I'm looking for something palatable, effective, and inexpensive. What have you found that fits the bill and works for you?
Associate Member
I'm looking for something palatable, effective, and inexpensive. What have you found that fits the bill and works for you?
CHEMICALLY ENGINEERED
Higher Power Micronized Creatine
Junior Member
the best creatine on the market is maximuscle creatamax extereme. its unbelievely good but wayyyyy too expencive
Member
Kre-Alkalyn
AR's Supplement Guru
How does it work?
Creatamax Extreme is a new generation creatine complex, containing a blend of pharmaceutical grade creatine monohydrate, powerful performance nutrients and the exciting new fenugreek extract 4-hydroxyisoleucine. Creatine is used in muscle tissue for the production of phosphocreatine, an important factor in the formation of ATP, the source of energy for muscle contraction and many other functions in the body. Creatine supplements have become increasingly popular with people wanting rapid gains in muscle size and strength. Through it's ability to mimic the actions of insulin, Creatamax Extreme is able to boost cellular nutrients uptake, while simultaneously reducing the quantity of dextrose previously required to spike insulin (to drive nutrients into muscle cells).
Per serving:
Creatine Monohydrate: 5 grams
L-Glutamine: 5 grams
GAA: 1 grams
Glycine: 1 grams
Potassium Bicarbonate: 500 milligrams
Sodium Bicarbonate: 500 milligrams
Albion Magnesium chelate: 50 milligrams
D-pintol: 28 milligrams
Bioperine: 5 milligrams
How does it work?
Creatine
Naturally found in the body and common foods, Creatine is intrinsic to the production of instant high intensity energy (such as sprinting and lifting weights). However, creatine stores are rapidly depleted within 10 seconds (a big factor in maximal effort fatigue). Creatine supplementation safely increases intramuscular levels of creatine and boosts performance.
Creatine supplementation has been shown in a number of studies to enhance maximal strength [2], improve sporting performance in soccer players [1], and accelerate gains in lean muscle mass [2]. For example, test subjects given Creatine for 12 weeks in combination with a weight-training programme gained 24% and 32% more strength in the bench press and squat, respectively. What's more, they also gained twice as much lean muscle, despite the fact they did no extra training [3]. These kind of results are typical for most people using Creatine. A study published in the prestigious journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise showed that just five days after using 20 grams of Creatine daily, test subjects gained an impressive 3.1 pounds of lean muscle [4].
Recent tests have highlighted the fact that many popular brands of Creatine contain large amounts of impurities, specifically Creatinine, Dicyandiamide, and Dihydrotriazine. This is due to the use of cheap, industrial-grade raw materials used in the manufacturing of Creatine. In small amounts, these substances pose no safety risk. However, recent tests from University College Chichester have revealed that many well-known brands of Creatine supplements contain large amounts of these contaminants. Routine tests show that Creatamax Extreme is free of these impurities.
Glutamine
Glutamine is a nutrient essential for muscle growth, as it's the most abundant amino acid in muscle tissue. Doctors and clinicians regularly use it to treat patients with illness, injury or infection [10]. Not only does Glutamine play a vital role in building muscle, studies also show that glutamine boosts growth hormone levels, helping you burn fat faster. As little as two grams of glutamine can double growth hormone levels after just 30 minutes [9]. During periods of intense training, your can't make enough glutamine to compensate for exercise-induced losses. Anyone who exercises on a regular basis (3-4 times per week) may deplete their glutamine stores. Glutamine supplementation is extremely useful for anyone who exercises regularly, especially individuals wanting to gain muscle size and strength.
Glycocyamine (GAA)
Supplementation with Glycocyamine can ensure a more powerful effect from the use of creatine. Glycocyamine also appears to be very effective for those who see no benefits from creatine. In other words, it turns creatine "non-responders" into "responders." Scientists think this nutrient might also boost your own creatine production. Writing in the January 2003 issue of Flex magazine, Jim Wright thinks that glycocyamine might be "the most significant advance in creatine supplements since creatine monohydrate was originally introduced to the bodybuilding market." Most creatine supplements use large amounts of carbohydrate to force creatine and other nutrients into your muscles. The problem is that excess carbohydrate calories have the potential to cause fat gain. The amino acid Glycine - in very small amounts - helps to force more carbohydrate and creatine into your muscles, without filling you with excess calories [11]. This means you'll gain muscle without getting fat.
