Creatine Forms and Brands
1. Creatine Monohydrate
first of all, Creatine Monohydrate is definitely the most popular form of creatine. If you’ve never taken creatine or any supplement besides protein powder, It’s highly recommended from me that you start out with pure creatine monohydrate powder, and see how it works for you.
PROS
-It’s the cheapest creatine
-It has been under the most scientific studies than all other forms, and is proven to help with lean muscle gains.
CONS
-It is sometimes difficult on the stomach to digest, because it doesn’t easily disolve in water. (unless you buy micronized creatine monohydrate, which is more processed)
BRANDS
-Nutrex: VoluGro
-ABB Hardcore Essentials: Crea-Force
-MHP:Creaine Monohydrate
-Promora Health: Con-Cret
-Optimum Nutrition: Creatine 2500
2. Creatine Ethyl Ester (CEE)
CEE’s are another popular form of creatine, and is becoming much more popular.
PROS
-Your intestines will dissolve it much easier than monohydrate.
-You don’t need as much of it as you do monohydrate.
-It is absorbed by your muscle cells much better than monohydrate.
CONS
-A lot of research is still pending for CEE
BRANDS
-Dymatize: Xpand
-GNC Pro Performance: Amplified Creatine 189
-Optimum Nutrition: Vassive-CE
3. Magnesium Creatine
When creatine is absorbed by your muscle cells to produce ATP, magnesium is required to complete the process. It is also believed that creatine that had a magnesium molecule attached to it will be protected from harsh stomach acids.
PROS
-It’s absorbed better than creatine monohydrate
-Research shows that Magnesium Creatine shows more energy and strength gains than monohydrate.
CONS
-Like CEE, there is not as much research supporting this as there is behind creatine monohydrate.
BRANDS
-TwinLab: Creatine Nitrate3 Fuel
-Controlled Labs: Green MAGnitude
MY PREFERENCE….
So, personally, having tried all three of the mentioned forms of creatine, my favorite is number 3, Magnesium Creatine. Simply because I take Controlled Labs’ Green MAGnitude, I love it, I have great energy and strength gains from it, and it tastes great.
I would still recommend taking Creatine Monohydrate first, seeing how it works for you, and if you take it for a while and feel like you need something a little better, go for Green MAGnitude. But remember, Creatine is not a neccesity, and you can easily gain muscle mass without it. Supplements only supplement.
Green MAGnitude Controlled Creatine Matrix Volumizer, 1.8lb Apple