Why People Question Creatine HCL’s Value
There’s a new creatine on the market and, despite rising popularity, many people question whether it’s worth it.
Creatine HCL is a new form of creatine touted for its superior solubility. While creatine monohydrate is the gold standard for muscle building, the solubility of creatine HCL allows for smaller doses, less bloating, and eliminates the need for a loading phase.
However, these perks come at a cost. Creatine HCL products can be found at a higher price point than creatine monohydrate. Some believe the cost is worth it for the reduction in bloating and discomfort, while others note that smaller doses may lead to cost savings.
While there are many pros to creatine HCL, the amount of research on it is minimal compared to creatine monohydrate.
Creatine monohydrate is the gold standard for creatine for a reason. It is the most well-researched and effective form of creatine for building strength and muscle.
Creatine HCL may be just as good, but unfortunately, it lacks the extensive research of creatine monohydrate.
Studies available do support similar improvements in performance between the two, with studies supporting HCL over monohydrates as very limited.
Creatine HCL could be a great option for those who are sensitive to creatine monohydrate, but until more extensive studies are available, monohydrate continues to hold the top rank for creatine.
**Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before starting any new supplement, especially if you have a medical condition, are pregnant, or are taking medication.
What Is Creatine HCL?
Creatine hydrochloride (HCL) is a type of creatine that has been modified to improve solubility by binding creatine to HCL. The result allows creatine to be better absorbed in the body compared to other forms.
Creatine and HCL form a salt that lowers pH and increases polarity. This allows creatine to dissolve quickly and easily in water compared to creatine monohydrate. The faster it dissolves, the faster the body can absorb it.
While the research on this is still evolving, the improved solubility of creatine HCL allows for smaller doses, faster results, and reduced bloating and discomfort with similar effectiveness to creatine monohydrate.
The improved solubility may also come with other benefits, such as dissolving more easily into liquids without a gritty texture, faster absorption that eliminates the need for a loading phase, and reduced water retention compared to creatine monohydrate.
Creatine HCL was designed for individuals who experience digestive discomfort from traditional forms of creatine. Additionally, those who prefer to take smaller doses and wish to skip the loading phase of creatine may find creatine HCL a preferable option.
Creatine Fundamentals
Creatine is a compound naturally produced by the human body, specifically the liver and kidneys. You can also get it in small amounts from dietary sources such as meat, poultry, and seafood.
It is the primary fuel source for muscle contraction and brain function. It is stored as phosphocreatine in your muscle tissues, where it is used for energy.
Many athletes and gym-goers alike take creatine supplements to help boost phosphocreatine stores. Larger stores mean more energy production for high-intensity workouts. Something difficult to achieve in any other way outside of supplementation.
Phosphocreatine generates ATP (adenosine-triphosphate) during high-intensity exercise, which provides rapid, sustained energy for powerful movements such as weight lifting or sprinting. More fuel in the tank means better performance and better strength gains.
This is why creatine is one of the most popular athletic supplements, with extensive research showing that creatine monohydrate, the gold standard form of supplemental creatine, can effectively boost muscle strength and power.
Research also shows it supports muscle growth and boosts recovery to support injury prevention, along with additional cognitive benefits [1].
What Creatine HCL Claims to Do Differently
While creatine monohydrate is the most common form of creatine on the market, it’s not the only one. Creatine HCL is a newer form that claims to provide further benefits over traditional.
Creatine HCL is creatine that has been bound to hydrochloride to help improve solubility, meaning it dissolves in water faster. The faster an unflavored creatine hcl powder dissolves, the faster your body can effectively use it.
Because it is more soluble than traditional forms, HCL claims to work faster with smaller doses, improving digestive tolerance and eliminating the need for a loading phase.
This means creatine HCL comes without the bloating and water retention that many consumers experience, and may allow for faster results.
Those taking creatine HCL may notice a difference in as little as 1 week after taking it, without a loading phase, compared to 1 week with a 5-7 day loading phase for creatine monohydrate.
Without a loading phase to saturate your phosphocreatine stores, results may not show from creatine monohydrate for 2-4 weeks.
While this new form of creatine sounds like a great alternative for faster results without the hassle of side effects or a special loading phase, it’s important to note that the research on creatine HCL is extremely limited compared to creatine monohydrate.
What Does the Science Say About Creatine HCL?
