Supplements 101: Creapure® Creatine

Creatine is one of the most beneficial supplements for athletes and health enthusiasts to add to their regimen. In the article Creatine: Exposing the Myths, we discussed the many benefits of creatine as well as debunked the many myths surrounding creatine. Today, we will discuss one of the most pure creatine monohydrates developed, Creapure® Creatine.

Brief Overview

Creatine is a substance found naturally in the human body and all other vertebrate animals. Creatine is essential to the transportation of energy within cells, most specifically muscle. Creatine serves as a reserve fuel for intensive anaerobic exercises (ATP). Athletes consume creatine to raise creatine content in their muscles and improve performance. More research over the past two decades also suggests that creatine is equally as important in aiding many other tissues in the human body, including the brain.

Most people synthesize roughly half of their daily creatine requirement in their own bodies, where the rest of our creatine has to come from food sources. Meat and fish are primarily the only dietary sources of creatine. Thus, vegetarians and those with unbalanced diets tend to have lower levels of creatine.

How Creapure is Made

Creapure® is developed by Alzchem AG in Germany and is one of the only creatine sources in the world developed outside of China. The facility follows strict pharmaceutical and food industry standards including Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP). These two quality standards ensure both the quality of the manufacturing process and the process of identifying and eliminating sources of contamination or process upsets in the production chain. AlzChem follows both GMP and HACCP procedures to make Creapure® creatine monohydrate via a patented process from sarcosine and cyanamide. AlzChem has written protocols for every process step and has a full analysis of every product batch using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) before it is released for shipping, resulting in a product of consistently high purity.

Independent testing has revealed that many Chinese source of creatine may have less purity and/or contain higher amounts of contaminants such as dicyandiamide, dihydrotriazine, or creatinine, a converted form of creatine. Thus the best sources seem to come from the US or Germany.

Safety of Creapure®

AlzChem sponsored a wide range of clinical trials with animals and human subjects to prove the safety of supplementation with Creapure®. In addition to the classic toxicological tests, Creapure® has been investigated in more than 50 clinical trials. As part of this research, people of all ages tested Creapure® in sports and non-sports applications over a period of more than 21 months without experiencing any side-effects.

Not All Creatines are Created Equal

Nearly all studies on creatine supplementation have evaluated pharmacologic grade creatine monohydrate in powder form. Due to the popularity of creatine as a supplement, many companies have created and now market different forms of creatine. These include creatine candy, liquid creatine, creatine ethyl ester (CEE), creatine citrate, effervescent creatine, kre-alkalin® creatine (alkaline creatine), creatinol-O-phosphate, creatine malate, and many other simple creatine salts. The companies that market these forms of creatine claim their superiority to creatine monohydrate, but the truth is that none of these forms of creatine have proven to increase muscle cell uptake of creatine better than creatine monohydrate.

There have been a few published studies that compare the ergogenic value of select types of creatine to that of creatine monohydrate, with all results indicating that yes these creatine forms can improve athletic performance and exercises capacity, but they are at best equal to those effects from the use of creatine.

The Bottom Line

When you are looking to purchase creatine products there are a few things to keep in mind:

1.  First and foremost, with any supplement or food you ingest, quality control standards should be at the top of your list of priorities. This goes from the production of the final product all the way back to the production and handling of the raw materials. The manufacturer of creatine you choose should be tested and audited by 3^rd parties to verify safety and purity.

2.  Not all creatines are the same and do not result in the same effects. There are many companies that will market that they have the latest and newest creatine or have creatine from over 5 different sources in their product, but when you breakdown the science and studies, creatine monohydrate always comes on top.  Many of these newer forms of creatine also tend to be much more expensive than creatine monohydrate. 

GI Nutrition has partnered with AlzChem AG to feature Creapure® creatine monohydrate in all products that contain creatine. Ideal Pump began featuring Creapure in January 2012 and a new and improved Ideal Recovery set to launch in Winter 2012 will also feature Creapure® creatine monohydrate.

