Creatine monohydrate is the most common type of creatine (and most preferred) but others include phosphate, citrate and monohydrate, magnesium chelate, effervescent creatine and creatine serum. Of these various types, the vast majority of research to date showing creatine benefits used the monohydrate form. Let's take a closer look at each type...

Creatine Monohydrate
Creatine monohydrate is over 90% absorbable and is the most common type of creatine supplement sold today. All creatine monohydrates are not the same, however. Quality is key with creatine. The cheap varieties you find online can be as low as 30-50% pure. You want high-quality, pure pharmaceutical-grade creatine monohydrate.

After all, this is something you are putting in your body. That doesn't mean you have to buy the most expensive creatine monohydrate money can buy. It simply means to read the labels carefully and only buy brand name creatine from reputable companies. If you're considering creatine monohydrate supplements, check out my list of recommended creatine supplements.

Creatine monohydrate can be purchased in powder or pill form (capsules or tablets). Powder is usually the preferred form because powder can be absorbed by the bloodstream more efficiently and is easier to consume.

Creatine monohydrate is taken in gram amounts, which means you’d need to take several capsules or tablets each day during the maintenance phase, and as many as 15 or more during the initial loading phase! With powder you get what you need with one small scoop during the maintenance phase and only four small scoops during the loading phase.

Micronized Creatine
Micronized creatine is finely grinded creatine monohydrate (10 - 20 times smaller particles than regular creatine particles). It dissolves better in liquid and the smaller particle size leads to easier and faster digestion and uptake into the blood. Some who report stomach upset with regular creatine monohydrate find the problem alleviated by switching to micronized creatine. It is a little more expensive than regular creatine but some say it's worth it.

Effervescent Creatine
FSI Nutrition invented and patented effervescent creatine in 1997. There are several companies that sell effervescent creatine products, but only those that display the patent #5,925,378 are the ones with a real effervescent product! (FSI holds the patent 5,925,378 and thus anyone that would want to use it would have to pay royalties to FSI). Creatine Edge Effervescent and Creatine Clear are the two effervescent products made by FSI.

Effervescent creatine may give less bloating, better taste, better absorption and better solubility than regular creatine monohydrate.  After reading studies on effervescent creatine, I was convinced this was the only form of creatine you'd want to take. To get a second opinion I contacted Will Brink, an expert on bodybuilding nutrition and author of Muscle Building Nutrition.

He flat out told me that creatine monohydrate is the best and most proven form of creatine to take. Furthermore, he said claims made by those producing effervescent creatine products are just marketing gimmicks. I respect Will Brink's opinion given his vast knowledge on all subjects related to bodybuilding and weight loss nutrition so I'm not sure I'm a total believer in the effervescent form.

The studies on effervescent creatine provided on the FSI Nutrition website are certainly compelling. Now I'm not a dummy.  I understand these supplement companies are going to put studies on their websites that show their products in a favorable light, but nonetheless, it makes for an interesting read and at the very least makes you think twice about what form of creatine is truly the best.

FSI Nutrition claims that their research is conducted by independent labs but that's not saying much.  How many labs did they have to send their products to before they got a positive study back on their products?  I'm not trying to be a cynic, but I'm always leery about supplement companies who push studies that supposedly "prove" that their products are better.  If you're interested in trying FSI's effervescent products, Creatine Edge and Creatine Clear, you can get them 25% cheaper than what FSI is selling them on their own website by purchasing them at BodyBuilding.com.

Creatine Serum
Not much to say on this type of creatine as the jury is still out. Many people believe that creatine serum, also known as liquid creatine, cannot be stable in liquid form. If this is true, then creatine serums may be nothing more than sugar water.

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Creatine!
A FREE and In-Depth Report On Creatine's Usage in Sports , Health and Anti-Aging Written by Will Brink, a noted sports nutrition expert and trainer, this FREE 43-page report exposes the facts and fiction of creatine and details its effects on the brain, heart, the body's production of growth hormone, anti-aging effects, fatigue, muscle atrophy, Parkinson's disease, and much more!
In this FREE creatine report you will learn: What creatine is and how it works What creatine may do for you How safe is creatine How to use creatine properly Loading and maintenance phases Importance of creatine purity
As with all Will Brink's writings, this report is based on the actual studies with creatine and backed with scientific references - not conjecture and pseudo science many self-proclaimed "experts" rely on.

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