Bicarbonates
Bicarbonates are referred to as "alkaline" salts. This means they have the ability to neutralise or counteract acids. Both potassium and sodium bicarbonate can reduce acid levels in the stomach, increasing the uptake and absorption of various nutrients such as Glutamine and Creatine.
Magnesium chelate
Some experts believe that creatine combined with magnesium is a highly effective way to enhance and extend the effects of creatine on muscle size and strength. When minerals such as magnesium become surrounded by and bonded to amino acids, in a stable form, this is referred to as chelation. Chelation is a natural means for the body to transport minerals across the intestinal wall as part of digestion. Experts believe that the creatine-magnesium chelate in Creatamax Extreme helps to enhance absorption of creatine and decrease stomach discomfort. Some initial research shows it is better absorbed and tolerated than traditional creatine monohydrate. It also mixes well in water.
D-pinitol
D-pinitol is a form of pinitol, a naturally-occurring compound found in certain plants, trees and foods, such as soy. Studies show that it has insulin-like effects, driving creatine and other nutrients into muscle cells. The effects of Pinitol have been described by noted experts such as Dr. Daniel Gwartney, M.D. Gwartney points out that "... of all the proposed so-called insulin mimickers and insulin co-factors, pinitol is the one with the most promise." The effectiveness of Pinitol has been known by top US experts for some time, and it has been awarded two U.S. Patents (#5,550,166 and #5,827,896). D-pinitol is very popular with people who want to use creatine, but don't want the extra calories and sugar contained in many creatine-based supplements. In a trial completed at Arkansas State University , researchers examined whether co-ingestion of D-pinitol with creatine affects whole body creatine retention.The results show that D-Pinitol increases whole body creatine retention to the same extent as high levels of carbohydrate or carbohydrate and protein [13].
Bioperine®
Bioperine® is a standardized piperine extract obtained from the fruits of the black pepper and/or long pepper plants. It has little effect on weight loss, lean muscle gain or sporting performance. Rather, the main effect of Bioperine® is to enhance the bioavailability of various nutrients consumed with it.
4-hydroxyisoleucine
The amino acid 4-hydroxyisoleucine contained in Creatamax Extreme takes creatine supplementation to new levels, due to it's insulinotropic properties. A recent study by Dr. Ruby and colleagues at the University of Montana analysed the effects of 4-hydroxyisoleucine compared to a glucose beverage on rates of post-exercise muscle glycogen re-synthesis in trained male cyclists [15]. The study found that the combination of 4-hydroxyleucine and carbohydrate consumption, promoted a 63 percent greater rate of post-exercise glycogen re-synthesis compared to carbs alone. However, 4-hydroxyleucine was shown to enhance glycogen re-synthesis without raising insulin levels (compared to carbs alone). This means that the benefits which in the past have relied on carbohydrate mediated insulin production (including creatine uptake and glycogen storage) may now be attained with fewer carbs and lower insulin levels. Essentially, 4-hydroxyisoleucine may promote greater creatine uptake, greater muscle glycogen re-fuelling, and preferentially store nutrients in muscle cells rather than as fat.
How do I use it?
To saturate muscle cells with optimal amounts of creatine, a loading period is required. Loading: Mix one level scoop (33g) with 350-400ml of water, and consume within 5 minutes. Take 3 scoops daily. 1.5 scoops in the morning and another 1.5 scoops after training or in the afternoon. Marathon runners, cyclists, or anyone wanting endurance and not bulk, should take just 1 scoop daily, with no loading phase.
What results can I expect?
Creatamax Extreme is ideal for all serious athletes and trainers, and can be used to promote muscle growth, size, power and strength, or to enhance endurance performance. Creatamax Extreme leads to rapid weight gain. Many users gain several pounds in weight after just 5-6 days. Most controlled studies show that 20 grams per day of creatine monohydrate taken for five to six days improves performance and delays muscle fatigue during short-duration, high-intensity exercise such as sprinting or weight lifting. In a 12-week trial by Jeff Volek and a research team from Pennsylvania State University, creatine users ended up stronger in both the squat and bench press compared with subjects using a "dummy" supplement. They also gained twice as much muscle [3].How do you know it's the best? It's a tub of creatine monohydrate, wow amazing stuff.Originally Posted by Emondo
Bioperine-enhances absorption, but that seems insignificant since your eating 5g of monohydrate at a time to get it to absorb.