References and other notable reads:

I hear this question over and over, "I just starting working out, do I need the same nutrients as an experienced athlete?" And the answer is, "YES!" All athletes whether they are male or female, young or old, novice or advanced, need to feed their bodies with the proper nutrients to support a healthier more energetic lifestyle.

First and foremost you need to understand a few things. First, two of the most important nutrients, protein and water, are also nutrients that your body cannot store. Thus, its vital that all athletes are consuming adequate amounts of both protein and water throughout the entire day. This means drinking water when you wake up, before exercise, during exercise, and after exercise (I will be talking about proper hydration and fluid consumption in my next blog post). Timing for protein consumption is also extremely critical. Its very important to have protein first thing in the morning during breakfast, after you workout, and possibly after dinner as well. The source of protein can come from a lean meats such as turkey and chicken, beef, eggs, nuts or a high quality protein shake.

As a new athlete, your body undergoes neuroadaptation during the first 4-6 weeks of training. What this means is that your nervous system is processing and getting used to this new training and weight movement. It is vital that your nervous system and muscles receive the proper nutrients to recover during this period. That means eating healthy and making sure you are consuming enough protein throughout the day. Secondly, provide your muscles with essential amino acids, which includes branched chain amino acids (BCAA). Essential amino acids are amino acids that the body cannot store and thus need to be consumed from your diet. Clinical research has shown that intake of essential amino acids help increase protein synthesis, increase muscle strength, increase muscle recovery, and delay muscle fatigue.

Finally, just remember to keep in mind the basics that some people tend to overlook. This includes sleeping right, drinking enough water, eating smart throughout the day, and training properly. Then you can incorporate supplements to increase your nutrient intake. These steps will lead you into the right direction of becoming both a healthier individual and better athlete. 

Question from Tim S.:

Dr. Tom –

So what’s all the hype about creatine? Bodybuilders swear by it, athletes take it, but others tell me to stay away from it because, “it’s going to make me bloated and all bulked up”. Would love to hear your thoughts on creatine and if you recommend it to you athletes. Thanks!

Tim, I am asked this question countless times from athletes, coaches, and parents. Whether it is how and when to properly take creatine or all the false rumors that have surfaced over time, creatine has become a controversial topic for all athletes.

I want to clear the air about creatine and let you know the real truth to why creatine is one of the most useful and important supplements for athletes.

This video will break down why you need creatine, when you need to take creatine, and what is the importance of creatine. Throughout this educational video, I will be referencing the Bible of Sports Nutrition, Essentials of Sports Nutrition and Supplements. 

To recap this video:

• Creatine is our source of energy for high intensity, short duration excercies, usually in the 0-6 second range. This includes weight weight lifting and sprinting.

• Helps keep glycogen in the muscles, which entails less fatigue and more energy, making your performance in the gym and on the field more productive and effective.

• Weight gain associated with creatine is not water weight, but increase lean body mass. This helps increase performance and training, because of having more available muscles.

• Cycling? There are conflicting reports on the effectiveness of it. I personally believe doubling your daily dose for 3 days will help load creatine into your muscle cells.

Recommended Creatine Products:

• Ideal Recovery – A great post workout product that contains creatine. What makes this product unique and so great is that it also contains glutamine and a bunch of essential amino acids, including branched chain amino acids (BCAAs). The synergistic effect of taking all these amino acids together provides a metabolic and recovery advantage.

• Ideal Pump – A great pre workout product that contains creatine. Preloads your body with creatine to help improve muscular endurance and strength before training. Want to load up on your creatine levels for 2-3 days? Add 1 serving of Ideal Recovery to your Ideal Pump for a few days (Note: this is in addition to the 1-2 servings you will take post workout).

Look Better, Feel Better, Live Better,

Dr. Tom

Leave us a comment below and share your thoughts on creatine with our readers!

One of the most overlooked aspects of training is correctly utilizing nutrient timing in order to provide your body with the proper nutrients before, during, and after a workout. I have put together four short videos that breakdown the importance of nutrient timing and how it will make you a better athlete. During these videos, I will be referencing one of my favorite books, Nutrient Timing, by Dr. John Ivy and Dr. Robert Portman. I highly recommend it to all athlete, strength coach, or nutritionist.

