What Is Creatine? Here’s a Quick Guide to Creatine

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Anyone who works out is familiar with creatine, but what exactly is it, and what does it do? Today, let’s take a closer look at creatine.

01 What Is Creatine?
Creatine is typically classified into three types: creatine monohydrate, creatine hydrochloride, and creatine complex. They all serve the same function but differ in usage and effects. Among these, creatine monohydrate is pure creatine and is also known as “traditional creatine.” Creatine is a nitrogen-containing organic acid that occurs naturally in vertebrates; it helps provide energy to muscle and nerve cells. The higher the creatine levels, the greater the muscle performance.

Most of the body’s creatine (95%) is stored in skeletal muscle, while a small portion (5%) is stored in the brain and testicles. Approximately 1–2% of creatine is broken down daily into creatine kinase (ps: creatine kinase is a metabolic byproduct of creatine). The body requires 1–3 g of creatine daily (depending on your muscle mass) to maintain normal creatine stores. About half of this can be obtained from the diet; however, the creatine content in food is relatively low.

02 What Is Creatine Used For?
Creatine provides energy to the body’s tissues, primarily targeting muscle and nerve cells; it supplies energy for physical activity, helps build muscle, and alleviates fatigue—which is why drinking Red Bull and Lehu can help relieve fatigue.

Coffee contains caffeine, which inhibits the performance-enhancing effects of creatine and affects the hydration of muscle cells, leading to some degree of dehydration. Therefore, it is not recommended to drink coffee immediately after taking creatine; wait at least two hours. In addition to avoiding caffeine, creatine should not be consumed with orange juice, as the acidic compounds in orange juice may cause the creatine hydrate to break down into waste products.

03 What Is the Connection Between Creatine and Water?

Once you start taking creatine, you should drink at least an additional 1,200 ml of water per day on top of your usual daily intake to fully leverage creatine’s hydrating effects and ensure it is fully absorbed. You can also drink a small amount of sugar-sweetened water or beverages to improve creatine absorption. Furthermore, insufficient water intake after taking creatine may interfere with cellular hydration, leading to adverse reactions such as muscle tightness, stiffness, and cramps. This is why it is recommended to drink plenty of water when taking creatine.

Creatine is primarily a dietary supplement designed for fitness enthusiasts who regularly engage in intense exercise; it is not a performance-enhancing drug. Therefore, athletes are permitted to take creatine. However, creatine pyruvate is classified as a performance-enhancing drug and has a stimulating effect on the mind. It is crucial to remember that athletes must not take creatine pyruvate before a competition.

04 How to Choose a Healthy and Safe Creatine Supplement
First and foremost, the most important factor when choosing a creatine supplement is purity! If a creatine supplement has low purity, it will contain a high level of impurities, which can have a very negative impact on kidney function and metabolism.

The second key factor is the rate of absorption. When making a choice, we should opt for creatine that is absorbed quickly and efficiently. Compared to creatine capsules and tablets, creatine powder is finer in texture and is absorbed more rapidly.

Among creatine monohydrate, creatine complexes, and creatine hydrochloride, creatine monohydrate—as a pure form of creatine—is more popular on the market. Many retailers deliberately exaggerate the actual effects of creatine complexes and creatine hydrochloride, but in reality, they offer poor value for money. Simply mixing creatine with a sugary drink or glucose powder can achieve many of the effects advertised for creatine complexes, while creatine hydrochloride is merely a process-enhanced version of creatine monohydrate—its active ingredients are identical to those of creatine monohydrate. Therefore, when choosing and purchasing creatine, be sure to do your research, compare options, and make your purchase with caution!

Taking creatine in moderation can indeed help improve fitness results to a certain extent. However, if you rely solely on the effects of creatine, believing that “more is better,” and take excessive amounts, it can cause damage to your organs and lead to rapid weight gain.