Creatine is a substance that is often used to help improve athletic performance. It is sold in different formulations as a powder, pill and serum. Some formulations mix creatine with HMB, protein, or other popular-weight training supplements. Serum formulations have been shown to be less effective than powders or pills.
Where To Buy
Your body produces about 2mg of creatine per day. Red meat products also contain some creatine. People who are concerned with general fitness do not need to supplement their diet with creatine, but for athletes or serious weight trainees, creatine can be found in nearly all stores that sell nutritional supplements. There are also a variety of online retailers who sell creatine. Some of these retailers make their own creatine, or even customize your order if you want it mixed with HMB or other supplements.
Function
Performing highly intense activity, such as sprinting, requires high amounts of adenosine triphosphate, or ATP. This substance is used as energy for muscle contractions. After ATP is used in muscle contraction, it loses a phosphate and becomes andenosine diphosphate, ADP. Higher amounts of creatine in the muscle have been shown to enable more ATP to be produced quickly. Supplementing with creatine can increase muscle creatine stores, which enables a few more seconds of highly intense activity to be completed before performance deteriorates.
Benefits of Capsules
Creatine was originally sold in powder form, then capsules became available. Capsules have two major advantages over powder: They are more portable than powder, which is helpful for people who travel frequently. Powder also become portable by placing a dose in a small plastic bag or other container, but not all of the powder comes out of the storage device, which reduces the dose. Capsules also don't need to be mixed in a liquid like powder does, so they can be taken at just about any time.
Benefits of Powder
Creatine in powder form is more popular than creatine in pill form. It can be easily mixed with other powder supplements in a post-workout or pre-workout beverage. It is also better absorbed, but should be taken with a "sugary" beverage to help absorption, since it increases insulin levels. Capsules have to dissolve in your stomach before the creatine can begin to be absorbed. This reduces the effect of consuming the creatine with a sugary beverage. Powdered creatine has been used in more scientific studies investigating creatine than other forms, according to Buyingcreatine.com. An article in the "Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition" from 2007 states that creatine use has been shown to be safe in scientific studies. Since creatine has been used in more studies than other forms, and creatine in general has been proven save, you can have confidence that powder creatine in general is safe as a supplement.
Relative Cost of Dosage
The standard dosage for creatine is 5mg per day, or about 1 tsp. If you consume creatine in capsule form, you need to take up to six large pills to ingest 5mg, depending on the manufacturer. It is not uncommon to find quality powder creatine selling for approximately $20 for 2.2 lbs which comes to about 20 cents per serving. Creatine capsules typically cost about $20 for 240 pills. This equals about $2 per serving, making it 10 times more expensive than powder creatine. A review on creatine in the "Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition" in 2007 says that only 3mg of creatine per day might be necessary. Even at this dosage, three capsules will still need to be taken per day, and the relative cost is still high compared to powder.
References
- Buying Creatine: Should I Buy Creatine Powder or Creatine Pills?
- "Journal of The International Journal of Sports Nutrition"; Position Stand: Creatine Supplementation and Exercise; Thomas Buford, Richard Kreider, Jeffrey Stout, Mike Greenwood; August 2007
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