Bicarbonates-next to none of the creatine will dissolve in the stomach acid and glutamine is an extremly abundant AA in nature and the body. The wiser choice would be to not have any other food with this creatine either since it won't digest since you will have neutralized your stomach acid.
Magnesium - no science to back that claim and the magesium = 12% of dv of required.
Glutamine - 5g of glutamine woohoo
D-pinitol - hmm, it does help to a degree but why hasn't the 5g creatine serving been reduced then? Unneccesary
Glycocyamine - they are using flex magazine author as their credible source for info. Weak. It is suggested that 4x the amount of betaine be taken with Glycocyamine (so 4g) to keep homocysteine levels in check but it provides none. And why use a precurcsor when it's already providing 5g of monohydrate?
Glycine - Why? They probably don't even know.
Senior Member
I have absolutely no noticable effects on monohydrate, except my sh*ts. I've found what works best for me is a combo of L-Arginine and a mix of creatines, which I find in pretty much any Nitric oxide powder.
Senior Member
atp creatine serum by MM USA. Liquid form, no loading no bloating about $40/btl lasts about a month. Been using this for years.
Anabolic Member
kre-alkyn..its the only creatine that you actually absord 100% of what you take in and it doesnt convert to toxic creatinine either..it has a US patent and is only manufactured by a place in Montana I believe so no matter what brand youre taking, it comes from the same place
Member
^^^ Agreed. Although as long as it's from a company you trust, and it's a micronized creatine monohydrate, you really can't go wrong. Micro-Creatine Mono is the best form of creatine.
Associate Member
I second this, n.o xplode works great I always gain weight when I use it but wayyyy too expensive. Just go with the most inexpensive tub of 100% mono you can find.
Associate Member
Green Magnitude FTW!
Om nom nom ..
Junior Member
omg i dont f*****g make the stuff i'm just saying its the best stuff around in our shops, every1 at the gym i go to says the same! have you ever tryed it???
AR's Supplement Guru
I'm simply saying it's not the best. I never said you made it and based on the info I found it's garbage and would never take ti for that reason. Why not get monohydrate and take 5g of it. It works for many people so why do you need 5g of monohydrate + a bunch of garbage and one of the substances poses a potential health hazard.
Junior Member
point taken i really should have researched all the other ingredients in it 1st before i started taking it! what brand do you take? which substance is a health hazard? I took loads of other creatines but this had the best gains on cretamax by far!!
AR's Supplement Guru
Glycocyamine. Buy a simple tub of micronized creatine monohydrate.
Junior Member
cheers
Anabolic Member
take 1.5 grams of kre-alkalyn..its equivalent to taking 10 g of mono..but it wont bloat you or convert to creatinine
Junior Member
Gaspari Nutrition Size On good good good
The Over Analyzing Nattabolic
whats the Optimal amount of Creatine Mono to take for gains with Minimal Bloat?
Disappointment* Known SCAMMER - Do Not Trust *
Also i thought i read glycocyamine actually competes with creatine uptake to muscle as far as the transport protein - so in actuality it inhibits creatine uptake.... not 100% on this ...but im pretty certain i read it not long ago.....
AR's Supplement Guru
When you load creatine mono into muscles you will add bloat. I don't think it's physically possible to not bloat while using it.
Hmm, I never read anything about that but will look into it.
Anabolic Member
good old reliable micronized creatine.
Member
Toxic creatinine?
Disappointment* Known SCAMMER - Do Not Trust *
"Glycocyamine is the immediate precursor for creatine production in the body. It is creatine minus a methyl group. The problem is that glycocyamine competes with creatine for transport into muscle via the creatine transport protein. Unfortunately, muscle lacks the enzymes required to add a methyl group to glycocyamine, so it acts as a competitive inhibitor of creatine uptake. Using it can result in a creatine deficiency, as well as increased homocysteine levels linked to various serious diseases. Glycocyamine is linked to convulsions in animals".