Is There Direct Research on Creatine HCL?
There are limited HCL-specific studies available, but there are some that compare HCL versus monohydrate or alternative forms of creatine.
A 2024 study on which of the two, HCL or monohydrate, had more impacts on anabolic/catabolic hormones, strength, and body composition showed that both had similar benefits, with HCL showing no benefit over monohydrate [2].
A 2022 systematic review comparing the efficacy of alternative forms of creatine supplements on improving performance and body composition in healthy subjects showed no consistent findings of performance enhancement among alternative forms when compared to a placebo [3].
This means that creatine alternatives, including creatine HCL, are relying on the extensive studies available on creatine monohydrate to argue its benefits, but studies exclusively on creatine HCL are minuscule in comparison.
While this is not to say that creatine HCL doesn’t hold any benefits, it’s important to recognize that creatine monohydrate holds the gold star title for creatine for a reason. It has decades of extensive studies behind it to support its efficacy.
What We Can Infer from Creatine Research Overall
Numerous research studies on creatine show that consistent supplementation helps to saturate muscle phosphocreatine stores that aid in generating ATP for muscle contraction. Getting to this degree of muscle saturation is unlikely through diet alone.
Muscle tissue naturally contains anywhere from 60-80% creatine saturation, from what is generated by the body and consumed through diet. Therefore, supplementation can effectively increase muscle creatine stores by 20-40% [4].
Research studies have found that creatine monohydrate is 98-99% bioavailable, meaning your body can use almost all of it. Some factors, like age and diet, can impact absorption [4].
For example, insulin and sodium can help pull creatine into your muscles, making a post-workout snack or meal containing carbs an effective strategy to boost creatine absorption.
Again, most studies are conducted on creatine monohydrate. While it’s safe to assume that many benefits of creatine monohydrate are likely to be shared by other forms of creatine, the research has not proven this.
You may see other forms, like HCL or ethyl ester, claim superior benefits that are not backed by scientific literature. Exercise caution with these.
Creatine HCL Absorption: Is It Actually Better?
What “Better Absorption” Means Scientifically
Because creatine HCL is bound to an acid, it is significantly more water-soluble than creatine monohydrate. Its water solubility helps enhance the digestion and absorption of creatine into the muscle tissue.
High solubility means it dissolves really well in water. Undissolved creatine powder can irritate the gut, causing bloating or cramping. When it dissolves well, your stomach empties faster for smoother digestion and less chance of digestive upset.
This is what allows users to take smaller amounts of creatine and have less digestive discomfort compared to creatine monohydrate, which is not as soluble.
However, there is no scientific evidence to support the theory that creatine HCL is more effective or is absorbed better for muscle saturation than creatine monohydrate.
Solubility vs Muscle Uptake
Just because creatine HCL dissolves better in water than creatine monohydrate doesn’t mean your muscles absorb the creatine better. Digestive absorption and muscle absorption of creatine are not the same.
Creatine monohydrate is nearly 100% bioavailable. This means your body absorbs almost all of it.
The bioavailability of creatine HCL has yet to be determined. While it is suggested that bioavailability is high because of improvements in solubility, there are not enough direct human comparisons. In fact, most studies are based on creatine monohydrate.
Therefore, the solubility of creatine HCL is not indicative of effectiveness. It is a benefit for those who struggle with tolerance to creatine, but it is not proven to be a superior version.
Does Absorption Translate to Better Results?
Better absorption translates to better results. However, creatine monohydrate is already nearly 100% absorbed in the body. Creatine HCL is believed to have a high bioavailability as well, but this is not as extensively studied.
The better your muscles absorb creatine, the more impact on performance and hypertrophy outcomes. Because of the robust research supporting the bioavailability and effectiveness of creatine monohydrate, this continues to be the recommended form of creatine for best results.
This is not to say that creatine HCL couldn’t be as effective; it just doesn’t have enough research to support its solubility benefits, resulting in better outcomes when compared to creatine monohydrate.
Benefits of Creatine HCL: Realistic vs Exaggerated
Potential Benefits
Creatine HCL has gained popularity because of its potential improvements in solubility, which provides several positives compared to creatine monohydrate.
Improved solubility means smaller dose requirements. The typical maintenance dose for creatine monohydrate is 3-5 grams per day, whereas creatine HCL only requires 1.5-3 grams per day.
