Written by Tyler DiGiovanni | BSBM
Fact checked by Sam Coleman, Co-founder
FACT CHECKED
Creatine, a staple supplement for athletes and fitness enthusiasts, is celebrated for enhancing performance and muscle growth. But have you ever wondered how is this powerful supplement made? Join us as we explore the science behind the manufacturing of creatine, unveiling the steps and techniques that ensure its purity and efficacy.
How Is Creatine Made?
Creatine is made from the raw materials of sarcosine and cyanamide. In this post we'll cover the basic process of creating the most popular form of the supplement called creatine monohydrate. To ensure the final product is pure, effective, and safe for consumption let's look at the typical manufacturing process:
Step 1: Secure Raw Materials
- Starting Chemicals: The primary raw materials used in the production of creatine are sarcosine (a derivative of glycine) and cyanamide (an organic compound widely used for agricultural and pharmaceutical applications). Both are commercially available and used in various chemical processes.
Step 2: Synthesis Process
- Chemical Reaction: The manufacturing process starts with the reaction between sarcosine and cyanamide in a controlled environment. This reaction takes place in large reaction vessels.
- Heating: The mixture is heated to a specific temperature to facilitate the reaction. This step is critical as it ensures the formation of creatine from the starting chemicals.
Step 3: Purification
- Crystallization: After the reaction is complete, the mixture is cooled down, allowing creatine crystals to form. This process might involve the addition of solvents or other chemicals to aid in crystallization.
- Filtration: The crystallized creatine is separated from the reaction mixture using filtration. This step removes any unreacted materials and by-products, ensuring the purity of the creatine.
Step 4: Drying and Milling
- Drying: The filtered creatine crystals are then dried to remove any remaining solvents or moisture. This can be done using various techniques like air drying, vacuum drying, or a drying oven.
- Milling: The creatine crystals are milled into a fine powder once dried. Milling ensures a consistent particle size, which is essential for the solubility and bioavailability of the creatine.
Step 5: Quality Control
- Testing: The final creatine powder undergoes rigorous quality control tests to ensure purity, potency, and safety. This includes testing for contaminants, verifying the chemical composition, and ensuring it meets industry standards.
Step 6: Packaging and Inspection
- Packaging: The purified creatine powder is then packaged in a clean environment to avoid contamination. Packages are inspected for any defects, then labeled and prepped for distribution.
Key Considerations
- Purity: High-purity creatine is essential for safety and efficacy. Manufacturers often use advanced techniques and multiple purification steps to achieve high purity levels.
- Safety: Ensuring that the final product is free from harmful contaminants is crucial. This includes testing for heavy metals, residual solvents, and microbial contamination.
- Consistency: Achieving a consistent particle size and ensuring that the product dissolves well in liquids is important for consumer satisfaction.
What think about when picking a creatine powder
There is a recommended "loading phase" of taking 20-25 grams of creatine for 5-7 days, broken up into several smaller doses throughout the day. Taking 20 grams all at once is going to end up with you spending a lot of time on the porcelain throne (trust me, I've made that mistake before). After the loading phase, you want to shoot for a daily dose of 3-5 grams.
When picking out a creatine powder, you should check the serving size to ensure you're getting how much you need. Read our full post on How To Take Creatine for a full breakdown.
Another common question you may be asking is, "When should I take it though?". I'm glad you asked, and you can read all about it in our full article When To Take Creatine.
The price of creatine can vary widely. If you're buying a straight creatine monohydrate powder, the most important things to look for are price per serving and whether it has been third-party tested. Everything else is just marketing.
In shopping mode? Check out the Best Creatine options on the market.
The Creatine Industry
Creatine is the best-selling workout supplement in the world. With a plethora of research studies that back up its efficacy and minimal to no side effects, it's no wonder why global creatine sales are expected to hit almost $1 billion by 2030.
There are three companies that makeup 58% of the global creatine market, two of which are Chinese and the third a German company. That in itself reflects production as a whole, with the majority being produced in China, followed by Europe.
Creatine Monohydrate is the most well-known and used type of creatine, although new versions are coming out, all claiming to be better than the original.
While some types, like creatine HCL, may help reduce gastro issues that can occur with monohydrate, there isn't any concrete evidence that they are more beneficial for the gym.
Learn more about this in our post Creatine HCI vs Monohydrate.
Conclusion
When it comes to making creatine, the process is pretty straightforward. There are some additional steps for other types of creatine, such as creatine HCL, but the initial production is the same. When it comes down to picking a creatine product, look for one that has gone through 3rd party testing and other than that, they are all pretty much the same!
Tyler DiGiovanni
Author