Jerry Brainum
AR's Supplement Guru
Another reinforcing reason not to buy a product with glycocamine
Member
Jerry does not know what he is talking about.
AR's Supplement Guru
What can you tell me about the health effects of glycocamine?
Member
here we goooo ha ha
AR's Supplement Guru
I have no interest in childish feuds, I actually want to know the clinically shown adverse health effects of using it.
Member
Actually, I would too.
Disappointment* Known SCAMMER - Do Not Trust *
Im listening .....
Disappointment* Known SCAMMER - Do Not Trust *
just found some info , by no means a study but the 3rd mention of neurtoxicity in first 5 sites ive read :
The FDA said it was the recommended alternative and put it in all sugar free products. It wasnt very long before women in particular started having negative side effects as a result of ingesting it in their usual products. Later it was discovered that due to a chemical reaction in the body, it can act as a neurotoxin that affects the brain and nervous system. It is now speculated to mimic symptoms of Alzheimers, MS, Parkinsons and a host of other neurological diseases. While it hasnt been taken off the market, there is yet another contender.
physical pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside... The pain of quiting will lasts forever!!
back to the op question ... creakic... i like it cause it is in pill form and i hate swallowing the powder stuff... and it says some thing about micro something or Another
Member
Well, I don't know the effects of massive ingestion. However the guys post is packed with inaccuracies so I doubt he does either.
Let me change the terms here a bit since not many people use the term "glycocamine" in the research the word guanidinoacetate is used. Same thing. Abbreviated "GAA"
So here is the quick and dirty. Normal physiology, you and me. You eat proteins and liberate glycine and arginine from the food. These amino acids, upon entering the kidney encounter l-arginine:glycine amidinotransferase (AGAT) which converts glycine and arginine into ornithine and guanidinoacetate (GAA), our chemical of interest. So your body makes this stuff, it leaves the venous drainage of the kidney and works its way to the liver where it encounters guanidinoacetate methyltransferase (GAMT). A methylation takes place converting GAA into creatine. The creatine is absorbed by the muscle and there is much rejoicing.
So #1, You *need* GAA. The only question becomes, is the normal human level just right, or is there benefit to adding more? More specifically you *need* creatine. If you ingest intact creatine this would reduce the amount of GAA in your body. Maybe that is desirable. To know that we have to go a little deeper. But what should be obvious at this point is that muscle cells having the ability to convert GAA to creatine is irrelevant. The liver accomplishes this task. Not looking so great for Jerry.
Oh so, whats up with homocystine? What is up with seizures?
Homocystine. No evidence directly suggests homocystine is toxic. What is clear is that people who tend to have high homocystine levels are, over decades, more likely to have heart disease. Now what does that mean? It is easy to be lazy and say well homocysine is "bad" and anything you can do to reduce it must be desirable. That *could* be true, but let me paint another picture. Look at Creatinine. In this very thread someone called it "toxic". That is *wrong*. Why did they say that? Because people with high creatinine tend to have poor renal function. So creatnine causes renal disease? NO! Creatinine is for all intents inert. It is just one of thousands of waste products that the kidneys excrete. When you have kidney problems ALL of those products build up in the blood. We happen to use creatinine as a nice handy test of renal function becuase in general your body makes a steady amount of it, so if creation is constant the only variable is elimination and hence you can infer renal function from it. So while MOST people with an elevated creatinine have a renal problem that is just a coincidence of the fact that more people have kidney disease than there are people who do things which increase actual production of creatinine. Who are those people? You and me! People with high muscle mass break the rules. We make a ton of creatinine, our levels are higher, and it has nothing to do with the kidneys. If you are injesting creatine your level will be even still higher. What was my point? On a superficial glance it would have appeared that creatinine was toxic to kidneys. It is not. It takes knowing the physiology to understand why. Well in the case of homocystine all we know is that people with heart disease tend to have higher levels. It is not at all proven that the CAUSE of heart disease is homocystine or that keeping your level lower artificially is protective.
Anyway, the same enzyme that converts homocyctine into an excreteable form is the one which converts GAA to creatine. If you eat a lot of GAA you will shift the balance of the enzyme toward GAA and away from homocystine. the levels go up a bit. What relevance that has is anyone's guess.
