10 Best Creatine Brands

01		Pure Encapsulations Creatine Powder
02		NutraBio 100% Pure Creatine Monohydrate
03		Thorne Research Creatine
04		NOW Foods Creatine Monohydrate
05		Integrated Supplements Pure Creatine
06		Swanson Premium Creatine Powder
07		Bulk Supplements Creatine Monohydrate
08		Myprotein Creatine Monohydrate
09		Optimum Nutrition Micronized Creatine Powder
10		Naked Nutrition Naked Creatine
11		GAT Creatine
12		Muscle Feast Premium Creapure Creatine
13		Sheer Strength Labs Sheer Creatine
14		Puritan’s Pride Fitness Creatine Monohydrate Powder
15		Jarrow Formulas Creatine Monohydrate
16		Dymatize Nutrition Micronized Creatine
17		MRM Creatine Monohydrate 1000
18		Universal Nutrition Creatine Monohydrate Powder
19		Controlled Labs Creamore
20		Pro Supps Creatine
21		Doctor’s Best Creatine Powder
22		NutraKey Creatine Monohydrate
23		Iron-Tek Essential Creatine Monohydrate
24		Nutricost Creatine Monohydrate
25		BodyTech 100% Pure Creatine Monohydrate
26		Gaspari Nutrition Qualitine
27		MAN Sports Creatine
28		MTS Nutrition Creapure Creatine
29		Douglas Laboratories Creatine Monohydrate
30		Cellucor COR-Performance Creatine
31		ISS Research Complete Creatine Power
32		APS Nutrition Creatine Monohydrate
33		Natures Best Perfect Creatine Monohydrate
34		Beachbody Performance Creatine
35		Betancourt Nutrition Creatine Micronized
36		Source Naturals Athletic Series Creatine Powder
37		Vitacost ARO Black Series Creatine Raw
38		Athletic Xtreme German Creatine
39		PROMIX Micronized Creatine Monohydrate
40		Prolab Creatine Monohydrate
41		AST Sports Science Micronized Creatine Monohydrate
42		GNC Pro Performance Creatine Monohydrate 5000
43		NutriForce Sports Creatine
44		AllMax Nutrition Micronized Creatine Monohydrate
45		Biochem Ultimate Creatine Monohydrate
46		USN Pure Creatine
47		Primaforce CreaForm Creatine Monohydrate
48		Nutrex Creatine Drive
49		BSN Creatine DNA
50		Pure Encapsulations Kre-Alkalyn Capsules
51		True Athlete Kre Alkalyn Powder
52		Bulk Supplements Creatine Ethyl Ester HCL (CEE)
53		PEScience TruCreatine
54		Kirkman Labs Creatine
55		Mutant Creakong
56		Bulk Supplements Creatine HCL
57		Muscle Feast Creatine HCl
58		Kaged Muscle Creatine HCl
59		Best Naturals Creatine Monohydrate
60		CON-CRET Creatine HCL
61		Ultimate Nutrition Creatine Monohydrate
62		Piping Rock Creatine Monohydrate Powder
63		MET-Rx Creatine 4200
64		MuscleTech Platinum 100% Creatine
65		Forzagen Creatine Monohydrate
66		RSP Nutrition Creatine Monohydrate
67		EAS Myoplex Creatine
68		Life Extension Creatine Capsules
69		TwinLab Creatine Fuel Stack
70		Axis Labs Creatine Ethyl Ester
71		Controlled Labs Green Bulge
72		OhYeah! Creatine Power
73		Fitmiss Creatine
74		AI Sports Nutrition Micronized Creatine
75		Genomyx Creatine Monohydrate
76		Ronnie Coleman Signature Series Creatine-XS
77		XPI Decacor High-Performance Creatine Complex
78		Seeking Health Optimal Creatine
79		Metabolic Nutrition C.G.P.
80		MusclePharm Creatine Black
81		Universal Nutrition Creatine Chews
82		CTD Sports Kre-Alkalyn
83		CytoSport Monster Creatine
84		All American EFX Kre-Alkalyn Creatine Capsules
85		Beast Sports Nutrition Creature Powder
86		Finaflex Creatine Energy
87		Bill Phillips Strongevity Rx
88		Beverly International Creatine Select
89		Controlled Labs Green Magnitude
90		MuscleTech Creatine ATP SX-7
91		MuscleTech Creactor
92		MET-Rx Advanced Creatine Blast
93		MHP CRE5 Super Creatine Complex
94		Betancourt Nutrition Plus Series Creatine Plus
95		Six Star Pro Nutrition Elite Series Creatine X3
96		Cellucor CN3
97		BPI Sports Best Creatine
98		Arnold Schwarzenegger Series Iron CRE3
99		Body Fortress Super Advanced Creatine
100		MuscleTech Cell Tech

Summary

All Benefits/Effects/Facts & Information

Creatine is a naturally occurring molecule that is produced in the body, and predominately occurs in the liver, kidneys, and to a lesser extent in the pancreas. Creatine can also be found in foods such as meat, fish, and eggs.

