Over the past few blogs, we’ve covered our new line of creatine-based supplements, including Creatine + Tone & Define and Creatine + Energy & Focus Today, we conclude our series with the 3rd offering in our new creatine line up - Creatine + Hydration.
What is Creatine + Hydration?
Creatine + Hydration contains the king of supplements with a powerful blend of essential electrolytes to support hydration, performance, and stamina while fueling strength and endurance to help you keep training hard and on track with your health and fitness goals.
Every serving of Creatine + Hydration supplies optimized amounts of:
- Creatine Monohydrate (5g)
- Pink Himalayan Salt
- Potassium Citrate
- Magnesium Malate
Creatine Monohydrate (5,000mg)
While creatine is best-known for its performance and muscle-gaining benefits, it also aids hydration. You see, creatine belongs to a special class of molecules known as osmolytes.
What is an osmolyte?
Osmolytes are naturally occurring molecules that enhance your muscle cells ability to absorb and retain water. This increases cell volumization, endurance, and resistance to fatigue (especially the kind induced by hot environments).[1,2]
Additionally, researchers state that “creatine users experienced less incidence of cramping, heat illness/dehydration, muscle tightness, muscle strains/pulls, non-contact injuries, and total injuries/missed practices than those not taking creatine.”[3]
Basically, if you want to perform better, gain more strength, recover faster and decrease your risk of creatine, then you want to supplement with creatine.
Even if those aren’t your primary goals, then consider this -- creatine has also been shown to improve mood and cognitive function! This truly makes creatine a “no-brainer!”
Pink Himalayan Salt (providing 500mg sodium, 788mg chloride)
Harvested from one of the oldest salt mines in the world, pink Himalayan salt is considered one of the best natural sources of sodium. This key electrolyte is involved in regulating blood pressure and blood volume. It also helps maintain fluid balance outside of the cell and is required for optimal muscle function.
Moreover, muscle tissue and neurons are activated by sodium activity, which means that if you have a sodium deficiency, your muscle’s ability to contract powerfully can be limited/slowed and they may eventually cramp.
Beyond sodium, pink Himalayan salt also contains a variety of other micronutrients, including magnesium, iron, potassium and calcium.
Potassium Citrate (providing 300mg)
Whereas sodium is responsible for regulating fluid levels outside our cells, potassium is responsible for regulating fluid levels inside the cell. It also plays an important role in regulating muscle function and heartbeat.
Deficiencies in potassium can lead to constipation, fatigue, muscle weakness, and malaise as well as increase blood pressure, kidney stone risk, bone turnover, urinary calcium excretion, and salt sensitivity.
When it comes to choosing the right electrolytes to include in hydration supplements, it’s important to realize that the form of electrolyte makes a difference -- some are better than others due to a mixture of bioavailability and GI effects. Specifically, citrate and malate forms of minerals (e.g. potassium citrate and magnesium malate), are easy on the digestive system and offer better bioavailability than cheaper forms of electrolytes used in other supplements (e.g. magnesium oxide).
Citrate forms of electrolytes have also been noted to improve exercise performance by buffering lactic acid buildup in the muscle.[4]
Magnesium Malate (providing 100mg magnesium)
Magnesium is an essential electrolyte and an important cofactor in 300+ biological processes, including DNA synthesis, bone development, muscle relaxation and energy production.
Magnesium is even involved in antioxidant defense as it is needed for the production of glutathione -- a “master” antioxidant in the body.
Last, but certainly not least, magnesium is involved in the active transportation of potassium and calcium ions across cell membranes. This process affects multiple areas of the body, including nerve impulse conduction, muscle contraction, and heart rhythm.
Deficiencies in magnesium can lead to loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, and weakness as well as numbness, tingling, muscle contractions and cramps.
In addition to hydration support, potassium and magnesium also support cardiovascular health as potassium can soften the endothelium and increase nitric oxide (NO) production while magnesium aids nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) activity.[6,7]
Creation + Hydration includes magnesium malate (malic acid) which is easy on the stomach and offers better bioavailability than magnesium oxide. Malic acid is an organic compound found in various fruits, including apples. It plays an important role in energy production since it is a key intermediate in the Krebs cycle, which helps generate the ATP your muscles need to perform optimally during training.[8]
How to Take Creatine + Hydration
Mix 1 scoop with 10 oz of cold water and consume 30 minutes before workout. On non-training days, take 1 scoop in the morning to maintain creatine levels, enhance performance & productivity, and support muscle recovery.
Stacking Options
Creatine + Hydration supplies a full 5g of creatine along with optimized amounts of essential electrolytes to support performance, recovery and all-day hydration.
It can be taken by itself alone, and it can be stacked with our other creatine-based products for additional benefits, depending on your goals:
- For greater workout performance and recovery, we suggest having a serving of Creatine + Energy & Focus before training and a serving of Creatine + Hydration post-workout.
- To help replenish and rehydrate after your cardio workouts, we suggest having a serving of Creatine + Energy & Focus followed by a serving of Creatine + Hydration, which supplies essential electrolytes your mind and muscles need to perform at their best each day.
References
- Francaux, M. , and Poortmans J. R.. 1999. “Effects of Training and Creatine Supplement on Muscle Strength and Body Mass.” European Journal of Applied Physiology and Occupational Physiology 80, no. 2: 165–168. 10.1007/s004210050575.
- Bemben, M. G. , Bemben D. A., Loftiss D. D., and Knehans A. W.. 2001. “Creatine Supplementation During Resistance Training in College Football Athletes.” Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 33, no. 10: 1667–1673. 10.1097/00005768-200110000-00009
- Greenwood M, et al. Creatine supplementation during college football training does not increase the incidence of cramping or injury. Mol Cell Biochem. 2003;244(1–2):83–88. doi: 10.1023/A:1022413202549
- Sodium citrate ingestion and its effects on maximal anaerobic exercise of different durations. McNaughton LR, et al., 1992. European Journal of Applied Physiology and Occupational Physiology, 64(1), 36-41; Sodium citrate and anaerobic performance: implications of dosage. McNaughton LR. Eur J Appl Physiol Occup Physiol. 1990;61(5-6):392-7.
- Brilla, L. R. , Giroux M. S., Taylor A., and Knutzen K. M.. 2003. “Magnesium‐Creatine Supplementation Effects on Body Water.” Metabolism 52, no. 9: 1136–1140. 10.1016/s0026-0495(03)00188-4
- Oberleithner H, Callies C, Kusche-Vihrog K, et al. Potassium softens vascular endothelium and increases nitric oxide release. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009;106(8):2829–2834. doi:10.1073/pnas.0813069106
- Howard, A. B., Alexander, R. W., & Taylor, W. R. (1995). Effects of magnesium on nitric oxide synthase activity in endothelial cells. The American Journal of Physiology, 269(3 Pt 1), C612-8. https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpcell.1995.269.3.C612
- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/381207264_The_Effects_of_a_Novel_Taurine-L-Malic_Acid_Complex_on_Indices_of_Recovery_after_an_Exercise_Protocol_Inducing_Delayed-Onset_Muscle_Soreness_Original_Research