Seizures. Some kids are both without the enzyme (GAMT) to convert GAA into creatine. GAA builds up to extremely high levels and the kids get seizures. Now this stuff is in all of us all the time and does not cause seizures. When it is hundreds of times normal value it does. Does letting the value double or triple matter? No.
Assholes like Jerry can skim and article in pubmed, and then write phrases like "Such and such is associated with seizures!" and scare their readers. the reality is that while yes, GAA is associated with seizures so is table salt...so is water. What the guy says is true in the sense that "association" can mean even nearly anything, but then the guy uses the phrase in a way which communicates a very specific intent which is *not at all* supported which is "If you take this you are at risk of having a seizure". This style of writing is rampant in the BB community and it is obvious why. Evidence is *hard* to come by, but innuendo and a veneer of scientific rigor can move product and sell magazines.
Would I take GAA. No I would not. It is shown that eating GAA will increase your creatine levels. But it does so in a convoluted way which intersects many other biological functions. (GAMT) catalyzes essentially every methylation in the body. Figuring out the effects of augmenting that activity is impossibly convoluted. What is not convoluted is realizing that whatever the benefit of GAA, it only comes via the increases in creatine. I could just take more creatine! The stuff is simply redundant. Don't substitute a great drug which is know to be uncomplicated with one that is at *best* no better that just taking creatine.
Banned
I like NutraBio.
Member
Can you post those for me?
Disappointment* Known SCAMMER - Do Not Trust *
http://bulkpywzzkotlc.blogspot.com/2...9_archive.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...t=AbstractPlus
the others are q&a from supp websites (bashing other products containing glycocyamine) and forum posts - so id say not too reliable ....
Let us know your opinion on this - sounds like from what u posted our bodies process this all the time ....not that that means much ( considering exogenous administration amounts) ...but at any rate im curious what u think....
Last edited by jimmyinkedup; 03-02-2009 at 08:07 PM.
Member
Ok, Ill just be nice here. Here is the quote from the first article, which you quoted.
You can skip to the last paragraph.
"A young couple walking hand-in-hand cast a late afternoon shadow on a city street December 29, 2007. (Tim Wimborne/Reuters)Reuters - Programs teaching U.S. schoolchildren to abstain from sex have not cut teen pregnancies or sexually transmitted diseases or delayed buy bulk grape seed powder extract age at which sex begins, health groups told Congress on Wednesday.
The problem with sugar buy wholesale choline bitartrate that it doesnt contain any nutrients so when you consume too much you crowd out room for healthier foods. In fact, it is estimated that on average, Americans consume over 200 pounds of refined sugar annually. buy wholesale BCAA amino acids the other side of the coin you have buy wholesale glucosamine hcl sweeteners which are getting more negative press as adverse health effects begin to emerge.
Whats the big deal? Well, decades ago it was found that some artificial sweeteners may cause cancer and were taken out of products and off the shelves. Next, enter the next latest and buy bulk glycocyamine nutrition The FDA said it was the recommended alternative and put it in all sugar free products. It wasnt very long before women in particular started having negative side effects as a result of ingesting it in their usual products. Later it was discovered that due to a chemical reaction in the body, it can act as a neurotoxin wholesale nutritional supplements cheap shipping to canada that affects the brain and nervous system). It is now speculated to mimic symptoms of Alzheimers, MS, Parkinsons and a host of other neurological diseases. While it hasnt been taken off the market, there is yet another contender."
All of the bold underlined parts are links in the text to a website to sell those names products. They took commentary on teen sex and apparently splenda and randomly stuck ads in the text for grapeseed extract and glycocyamine and BCAAs. You misread the non sequiter links as being what the paragraphs were referring to. If you read it again you can see what I mean. It is selling GAA.
AR's Supplement Guru
Thanks
Disappointment* Known SCAMMER - Do Not Trust *
Whoa - i never said it was true - never said i believed it ...never said any such thing ...said the first three of 5 sites i looked in mentioned this. Thats all ...said they werent studies etc.... so considering the circumstances id say nice is the only course of appropriate action.
Also dont get links using the proxy im using either - that doesnt help.....
this was an interesting read (no study but intersting info) : http://www.muscleandstrength.com/sup...cocyamine.html
Last edited by jimmyinkedup; 03-02-2009 at 08:25 PM.
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