Nutrient Timing: Overview

My first video is the Basic Theory of Nutrient Timing. Here I explain what the basic principles of nutrient timing are and their importance to you.

Nutrient Timing: Pre-Workout

The first step of nutrient timing is preparing your body with the proper amount of fuel before a workout. In this video I breakdown the key components of the pre-workout stage of nutrient timing and how GI Nutrition’s Focus Food and Ideal Pump can fit into your training program.

Nutrient Timing: During Workout – Energy Phase

This next video breaks down my trick to a faster recovery and how to spare muscle glycogen during your workout. GI Nutrition’s Ideal Whey, as well as dextrose, can be utilized during this phase.

Nutrient Timing: Post Workout – Anabolic Phase

Finally, your workout is over…now what? This is a critical time to provide your muscle with quality amino acids and carbohydrates. To continue this anabolic process, you want to feed your muscles with whey protein and some quality carbohydrates, such as dextrose.

How to use GI Nutrition Products for Proper Nutrient Timing:

75-90 minutes before workout: Focus Food

15-30 minutes before workout: Ideal Pump

During Workout: Ideal Whey & Dextrose

Immediately After Workout: Ideal Recovery

15-40 minutes after workout: Ideal Whey & Dextrose

Implementing the proper timing of nutrients will undoubtedly provide you with immediate results in performing at a higher level with faster recovery and building muscle faster.

Do no overlook the importance of keeping your body fueled with proper nutrients. An easy way to understand the importance of proper nutrient timing is to compare your body to a sports car. To ensure that your car runs smoothly and for a long period of time, you provide regular maintenance, oil changes, gas fill-ups, and new tires on a continued basis to minimize the chances of it ever breaking down or performing below its ability. The same goes with your body. Providing your muscles with the proper nutrients on a continued and regular basis will minimize the chances of breaking down and performing less than your potential. Implementing these simple steps to proper timing of nutrients will undoubtedly provide you with immediate results in performing at a higher level with faster recovery and better results.

Look Better, Feel Better, Live Better,

Dr. Tom

I am Dr. Tom Bilella, and welcome to my blog, “Dr. Tom’s Corner”.  I just wanted to take the time to introduce myself to all of you and give you some insight of what to expect from my blog.

Right now there are hundreds, possibly thousands of online websites and blogs that claim they are experts in nutrition and know everything there is to know about it. Then you take a look at the credentials of the people writing these blogs and they have little to no experience in the industry. This is outrageous! Don’t get me wrong, not everything out there is garbage, but unfortunately the good is far outnumbered by the bad.

By no means am I saying that I know everything there is to know about nutrition, but I have seen and experienced a lot over the past 22 years. It has been my life’s purpose to help as many people as I can live a healthier and more productive lifestyle. I hold 5 degrees in nutritional sciences including a Master’s degree and being a Certified Sports Nutritionist. I have consulted over 75,000 clients throughout my professional career and I am an accomplished Natural Bodybuilder (1995 Mr. N.J Overall) and strength athlete (Bench Press). Also, I serve as the team nutritionist for the New York Jets.

I am going to do my best to have an educational video accompany every post I make allowing for an easy to follow explanation of everything I write. So over the next few weeks I will be posting articles and educational videos in regards to some of the most commonly asked questions about better nutrition and smarter supplementation. After that, I am looking to answer your questions! I will be updating my blog a few times a month and if there is something that you may want me to answer, ask it, and I may just feature it in one of my blogs. You can submit all you questions to drtom@ginutrition.net.

Lastly, I want to leave you with two videos to get you started with. The first is a quick background on me and the second is an introduction to nutrition.

We are a community, here to help each other, and spread the word of better nutrition and living a healthier lifestyle. So if you like a post or a video, share it with your friends!

“Look Better, Feel Better, Live Better”

Dr. Tom