Creatine has become a very popular and sports supplement today and is used by many athletes to improve their performance in high-intensity sports because its energy-inducing effects are undeniable, but the supplementation is highly dependent on a very high volume of ingestion to actually render these effects. As a result, popular supplement companies tend to include this name in products to raise the price, while in reality, many of them only include minimal amounts into the actual product.
Creatine is a molecule that is produced in the body that aids in providing energy for the cells through the mechanism for ATP synthesis by phosphorylation. Creatines’ role is carried out by a special kinase. This function is depicted by the following link:
-creatine involvement in ATP synthesis (by ctacac)
By supplementing diet with extra creatine, the idea is that there will be higher abundance of fuel for ATP synthesis which in turn will project a higher performance in high-energy demanding actions, Dr. Rutledge discusses these effects to a broad audience in the following interview:
Creatine discussion on nutrition (Dr. Rutledge)
The downside to this supplementation however comes down to the practice of how it must be taken. The most basic and trusted form of the compound is called creatine monohydrate. This compound readily forms an acidic bi-product called creatinine under the acidic conditions of the stomach. Thus only a fraction of the original desired molecule is actually absorbed. In effect, the only way to actually saturate the muscles with creatine is to ingest about 20g per day for about a week to compensate the loss to formation of the bi product. The acidic state of the stomach and its effect on creatine can be seen from the following illustration:
Creatine conversion to creatinine under pH (http://www.integratedsupplements.com/email/images/CreatineGraph.jpg) Howard et al.
Here we see that over time, ingested creatine monohydrate will indeed degrade, which in turn hinders its usefulness.
The dirty play by popular pre-workout brands is that they exploit the name of creatine to jack up prices, while most pre-workout products only contain 5-10g, hardly an effective dose for a single workout. One such example is given by ‘SuperPump Max’ by Gaspari Nutrition, where creatine is noted in their ‘propriety blend’:
SuperPump label (~11.3 grams of creatine) (http://www.nutritionwarehouse.com.au/upload/image/supering%281%29.jpg)
Gaspari Nutrition
This product is sold at about $50 for around 600g, which is quite expensive considering such a large serving size(16g). If the word on the street is that creatine should be loaded at 20g for about a week to reach effective levels, then what use is the small portion included in SuperPump other than to boost marketing and price?
Since this effective supplement may only be effective in high doses, the quality of products sold by major brands is very questionable when high prices are compared to the actual product. Thus the low potency of creatine monohydrate makes this supplement a case of pure quantity in that the desired effects of the product can only be achieved through a high intake over time. Clearly, is impossible to achieve through many pre-workout supplements that boast creatine in their labels, but fail to include adequate amounts.
-Surbinder Bolina
