Creatine Serum = Fake?

[willpharmd]

Here's an email I got. Decide for yourself.

Dave's Power Store News

Creatine Serum By Alan E. Shugarman, M.S., R.D.

Creatine has been on the market for 8 years now and it does not appear to be going away any time soon. One thing that has changed is the various ways in which you can buy your creatine. There are bars, powders, chews, gums, candies, effervescent, and even serums. Most of the delivery methods mentioned are legitimate ways in which to get your creatine since they are all variations on the powdered form. The last one mentioned, serum, appears to be less than legitimate. Let's have a look at the evidence for and against this creatine delivery form. Have you tried creatine serum? It will cost you about thirty five bucks to purchase a bottle containing a one month supply of the so-called "only liquid creatine supplement on the market". If you check their web site (www.creatine.com) they employ numerous scare tactics to attempt to get you not to buy the less expensive powder. These amount to mostly unsubstantiated scare tactics on the part of the company. In case you don't read the actual scientific literature, creatine powder has been studied much more than creatine serum. In fact there have been exactly ZERO studies on this product published in peer reviewed scientific journals. It never ceases to amaze me when small companies with one trick ponies put out a product that is hyped but unproven get people to actually buy the product. For the record let's look at what a qualified Ph.D. analytical chemist found when analyzing creatine serum. I decided that this so-called liquid creatine should be tested for actual creatine content. This process normally entails using an HPLC to determine the creatine content. Just so we are all on the same page, any product with creatine can be analyzed chemically. Muscle Marketing USA would have you believe that their product is somehow special. If you believe they have something no one else has then go ahead and spend the money on their product. However, remember that their product has not been scrutinized by science. If they did have such a revolutionary product then they should file a patent and let the world see how great they really are. Instead they choose to hide behind a lot of smoke and mirrors to "protect their secret". If you look at their web site they go to great lengths to tell you about protecting their secret and not wanting a patent because then they can be copied. Please! This is Tom Foolery. Patents are designed, if well written, to protect ideas not give them away free to all comers. Why anyone would purchase a product that is questionable when you can spend less money on a proven creatine supplement that works is beyond comprehension. I always tell you that you should get the best product for your dollar. What makes a person spend over fifty dollars on a product that appears to everyone, except the production company, to be bogus? I don't know but many small companies out there are making a mint off of the gullible consumers out there. Hopefully articles like this one will help you spend your money as wisely as possible. Let's discuss the analytical result from numerous chemical tests. In order to test this product the manufacturer says you cannot simply run an HPLC creatine test. In case you were wondering HPLC is the standard way you measure creatine. But of course these folks will tell you flat out that it won't work. Well guess what they are right. You don't find squat in the way of creatine. In fact you find more creatinine but there isn't enough of either in a serving to do anything. Have a look at the HPLC results below:
Claim on label HPLC Analysis
Creatine 2.5 g / 5ml .0029g / 5ml
Creatinine Should be zero .0050g / 5ml

Creatinine is a what happens to creatine in the body rendering it useless and it eventually is urinated out. If Creatine Serum were truly stable in a liquid there should be no creatinine, because that is part of what stability means. As it appears in this HPLC anaylsis there isn't even close to enough creatine in this product to do anything. However, as the manufacturer says, HPLC does not work. Ok, fine, there is more than one way to skin a cat. Let's say our friendly manufacturer really has something to stabilize creatine. There is only a few ways in which you might consider stabilizing creatine and you would want to bond it to something in order to accomplish this. In fact the web site says that the creatine is made into a "chain". Ok, if that is the case then another chemical assay would show a large molecule in the mixture that could be isolated and then analyzed further in order to determine if the creatine is there. Hey folks this is not rocket science, you can figure things out with the proper chemistry tools. After further analyzing the serum we did not find any large molecules as would be expected if they had made a "chain". A few other things to consider. The product is 44% water based on a Karl Fischer analysis (standard in a court of law). That much water activity does not lend itself to creatine stability. There is also a substantial amount of glycerol, which if consumed regularly, will make you gain some weight. Water weight. So you might think you are getting bigger but it is not muscle. Basically, via extensive chemical testing and mathematical calculation we were able to determine that if this stuff actually has creatine in it when produced, it magically disappears when it gets to the shelf. The analyses and calculations lead us to believe that there isn't 2.5 grams of anything useful in this product, and that includes creatine. If all of this chemical analysis is still not enough to convince you then go ahead and buy the product. Remember, at least 30% of all results can be attributed to the placebo effect. The manufacturer refuses to answer questions about his product and simply says we (the entire supplement industry) do not know how to analyze his product properly. While that is a convenient answer it is also an easy out for the company. Why not come clean, do studies, publish methods, and show the world how great you really are instead of hiding. If you as a consumer try the stuff and it works for you then great. If you want to be sure you are getting creatine, go the less expensive and research tested route of powdered creatine. The safety data on powders is excellent as long as you buy from a reputable company that monitors for creatinine and dicyandiamide. If the Creatine Serum makers actually have something special that no one can assay for then I would gladly provide that information via my column. However, until they provide some shred of evidence to support their assertions the only thing left is science and that my friends simply does not add up.

[willpharmd]

The result of the analysis are hard to read so here they are:
============Claim on label--------------HPLC Analysis
Creatine ========2.5g/5ml ============.0029g/5ml
Creatinine=======Should be 0 ========== .0050g/5ml

[BIG TEXAN]

Good post brother! Never did care for it much....I like my powder. It always worked for me so no need to go looking for something else!!!!

[EXCESS]

Those pretty little bottles have fooled a ton of people.

[wrstlr69sdnl]

My friend bought a bottle of that stuff he said it didnt work

[The French Curler]

Do creatine pills work?

[willpharmd]

As long as u stick with big company's the pills should be fine. To me it's just easier to mix a scoop of powder in with my shakes. I"m not sure of the price difference, but i'm sure u get more "bang for your buck" with the powder.