Consuming Citric Acid and Creatine...

[jonathan2994]

On the bottle and online it says to not consume creatine and citric acid, but that's all it says. Is it alright to consume citric acid hours before or after consuming creatine? Or should I aboslutely not take in any citric acid while on creatine? What's the deal?

[RepubCarrier]

"on the bottle".... not really helpful.

there is absolutely no reason not to consume citric acid and creatine at the same time, even creatine mixed with a citrus drink. "the bottle" was probably referring to the relatively quick conversion of creatine to creatinine when left around a PH of 2-3 (that of most citrus drinks) as a precaution to not mix these together if one is not going to drink it relatively quickly.

[jonathan2994]

so I can have grapefruit juice with breakfast in the morning and still take my creatine after my workout in the evening without it losing its effect?

[jonathan2994]

sorry, but i have to bump this. this is a big deal. i need to know if i've been wasting creatine.

[RepubCarrier]

absolutely. I would go as far as to say that I am 100% sure that ZERO additional creatine is converted to creatinine as a result of your morning grapefruit. And, as I said, if you want to get a glass of grapefruit juice post-workout, put 5g creatine in there, and drink it right away, you would probably experience something like .01% more creatine--->creatinine conversion than had you drank it in water. It really, really, does not matter as long as you don't leave the creatine in there for hours.

[sharpie]

i have always heard that it turns creatine into creatinine or however you spell it.

i would only take creatine w/ grape juice.

no orange juice or anything like that.

although grape juice contains citric acid. who knows???

just take it w/ grape juice.

[jonathan2994]

are you sure? could you give me a good source? and what's so different and unaffective about creatinine?

[RepubCarrier]

i have always heard that it turns creatine into creatinine or however you spell it.

i would only take creatine w/ grape juice.

no orange juice or anything like that.

although grape juice contains citric acid. who knows???

just take it w/ grape juice.

nope. the half life is several hours at that PH, and several weeks at PH 7, and thus does not matter for immediate consumption.

[sharpie]

i have read it from several sources. but w/ anything you read you have to take w/ a grain of salt.

seriously, freaking everything is contradictory in bodybuilding.

just take it w/ grape juice and stop worrying about it... LOL.

[RepubCarrier]

i have read it from several sources. but w/ anything you read you have to take w/ a grain of salt.

seriously, freaking everything is contradictory in bodybuilding.

just take it w/ grape juice and stop worrying about it... LOL.

However, we aren't discussing arbitrary bodybuilding recommendations. The FACTS are that creatine DOES NOT break down fast enough for it to matter at all. This has been demonstrated experimentally in peer-reviewed journals, which trumps any anecdotal sources or recommendations. Furthermore, grape juice has a PH of 3-4, which would degrade creatine at roughly the same speed as orange juice would.

I do agree that this kid is overthinking it. just take your creatine postworkout, in any drink, and stop worrying about it.

[pu12en12g]

It really, really, does not matter as long as you don't leave the creatine in there for hours.

^^^ Bingo

[sharpie]

are you sure? could you give me a good source? and what's so different and unaffective about creatinine?

sure i found it for you:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/dimaggio2.htm

and here's some quotes from it:

"You will find many different recommendations on how to take creatine. Studies have shown that you get a 60% greater cell uptake of creatine if you combine it with a simple sugar base, such as grape juice (naturally rich in glucose).

"A big insulin spike will push the creatine into the muscle. Do not ever take creatine with orange juice! Very simply it negates the positive effects due to it's acidity"

[RepubCarrier]

sure i found it for you:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/dimaggio2.htm

and here's some quotes from it:

"You will find many different recommendations on how to take creatine. Studies have shown that you get a 60% greater cell uptake of creatine if you combine it with a simple sugar base, such as grape juice (naturally rich in glucose).

"A big insulin spike will push the creatine into the muscle. Do not ever take creatine with orange juice! Very simply it negates the positive effects due to it's acidity"

orange juice is also rich in glucose, so that is irrelevant. And, as I said, if you drink it quickly it doesn't matter. Really, consider what we're talking about. Creatine being in a PH 3-4 juice (grape) for 30 seconds vs. creatine being in a PH 2-3 juice for 30 seconds, BOTH followed by 20-30? minutes in hydrochloric acid in the stomach. The 30 seconds is not significant.

Anyway, studies trump BB.com summaries... they were just trying to discourage people from, say, putting creatine in OJ, bringing it to the gym, and drinking it 3 hours later post-workout.