Top Ranked Creatine and Carbohydrate Formulas (2)

In the previous part, we compared a few of the top brands for pure creatine monohydrate, mostly in the form of micronized creatine powders. In that comparison, the Dymatize brand came out on top for being the most cost effective. However, as we mentioned, most pure creatine powder supplements are priced very similarly within a pretty close price range, so while some are more cost effective, the differences in pricing isn't all that great. If you had a preference for a certain brand of pure creatine powder, you probably wouldn't be paying all that much extra compared to the most cost effective one such as Dymatize creatine.

Now, when it comes to creatine and carbohydrate formulas, the price differences can become quite large. While the products we compared are quite similar, in that the primary active ingredients are simply creatine and carbohydrates (with some product including various additional ingredients), the pricing differences can be night and day between the most cost effective and the most expensive supplements. For example, if you compared EAS Phosphagen HP to Gaspari SizeOn, the price difference is significant.

Creatine Transport Formulas   

The addition of carbohydrates created an entirely new line of creatine supplements. When carbohydrates, such as dextrose, are consumed, it creates an insulin response in your body. It leads to a quick increase in your blood sugar levels, and this causes your body to release insulin. The insulin sends the excess blood sugar into your cells bringing blood sugar level down to normal. In this same process, creatine that is consumed also gets fed into your cells. This is basis on which creatine and carbohydrate supplements are built upon.

In the comparison table below, you'll notice that we also include a column for the amount of carbohydrates per serving. Again, the comparison is based solely on price effectiveness to determine which creatine formula gives you the biggest bang for your buck. So let's take a look.

Best Creatine and Carbohydrate Formulas

Looking at the table above, you'll notice that two products (Gaspari SizeOn and MAP Anabolic O.D.) have their creatine column filled with an asterisk (*). These two supplements do not disclose the exact amount of creatine in each serving, where it is included in its "proprietary formula". However, we can guess that the amount contained is probably in the range of 5 to 10 grams per serving. Please note, while we're comparing similar products, many of these product will include a variety of other ingredients that differentiates it from its competitors; therefore, we only make our comparison based on the key ingredients which are creatine and carbohydrates, and our comparison is based solely on cost only using the CPS and CPGC metrics.

Generally speaking, the more cost effective products will contain less of the other "synergistic" ingredients to keep the costs low. Or alternatively, we could view it as the other more "sophisticated" supplements adding in additional "synergistic" ingredients to jack up the price based on the additional perceived value of these extra ingredients. =) In the end, all that we are concerned with is creatine and carbohydrate content.

From above, the EAS Phosphagen HP looks like a clear winner with a cost per serving of only $0.45 and a CPGC of $0.085. Ironically, compare this to the EAS Phosphagen Elite with a highest CPS of $2.05 and a second highest CPGC of $0.195. I say ironic because if you compare Phosphagen HP to Phosphagen Elite very carefully, you'll see that the much more expensive Phosphagen Elite is exactly the DOUBLE of Phosphagen HP - meaning that it contains the exact ingredient mix, except for each serving, the ingredient amounts are doubled. The only difference between ELITE and HP is that the ELITE version contains 3.2g of Beta Alanine. Other than that, the doubly more expensive Phosphagen Elite contains twice as much of each ingredient per serving, and a same 4lb tub will give only 20 servings instead of 40 servings.

So in other words, you can get Phosphagen Elite simply by purchasing Phosphagen HP - simply double up on the serving size, and pay only half price! I'm betting there are many consumers who purchase Phosphagen Elite thinking it's a better product, when the exact same thing can be had for half the price with Phosphagen HP - with the only difference being 3.2g of Beta Alanine (and oh, the word "Elite" in the product name). I hardly think that's worth a doubling of the price.

Now looking at Optimum Nutrition's Preload Creatine Complex, it has a cost per serving of $1.00, which seems pretty reasonable comparing to the other creatine supplements; however, take a look at its CPGC, and it no longer seems like such a bargain any more. It has the highest cost per gram of creatine of the pack sitting at $0.200 CPGC. As you can see, looking at both the CPS and CPGC gives us a much better comparison on value.

Based on CPS and CPGC, the creatine / carbohydrate formulas rank as follows:

1. EAS Phosphagen HP ($0.085 CPGC)
2. Muscle Asylum Anabolic O.D ($1.00 CPS / CPGC is *)
3. Muscletech Cell Tech Hardcore ($0.167 CPGC)
4. Muscletech Cell Tech Pro Series ($0.167 CPGC)
5. Gaspari SizeOn ($1.92 CPS / CPGC is *)
6. Optimum Pre-load Creatine Complex ($0.200 / $1.00 CPS)
7. EAS Phosphagen Elite ($0.0195 CPGC / $2.05 CPS)

Isn't it kind of funny how the same product from EAS rounds out first place and last place in our comparison? Although the Optimum Preload Creatine had the highest CPGC, I thought it would be more interesting to have the same EAS product ranked first and last. =)

>> Click here for Cell-Tech
>> Click here for Gaspari Nutrition SizeOn

Part 3: Best Creatine Compared - Kre Alkalyn Supplements >>