I read with interest your review and analysis of Muscle Marketing's Creatine Serum. My interest in a liquid creatine is rooted in the fact that my system seems to have difficulty digesting powdered creatine, and I'd like very much to think there's an easier way to get creatine into my system. So here's my question: Have you had a chance to review HST's Liquid Creatine Fusion? They claim to have independent lab results available (I've called and asked for them to be sent to me) that indicate that their product is stable. And while they don't seem to make the same kinds of outlandish claims that Muscle Marketing makes, I'm hoping their product will be easier to digest. Thanks much.
A: Well first off, science says creatine in a liquid for any extended length of time is unstable. So this being the science of creatine stability it just makes no sense to put it in a liquid for more than a few minutes. No sense whatsoever. Doing so is defying current science.
Even if you could make creatine stable there is still no advantage to packaging it in a liquid. If fact, there are nothing but disadvantages. Just like milk, orange juice, and virtually every other consumable liquid mixture, it will go bad over time. Currently with creatine it starts to go bad (degrade into creatinine) in a matter of hours.
Now here is another big misunderstanding. Creatine is very insoluble in a liquid. You can only dissolve 15 milligrams of creatine per milliliters of liquid. To get 5 grams of creatine to completely dissolve it would take about 334 milliliters of liquid or about 11.3 ounces.
This Liquid Creatine Fusion claims to contain 7 grams of creatine per 16.5 gram serving size. To dissolve 7 grams of creatine it would require 17.8 ounces of liquid. With this concentration it's not a liquid at all. In fact, it's almost half solid particles. I have not seen this particular product but with these specifications it would have to have the consistency of a light but very gritty syrup. Virtually no creatine would dissolve in that small amount of liquid. The "grit" is the creatine powder. Grit is not liquid. Water is a liquid. This product is not a liquid.
So just because they call it a liquid creatine certainly does not mean it's a liquid. The reality of it is, it's not a liquid at all, it's creatine powder "suspended" in a liquid. It's simply premixed creatine. And with the stability of creatine scientifically documented to be in jeopardy when placed in a liquid, it simply makes no scientific or practical sense to produce a supplement such as this.
So this brings to question, why would they do this? If science is against them, why do it? It's simple. Marketing. It gives these companies a new angle to market creatine. Never mind the science. Never mind the stability factor. Never mind no research has been done. Marketing dismisses all this. Who cares if the approach is worthless as long as it generates good marketing copy and good money. That's it.
With this product and all other so called liquid creatine supplements, all you are getting is powdered creatine suspended in a liquid. You can make this same concoction yourself much more economically and forgo the chance of the creatine converting to creatinine. If you have a problem taking powdered creatine then you will have a problem taking this. There's no difference in the digestion.
And as far as the other ingredients in this product, the amounts are so minute that their purported effects are nonexistent.