negated rather simply. Most people could bypass the micronized version by heeding the advice that has been given since day one for the solubility problem- mix your regular creatine in a warm beverage. The original creatine studies used tea or coffee as the liquid medium for creatine because it dissolved so well in the warm liquid. Doing this can accomplish the same thing as micronized creatine but at a lower cost.
  
  
• Liquid Creatine - This one popped its head up soon after creatine hit the market. When it became widely known that creatine can not remain stable in a regular liquid solution most liquid versions quickly went away. However, some manufacturers claim that new technology has allowed a liquid creatine supplement to become a reality. These same manufacturers claim that you do not need to consume as much creatine when taken in this form and that a loading phase is unnecessary. Several supplement experts feel that liquid creatine is still an impossibility, so the effectiveness of this form of creatine is highly debatable at best. Even if a liquid base has been developed that allows creatine to remain stable in it for extended periods of time once again this form is significantly more expensive than the original version. The question once again becomes "is it worth it"? While that is ultimately a personal decision, it is this authors opinion that it is not. Until a study is published that shows better results from the liquid version when compared head to head with a creatine transport that you can make at home for less I would once again recommend sticking with the original.
  
  
• Effervescent Creatine - The newest kid on the creatine block borrows from the same technology that makes Alka-Seltzer work so well. By combining creatine with the powerful medicinal delivery system of effervescence manufacturers claim to have fully solved the creatine absorption problem. Most supplement experts will agree that regular creatine absorption is rather poor, with an average of 2 grams absorbed out of a 5 gram dose. However, by using an effervescent delivery system reports indicate close to the entire 5 grams of a 5 gram dose is absorbed into the bloodstream. While on the surface this seems like the Holy Grail of creatine products, closer inspection shows it to be more smoke and mirrors than solid results.
  
  It has been demonstrated time and time again in laboratory creatine tests that around 66% of the creatine ingested is being excreted by the third day of the loading phase, yet creatine users continue to make gains after this point, and maintain them just fine with a 5-10 gram maintenance dose after the loading phase. The point is that your muscles can only hold so much extra creatine and regular creatine, and creatine transports seem to fill them up just fine. Delivering more creatine into your bloodstream does not mean that more creatine will enter your muscles, it simply means that more will be excreted through your urine. The effervescent version, like the micronized version, has been shown to be more tolerable for some than plain powdered creatine, but for everyone else it seems that effervescent creatine truly does give you the "expensive pee" that most uniformed doctors insist all supplements give you.
  

All this adds up to one thing- that we really have not been able to vastly improve on the original creatine product. The addition of carbs to your creatine has been the most significant development in the short history of these attempts but this can be accomplished rather simply at home. Canadian strength coach Charles Poliquin suggested one of the best homemade creatine transports I have seen. He mixes his creatine in a cup of warm caffeine-free tea (some reports indicate caffeine may interfere with creatine absorption) and adds 5 teaspoons of honey or 10 teaspoons of sugar to it. This helps with the solubility problem and incorporates a creatine transport system that is very close to those used in the original creatine/ carb studies.

Remember that magazine editors and supplement manufacturers feel that they have to keep you interested and entertained. This makes the development of "new and improved" supplements high on their priority list. This leaves you, the savvy supplement consumer, to critically analyze these new supplements and their claims for yourself. For the mean time, however, it seems our old friend, the original powdered creatine, is still your best buy.