Try Kre-alkalyn creatine. Been using it for 6 weeks. I didn't use creatine for several years because I always looked smooth and watery on it. This stuff has put about 7 pounds on me, no loss of definition, great fullness and pumps. No water retention or stomach issues. I thought the ads were Bullshit, cause they all claim no side effects. The name of the version I used is Creatine Infusion (Kre-Alkalyn) from Sci-fit. Apparently altering the PH level of the creatine prevents the conversion to the byproducts that cause the sides. I am taking more than they suggest, but it won't mess with your stomach, and this is supposedly the only stable Liquid formula of creatine.
Kre-Alkalyn is just plain old creatine monohydrate mixed with a buffer like bicarbonate. The reason for less sides is that you take less of it. I see absolutely no reason why it would cause less water retention than straight monohydrate, apart from the lower dosage.
And a study actually showed Kre-Alkalyn to be less stable in water than regular monohydrate.
Kre-alkalyn® supplementation has no beneficial effect on creatine-to-creatinine conversion rates.Tallon MJ1 and Child R2
1University of Northumbria, Sport Sciences, Northumbria University, Northumberland Building, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom, 2Department of Life Sciences, Kingston University, Penrhyn Rd, Kingston-upon-Thames, United Kingdom. DrTallon@CR-Technologies.net
All American Pharmaceutical and Natural Foods Corp. (Billings, MT, USA) claim that Kre-alkalyn® (KA) a “Buffered” creatine, is 100% stable in stomach acid and does not convert to creatinine. In contrast, they also claim that creatine monohydrate (CM) is highly pH labile with more than 90% of the creatine converting to the degradation product creatinine in stomach acids. To date, no independent or university laboratory has evaluated the stability of KA in stomach acids, assessed its possible conversion to creatinine, or made direct comparisons of acid stability with CM.
This study examined whether KA supplementation reduced the rate of creatine conversion to creatinine, relative to commercially available CM (CreapureÒ). Creatine products were analyzed by an independent commercial laboratory using testing guidelines recommended by the United States Pharmacopeia (USP). Each product was incubated in 900ml of pH 1 HCL at 37± 1oC and samples where drawn at 5, 30 and 120 minutes and immediately analyzed by HPLC (UV) for creatine and creatinine.
In contrast to the claims of All American Pharmaceutical and Natural Foods Corp., the rate of creatinine formation from CM was found to be less than 1% of the initial dose, demonstrating that CM is extremely stable under acidic conditions that replicate those of the stomach. This study also showed that KA supplementation actually resulted in 35% greater conversion of creatine to creatinine than CM. In conclusion the conversion of creatine to creatinine is not a limitation in the delivery of creatine from CM and KA is less stable than CM in the acid conditions of the stomach.Supported by Cr-Technologies, LLP, London, England
