Creatine - From Mono to Kre-Alkalyn
There are many types of creatine on the market from the basic creatine monohydrate to the more advanced creatine ethyl ester (CEE), creatine alpha-ketoglurate (AKG) and kre-alkalyn. It can be confusing to figure out what the differences are, or even which type you are getting in your supplement - here is an overview, together with some example supplements.

Creatine Monohydrate
Creatine monohydrate is the most researched and popular sports supplement in the world. Monohydrate is the most basic form of creatine, and has been shown by large number of studies to increase performance and produce large muscle gains when used with a good training regime. Creatine monohydrate can be labelled as just `creatine` or as `creatine monohydrate` or even `micronized creatine monohydrate`. The micronized creatine has been ground into smaller particles which means it is absorbed better and generally produces less stomach upsets among sensitive users.

Creatine Monohydrate works by causing the muscles to absorb water from the surrounding tissues, and creates an immediate effect of larger muscle bulk, although this is a short term effect. A useful benefit of Creatine Monohydrate is that it is easily broken down into ATP (adenosine triphosphate), the most useful fuel for exercise. ATP is required by the muscles in order to contract effectively. ATP is stored in the cells, and used on demand. By supplementing the diet with creatine, you can ensure that your energy levels are high throughout the whole of your workout.

You may notice some creatine monohydrate labelled as `Creapure` - this indicates the source of the creatine in the supplement and as the name suggests, the purity of the creatine. Creapure is made by Degussa in Germany, Creapure is world-renowned to be the purest and best quality Creatine monohydrate available. Creapure is tested for purity and can be relied upon the be the most pure creatine monohydrate on the market.

Creatine Monohydrate Products

• Reflex Creapure Creatine (Caps)
• Reflex Creapure Creatine (Powder)
• SportSense Creatine Powder
• SportSense Creatine Capsules
• Sci-MX Creatine Monohydrate
• MET-Rx Pure Creatine Powder
• MET-Rx Pure Creatine (Caps)
• Muscle-Tech Cell-Tech Hardcore
• MET-Rx Creatine Blast
• Maximuscle Creatamax 300 (Powder)
• Maximuscle Creatamax 300 (Pills)
• PhD Micronized Creatine Monohydrate
• Gaspari Size-On

Creatine Ethyl Ester
Creatine Ethyl Ester HCL (CEE) is creatine monohydrate with an ester attached. Esters are organic compounds that are formed by esterification - the reaction of carboxylic acid and alcohols. Scientific studies have shown that standard creatine monohydrate is effective in increasing lean muscle mass muscle strength and athletic performance.

The problem with regular creatine monohydrate is though that it is poorly absorbed by the body - and its effectiveness is dependant upon the cells ability to absorb it. The poor absorption rate of regular creatine monohydrate requires the creatine user to ingest large dosages of creatine to achieve desired effect. Because creatine draws water to the cell, and because most ingested creatine monohydrate is not absorbed, unabsorbed creatine will sit outside of the target cell with the water, and this will result in the "creatine bloat."

When buying creatine ethyl ester you may see "CEE HCL" - the HCL stands for HydroChloric Acid. This is the most common form of creatine ethyl ester and some companies leave the HCL part out. One of the other great benefits of creatine ethyl ester is that they are common in tablet form (whereas monohydrate is usually powder).

Products with Creatine Ethyl Ester

• Sci-MX Creatine Ethyl Ester (Tablets)
• MET-Rx CEE AKG (Tablets)

Creatine AKG
Creatine-AKG is creatine attached to an Alpha-Keto-Glutarate molecule, this molecule was chosen because it is a "Krebs cycle intermediate" molecule - meaning it can easily enter muscle cells, bringing with it more creatine into the cells within your muscles. This means that there is more creatine within your muscles - and more creatine within your muscles means better performance, more reps and bigger muscles!

Products with Creatine AKG

• MET-Rx CEE AKG (Tablets)
• Gaspari Size-On

Kre-Alkalyn Creatine
Unlike standard creatine, Kre-Alkalyn is synthesised as a strong alkaline, which means it can effectively resist the stomach`s strong acidic environment and can therefore pass 100% intact into the bloodstream and ultimately also as full strength creatine into muscle tissue. This increased uptake efficiency means effects can be seen using as little as 1.5 - 3g per day, and due to the concentrated delivery of pure creatine in one go, there`s no need to load!

Products with Kre-Alkalyn

• Lonsdale Kre-Alkalyn
• Dorian Yates Creatine

Creatine Gluconate
As the name suggests creatine gluconate is creatine bonded to glucose - this increases creatine`s intestinal absorption because it is absorbed in the same way as a fast-digesting carb. Glucose also allows creatine to dissolve better in water and helps it enter muscle cells by increasing insulin release.

Products with Creatine Gluconate

• Gaspari Size-On
• MST CRE-02

Tri-Creatine Malate
Tri-creatine malate is a compound made from creatine monohydrate and malic acid. The substance is so named because the compound is made from three creatine molecules attached to one molecule of malic acid. Malic acid is involved in the Krebs energy cycle as an intermediate substance, and helps to provide energy to the body. When malic acid and creatine monohydrate form the compound Tri-creatine malate, the resulting product is more water-soluble than regular creatine monohydrate, eliminates the possibility of gastric disruption, and is more efficient at efficaciously impacting the ATP cycle. Furthermore, Tri-creatine malate is believed to offer greater bioavailability over regular creatine monohydrate.

Products with Tri-Creatine Malate

• MST CRE-02

Creatine Anhydrous
While not really a `new` type of creatine, creatint anhydrous does appear on the labels of some creatine products. Creatine anhydrous is just creatine with the water molecule removed - this provides a little more creatine (about 6%) than the same amount of creatine monohydrate, but no greater benefits.

Products with Creatine Anhydrous

• Muscle-Tech Cell-Tech Hardcore