Creatine HCL also eliminates the need for a loading phase, a common practice in those taking creatine monohydrate to boost creatine stores quickly. This requires high doses of around 20-25g per day, spread out into doses of 3-5g several times a day, for 5-7 days.
The loading phase of creatine is typically when most users experience bloating, water retention, and other digestive discomforts.
Additionally, the water solubility of creatine HCL is believed to significantly improve its mixability in fluids. Eliminating the gritty, unpleasant texture that can be left behind by many powdered products.
Benefits Often Overstated
There are some claims out there that creatine HCL helps with fat loss; however, this is overstated. Creatine HCL does not burn fat, but it does indirectly support fat loss by boosting workout intensity.
As mentioned above, creatine HCL is also often said to reduce bloating and water retention when compared to creatine monohydrate. This doesn’t mean there isn’t any water retention with creating HCL.
Creatine still works the same, by pulling water into the muscle cells. Water retention may be improved with increased solubility and decreased dose, but some may still experience this.
There is no scientific evidence to support that creatine HCL doesn’t cause any water retention in users.
It is also marketed to provide superior gains due to its increased solubility, which is also overstated. There is no available research that shows creatine HCL is superior regarding any of the perceived benefits of creatine supplementation.
Creatine HCL shows a lot of promise, but it doesn’t have the robust research to support its efficacy that creatine monohydrate does. Therefore, these benefits are not proven.
Creatine HCL vs Creatine Monohydrate: Is It Worth the Extra Cost?
Cost Comparison
The improved solubility of creatine HCL comes at a steep price, roughly 2-3 times the cost of creatine monohydrate per serving.
On average, creatine monohydrate ranges anywhere from $0.12 to $0.29 per serving, whereas creatine HCL ranges from $0.60 to $1.10 per serving. This may not seem like a lot until you see them side by side at the store.
For someone who struggles to tolerate creating monohydrate and desires creatine for performance enhancement, this expense may be worth it.
But if you don’t need that, you may be wasting your money. Remember, the research on creatine HCL is minimal compared to monohydrate.
Effectiveness Comparison
Both forms of creatine can effectively aid in exercise performance. However, creatine monohydrate is the most cost-effective and extensively studied option. Numerous research studies over decades have proven the efficacy of creatine monohydrate.
Creatine HCL offers potential benefits that differ from monohydrate due to its improved solubility, such as reduced bloating and lower dosing. However, research has not been able to confirm that creatine HCL is more effective than creatine monohydrate.
Because of this, creatine monohydrate remains the top recommended choice because it's backed by such robust research. Creatine HCL is an option for those who struggle with digestive intolerance to traditional forms of creatine.
Who Is Creatine HCL Worth It For?
For users who are sensitive to creatine monohydrate, creatine HCL is an acceptable alternative. It may also be worth it for convenience-focused athletes who wish to skip the loading phase or choose smaller doses.
Who Probably Doesn’t Need Creatine HCL
Beginners and budget-focused users probably don’t need creatine HCL. While the marketing is good, it’s not necessary for most.
Additionally, those who are very evidence-based when it comes to their supplements would likely benefit from taking a pass on creatine HCL. The research is just not there yet.
Is Creatine HCL Safe?
Safety Profile Overview
Creatine HCL is generally considered a safe performance-enhancing dietary supplement for most healthy adults when used as directed. However, it’s important to note that long-term studies available are focused on creatine monohydrate.
Who Should Be Cautious
Individuals with pre-existing kidney disease should talk with their doctor before taking creatine supplements of any kind.
The research on creatine HCL use during pregnancy and breastfeeding is insufficient; therefore, it is recommended to use caution and always consult your medical provider before use.
Final Verdict: Is Creatine HCL Worth It?
While creatine HCL and monohydrate are believed to provide similar benefits on exercise performance, the research on creatine HCL is minimal in comparison and comes with a significant price hike. But, for some consumers, this may be justified.
Those who struggle with bloating and digestive discomfort may find creatine HCL to be worth the extra cost. For those looking for science-aligned recommendations, it’s best to stick with creatine monohydrate as it contains a robust background of research to support its efficacy.
So, what’s the final verdict? It’s the user's choice. For some, the potential benefits of creatine HCL may seem worth the extra cost despite minimal supportive research. Others may prefer the comfort in knowing creatine monohydrate is already well vetted.