Creatine FAQ

[Corpsman]

Is the bloat only in the muscles or is it all over? Should women take it? My wife is reading a book by Jackie Warner called "This is why your fat" and she touts the benefits of CEE over CM to avoid the bloated look that I am sure women don't want.

Also, if you don't mind my asking, what are your credentials to speak as an expert on this topic? Not saying you aren't, but if I am going to point to your information I would like to know who it is coming from.

[BORIQUENA76]

Hey Corpsman just to start I have no medical credentials....LoL, and this is more or less for your spouse. Creatine is an amino-acid like compound that occurs naturally in the muscle tissue. Taking in supplemental creatine helps increase the available amount of energy the body has to use, it also pumps water into the muscle cells increasing their size. It can be taken pre and post workouts. There are three types Citrate, Monohydrate and Phosphate. There is also a supposed "loading phase" and "maintenance phase" with usage so the intake may start as several times per day then taper off to perhaps once to twice a day dependent on one's needs. I dont really see a difference following the "loading and maintenance phases" that some brands may suggest. I prefer a simple micronized creatine monohydrate that is flavorless and without extra crap. I normally use AST Sports Science brand.

Perhaps someone can shed some light on the loading/maintenance phases if its even a factor but again I didnt think it made a difference to "load up" first and then taper off.

[Christopher_UK]

I'm also concerned about the bloating, I've always used creatine monohydrate and it's always bloated me, obviously because of the water retention, but I did appretiate my arms looking bigger, the pumps feeling better because of more water and I defo did have a small strength increase so all that was good. The only bad thing was my stomach was always bloated and made me look fatter then I would normally without.

My question is, I've heard of three creatines in the UK which are sold on UK website and shop shelves, they're called Kre-Alkalyn, creatine mono, and creatine ethyl ether, would "Alkalyn" or "ethyl ether" work better then mono and not cause bloating do you know?

Thanks in advance.