[b said:
Quote[/b] ]There is so much hype out there regarding creatine. Can you set the record straight as I appreciate your honesty. Is there a difference between creatine's?
There are differences. You've probably heard of creatine "citrate" or other similar sounding compounds besides creatine monohydrate. These are creatine salts. Creatine has to be molecularly bound to something to make it stable. So some companies in an effort to differenciate themselves have tried to sell other compounds of creatine.
There are also things like liquid creatine which is a blatant ripp off. NEVER buy liquid creatine. It is unstable and breaks down into creatinine. Long story. Short story is, don't buy it.
You'll also see efforvesent creatine and what not. It is just put into an alkaseltzer type form to make it fizz when you put it into liquid. They market this as a way to make it dissolve faster.
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]And how is micronized creatine different?
Micronized creatine is creatine-monohydrate that is in very fine crystals or granuals. The smaller grain size makes it dissolve faster (larger surface area).
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]Does one still need to "load" or is that now "old school"
Well, that is still an open question. First off, there isn;t a "need" to load in one week (e.g. 20 g/day for 5-6 days). Even if you only take 3-5 grams per day, your muscle will eventully become loaded (usually within 3-4 weeks).
The benefits of loading are that you reach a loaded state much quicker. Does this offer other benefits that can't be had from a slow loading method? Difficult to say.
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]Should one cycle creatine?
I would suggest that you cycle your creatine. I would say after several months it would not be a bad idea to cycle off. Give your self about 2-3 months off. Why? No reason that can be proven by any particular study. Then again, there isn't really any research showing that one "shouldn't" cycle off. We do know that creatine transporters can downregulate at the muscle cell with creatine loading. This is how the muscle cell prevents "too much" creatine from being brought in.
Because the muscle cell simply gets rid of its creatine transporters once it is "loaded", all the bells and whistles designed to make creatine dissolve faster or selling it bound to other chemicals or even mixing it with glucose and other supplements doesn't really make any difference in the end. Once the cell is full, you can't get any more in. So absorption arguments are mute.
All research has used creatine monohydrate. In my opinion it is the best form to use.
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]And how much should one take daily?
Well, the only recommendation I can make based on research (don't ask me to find the paper) is 0.3 grams/kilogram to load, and 0.03 grams/kilogram otherwise.
Essentially that come to about 20-25 grams per day to load, or ~3-5 grams per day otherwise.
The only real difference between brands of creatine is its purity. Purity is controlled during the manufacturing of it. So, my only concern about my own creatine was that it was pure and free from potentially harmful chemicals associated with cheap manufacturing.
