What is Creatine Nitrate?
Creatine Nitrate is a novel creatine supplement where creatine is bound to a nitrate group. A recent innovation, creatine nitrate is considered similar to Creatine HCL, a popular and easily soluble creatine that has risen in popularity in the last few years.
Where Does Creatine Nitrate Come From?
Creatine Nitrate is synthetically made by binding creatine to nitrate. Both individual elements are found naturally in nature, however both can be synthetically produced quite easily.
Creatine Nitrate Benefits
Creatine Nitrate is said to be 10 times more soluble than creatine monohydrate or buffered creatine1. This makes creatine nitrates more palatable as you don’t need to use as much and this higher solubility may mean enhanced absorption and less of the negative side effects associated with using a lot of creatine monohydrate.
Creatine Nitrate Benefits for Bodybuilding
Creatine Nitrate essentially provides both creatine and nitrates to support exercise performance. While there have not been any studies on the ergogenic properties of creatine nitrate, there have been multiple studies on the positive effects of both creatine and nitrates on exercise performance and also on other factors of health. Creatine is well known for its ability to enhance strength, endurance, muscle gain and exercise performance while nitrates are well known for its ability to support improved blood flow. Increased blood flow is an excellent way to support recovery and exercise performance due to the increase flow of nutrients and oxygen to the muscle and unwanted metabolites away from the working muscle.
Side Effects, Safety & Negatives of Creatine Nitrate
There are currently no studies on the safety or any side effects of creatine nitrate use. Creatine and nitrates as individual ingredients however are quite safe to consume with very few side effects; the only ones being bloating and water retention with creatine and dizziness and low blood pressure with a substantial amount of nitrate use.
Creatine Nitrate Recommended Doses and Ingredient Timing
Creatine Nitrate is best utilised 30 minutes to an hour prior to exercise and represents the best way to utilise the nitrates. On non-training days, creatine nitrate can be used anytime throughout the day, but should not be taken with excessive amounts of caffeine. Creatine nitrate should be dosed similar to creatine but on a fifth of the dose. This would mean 4g/day in divided doses during loading period and 1g/day for maintenance.
Creatine Nitrate Supplements
Creatine Nitrate is a common ingredient in pre-workout formulations, especially concentrated pre-workouts. They are also found in creatine supplements and specialty protein blends.
Stacking Creatine Nitrate Supplements
Creatine Nitrate can essentially be stacked with any other supplement such as protein supplements, intra-workouts and especially carbohydrates, but should not be paired with supplements with excessive caffeine such as fat burners and high stimulant pre-workouts due to competition in absorption.
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Pandit A et al "Equilibrium solubility studies of creatine nitrate, creatine monohydrate and buffered creatine" AAPS Poster Presentation 2010.