The body stores roughly 95% of all creatine in the skeletal muscle. The remaining 5% is distributed in the brain, liver, and kidneys.

Creatine supplementation has been shown to improve overall health and increase physical performance.

Athletes and healthily individuals supplement creatine to help build and maintain lean muscle mass, improve both cognitive and physical performance, and to delay fatigue.

Creatine supplementation is not just for the serious weight lifter, creatine has been shown to be immensely beneficial for cognitive function.

Things to Know

Also Known As

Creatine monohydrate, Creatine Nitrate, Micronized Creatine, Creatine Magnesium Chelate, Buffered Creatine, Creatine Hydrochloride, Creatine Malate, Creatine Pyruvate, Creatine Citrate, Creatine Ethyl Ester, Liquid Creatine

Things to note

Creatine supplements are most effective at the 3g – 5g creatine/serving. Research shows that this is an adequate amount efficacious enough to store and replenish creatine stores within the body.

• Research shows that creatine monohydrate is the most effective formulation of creatine and is the form most recommended by physicians. Studies show that atleast 2 grams of creatine is needed by the body daily to maintain muscle mass, cognition, and strength. The body naturally produces 1g of creatine daily and based on this research at-least 2 extra grams of creatine should be consumed through supplementation or diet.
• Creatine monohydrate is touted to be the most effective form of creatine. This is because the majority of clinical research studies use creatine monohydrate during testing.

• Supplementing creatine improves aerobic endurance performance too. Studies show that training or exercises that last longer than 150s (sprinting, long distance running, rowing, etc) are positively effected.
• Regularly supplementing creatine has shown to have positive effects on strength, power output, body composition, and cognitive (brain) function.
• Creatine supplementation protocol consists of a loading phase of 20 grams of creatine per day that is split into 4 daily intakes of 5 grams evenly ingested at 3 hour intervals, followed by a maintenance phase where 3-5 grams is supplemented daily for the duration of the supplementation period. This protocol of supplementation has been found to be the most effective way of starting creatine supplementation.
• Another supplementation protocol that you can follow is the daily single dose of 3 – 5 grams or between 0.03 to 0.1 g/kg per day, however this method takes longer ( between 21-28 days) to produce the intended physical performance, stamina, or recovery effects.

• Creatine monohydrate is the most popular form of the supplement, preferably on its own, without any additional ingredients. Additional ingredients like sugar, magnesium, or other ingredients touted to improve absorption have not been shown to improve effectiveness.
• 3g – 5g of top quality creatine monohydrate daily is realistically the best and only way to supplement creatine

Considered Cheating?

No; not at all. Creatine has no relation to steroids.  Creatine is at very well researched supplement that is used by a majority of professional fitness models and athletes.

When Should I Take It? Should I Cycle Off It? Do I Need To Load It?

Creatine takes a bit of time to store in the system and start producing results. As long as you’re taking it daily, there is no extra benefit to taking it post-workout or pre-workout. Just take it daily, whenever. Taking it after a workout will help build the habit of not forgetting to supplement creatine.

A common question we found on forums and blogs was whether or not you should cycle off creatine, the the answer to that is no. There is no benefit or harm in cycling on or off.

Loading creatine will increase the benefits you see slightly quicker. Its not a requirement of creatine supplementation its not necessary. However, if you want to see benefits faster, loading creatine is the way to go.

Type of creatine – Take creatine monohydrate or micronized creatine monohydrate.

Brand – With the hundred or so different brands to choose from, make sure the brand has a strong reputation. Going with a top brand is the safest way to ensure a quality product.

Serving Dosage – From our research you need at least 3 to 5 grams of creatine daily. If you’re not hitting this mark you probably won’t see any benefit from creatine and may just end up wasting your time and money.

Amount of servings – The top creatine supplements are going to have enough servings for atleast 2-3 months worth of supplementation. 2-3 months of supplementation gives creatine adquate amount of time to get adjusted to your body.

Mix-Ability – Mix-ability is huge. If the powder isn’t mixing correctly you could be leaving a majority of the creatine at the bottom of your cup. So lets just avoid that and go with a micronized creatine (tends to mix easier than non-micronized).

• Container – Make sure the container is air tight . This will keep your creatine from clumping.
• Measuring tool – Make sure you’re measuring out accurate dosages using either your own method or the tool usually found within the creatine container.

Choosing the right creatine supplement is not complicated. Stick to the respected brands, buy from a trusted source (like amazon) and choose a product that has creatine monohydrate. Avoid products with a ton of fillers, additives, and flavoring.

How To Take

Recommended dosage, active amounts, other details

A typical creatine dosage is 2,000 mg – 5,000 mg daily.

Drinking sufficient amounts of water is a must if you choose to supplement creatine. Stomach cramping may occur with dehydration. This will be a key indicator that you need to increase your water consumption.