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Question: Does Anyone Have Any Input On The Advantages Of Creatine Citrate Or Monohydrate?
I was at a nutritional store and asking about creatine citrate. I was told that it is used for different advantages than creatine monohydrate. I have also heard that it is used for the same advantages as creatine monohydrate. Does anyone have any input on the advantages of creatine citrate or monohydrate? I also heard somewhere that monohydrate is more for gaining weight than citrate, and that what citrate does is enable you to burn fat faster and helping build lean muscle (which is what I want) and that is where the citrate weight gain comes in. Any truth in this?


Answer #1
It's my understanding that they both do the same thing but that the monohydrate does it better/faster because it is absorbed better/more quickly or easily by your body. The company I have found that provides the most info about it is PVL Nutrients located somewhere in BC, Canada.


Answer #2
I spoke to a personal trainer. He agrees with you, citrate is more for lean muscle and monohydrate is more for bulk. By the way, I read that citrate has a 90% absorption rate as compared to monohydrate which is about 40%.


Answer #3
What is the difference between Creatine Citrate and Creatine Monohydrate?

Creatine Monohydrate was one of the first Creatine sources available on the market. Since then, several companies have introduced formulas whereby Creatine Monohydrate was blended with other compounds in an attempt to increase the activity of the Creatine molecule. One of the more important recent formulas combined Creatine Monohydrate with Krebs cycle intermediates to increase the solubility and bioavailability of the Creatine molecule. This was an ingenious concept, however, there is now a more advanced formula that takes this concept one step further to create a new Creatine formula that will represent the new generation of Creatine supplementation. This innovative molecule is Creatine Citrate, Creatine bonded to a the Krebs cycle intermediate.

The Krebs Cycle or the Citric Acid Cycle is the final common pathway into which major organic fuel molecules of the cell, such as carbohydrates, fatty acids and amino acids converge to ultimately produce ATP.

One of the end products of this cycle is 8 hydrogen ions that continue to the next process called the Electron Transport Phase where, for each pair of hydrogen ions, 3 ATP molecules are generated. Therefore, for every cycle through the Krebs/Citric Acid Cycle, 12 ATP molecules are produced. Citric Acid is A Krebs Cycle Intermediate. Increasing cellular concentrations of citric acid potentiates the rate of ATP formation. Furthermore, the organic citric acid function is a precursor in the biosynthesis of cellular components.

Citrate bound supplementation is becoming the source of choice. Generally, citrates have a higher solubility, higher absorption, and higher activity. The Monohydrate form of Creatine will supply more Creatine, gram for gram, than the citrate form will since the citric acid molecule is larger than the "Monohydrate." However, the relative solubility of Creatine Citrate is 14% compared to 1.4% for Creatine Monohydrate. So, Creatine Citrate is well over 10 times more soluble than Creatine Monohydrate. This means that the absorption rate of Creatine Citrate is higher than that of Creatine Monohydrate.

Is Creatine Citrate a better source of Creatine supplementation?

Many studies have proven, without a doubt, that Creatine supplementation will increase muscle mass, stamina, strength, energy and recovery training. Because other sources of Creatine were not available in the past, the Monohydrate form of Creatine was used as a vehicle to supply the cells with Creatine. Creatine Citrate is an innovative molecule that supplies the cells with the same active components, Creatine, via a different vehicle. Furthermore, the Creatine Citrate molecule supplies a Krebs Cycle Intermediate, thus supplying two active components to give this form of Creatine supplementation a dual function.


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