What to mix creatine with for maximum effect?

Creatine is one of the most effective supplements on the market, but there are still a lot of question marks surrounding its use. Even after we published our test of the best creatines, we're still getting questions about taking this almost miraculous supplement.

So let's take a look at the most common question of all in today's article - what to mix creatine with for maximum effect?

What to wash down creatine with?

If you decide to take creatine, it is advisable to also focus on what you will wash it down with. Quite iconic are the photos of various powerlifters who wash down each dose of creatine with almost a litre of fruit juice. Is that a good thing or not?

Let's take a look at the different liquids that can be used.

With water

Probably the most classic and most used liquid is water. But few people know anymore that if you take lukewarm water, you will achieve better absorption. This issue is usually not covered in any articles written in English, so you need to draw from foreign websites.

The taste of creatine with lukewarm water is not very good, but the effectiveness is maximum. From my own experience, I would really recommend lukewarm water, because financially it comes out better.and the effect is not bad in any case.

With juice

Taking creatine with juice was recommended by Jirka Tkadlcik, one of the best Czech strength athletes. The problem, however, is that fruit juices are mostly made up ofwhich does not affect insulin secretion in the same way as glucose.

Another disadvantage is that you get quite a high amount of calories into your body, and the price of 100% fruit juices isn't the cheapest either.

With glucose

Taking creatine with glucose is generally speaking highly recommended. You'll get simple sugars in you that will increase glycogen levels in your body, which will also boost insulin secretion. The insulin will then make sure that the creatine is properly transported into the muscle cells. While this combination is effective, it's not such a win in the long run.

For one thing, high doses of simple carbohydrates before training are undesirable, and they can also cause a number of diseases of civilization.

With milk

Although taking creatine with milk may seem really strange at first glance, it was recommended, among others, by Tomas Lukáč in one of the interviews for Ronnie.cz. He justifies this combination by the fact that creatine is devalued in the stomach by hydrochloric acid, which is neutralized by milk, and therefore the resulting usability should be much better.

On the other hand, milk contains lactose, which is itself very poorly digestible.

Is it possible to combine creatine with other supplements?

Dozens of articles have already been written about what creatine can be combined with, but for the sake of the comprehensiveness of this article, we have to mention it here. So let's take a look at the different combinations with other supplements.

With protein

Combining creatine with protein might at first glance seem like the ideal post-workout cocktail. Unfortunately, this combination is not quite ideal. In order for protein to be digested, an acidic environment is required, which the body creates by activating pepsin. The pH level gets to about 2 and in this case there would already be a significant degradation of creatine monohydrate.

If you want to learn a lot of valuable and interesting information about creatine, we definitely recommend watching the following short and informative video:

WITH BCAAS

The combination of creatine and BCAAs is the best possible combination immediately after a workout, when creatine enters the muscle cells and also improves the absorption of BCAAs into the muscle tissue.

With a gainer

Although both creatine and gainer are purely volume supplements, it is not worth taking them together.

Firstly, because the protein component degrades the digestion and absorption of creatine, and secondly, because creatine tends to be in every quality gainer contained in every good gainer. Very often, however, it is a different form - for example, crealkaline, which is not destroyed by stomach acids.

With glutamine

Glutamine is another very effective supplement that can support the functioning of theimmune system, increase the production of anabolic hormones and improve the quality of sleep. As we have already mentioned in our article on glutamine, the combination with creatine works synergistically and therefore one enhances the effectiveness of the other.

These two supplements should be taken about 30 minutes before training or 15 minutes after training.

Finally, it's just worth mentioning that you don't need to look for any complexities in taking creatine. I personally do not take any BCAAs, so I dissolve creatine in lukewarm water before and after training and I am maximally satisfied with the effect.

If you have any questions about creatine, feel free to ask in the comments.

More interesting articles about creatine:

• 7 most common myths about creatine
• Ranking the best creatine supplements on the market
• When and how much creatine to take?
• How creatine works in the body, its benefits and side effects
• Creatine HCl: A revolutionary form of creatine to replace monohydrate?

Everything you need to know about creatine (video):