"The secret is out: Kre-Alkalyn is the biggest breakthrough in bodybuilding technology since the release of creatine monohydrate!"
This quote is from one of the many ads used to sell Kre-Alkalyn to the bodybuilding world. Of course, Kre-Alkalyn has been around for a few years now, so it's not exactly a secret anymore.
What is Kre-Alkalyn? Simply put, Kre-Alkalyn is...creatine monohydrate. So how can creatine monohydrate be a bigger breakthrough than, well, creatine monohydrate? According to U.S. Patent #6,399,661, Kre-Alkalyn isn't any old creatine monohydrate—it's been treated with alkaline salts to render a high pH when dissolved in water.
Why does that matter? According to the patent:
"Research has shown that
known creatine delivery systems actually have the human body ingesting
creatinine, a poison and toxic byproduct. It is believed that the main reason
for complaints resulting from creatine consumption, namely, stomach cramps,
edema, bloodedness and dehydration, is caused by the body's defense to this
toxic compound.
The known oral creatine supplements are dissolved in acidic solutions having a pH range of from 3-6. Research has shown that at these pH levels, the rate of conversion of creatine to creatinine is almost instantaneous." |
So according to "research," we're being poisoned by our creatine supplements! Just add water and kaboom—instant creatinine.
Jeffrey Golini, the inventor of Kre-Alkalyn and founder of All-American Pharmaceutical & Natural Foods Corporation, conducted this research using Near Infrared Analysis (NIR). Golini claims his research also showed that creatine conversion to creatinine is reduced in alkaline solutions—and is effectively zero at pH 12. This is the rationale for Kre-Alkalyn: its high pH supposedly ensures it will be 100% stable in solution.
No creatinine conversion = no side effects = more creatine available to your muscles—or so the reasoning goes. Since Kre-Alkalyn has never been tested in humans under controlled conditions, there's no direct proof. Thus the case "for" Kre-Alkalyn rests on the case against regular creatine monohydrate. Let's see how the charges stand up to examination, one by one.
1. Regular creatine monohydrate converts to creatinine within minutes of being dissolved in liquid.
To be blunt, Golini's research has never been published in any peer-reviewed scientific journal. This means his data has never been examined or verified by other researchers familiar with creatine monohydrate or NIR measurements. All we have is Golini's word to go on.
Independent research tells a different story. Dr. Roger Harris, for example, demonstrated that creatine monohydrate was completely stable in water for up to 8 hours at room temperature; and that subsequent degradation over 3 days was quite low. In his own patent, Dr. Harris also stated: "...the conversion of creatine to creatinine at acidic pH is actually
sufficiently slow as to allow physiologically useful amounts of creatine to
remain...after considerable periods of time."
More recently, NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy) experiments by Dr. Tony Wallner of Barry University confirmed that creatine is quite stable when dissolved in water. According to Dr. Wallner, he and his students "...found creatine to be stable in water solutions for much longer periods of time than minutes (more on the order of weeks)."*
There is indirect evidence as well, in the form of human studies that measured serum creatinine after subjects consumed creatine dissolved in liquids such as water, coffee or tea. According to a review article based on 9 such studies (Ann Pharmacother. 2005 Jun;39(6):1093-6.)...
"...creatine supplementation minimally impacts creatinine concentrations." This would not be true if the creatine used in these studies degraded to creatinine before the subjects drank it; or from exposure to stomach acid.
To make a long story short, the claim that creatine rapidly converts to creatinine in liquid just doesn't hold water.
2. The conversion process of creatine to creatinine is pH dependent.
This is partially true: according to Dr. Harris's data, creatine breakdown after 3 days in solution at 25o C was 4%, 12% and 21% at pH 5.5, 4.5, and 3.5, respectively. The influence of pH is real enough, but even under acidic conditions, creatine breakdown is hardly "near spontaneous."
3. Creatinine is a dangerous 'bio-waste' material and is responsible for creatine side effects.
It's true that creatinine is a waste product of creatine metabolism. In blood/urine tests, it's used as a marker to identify possible kidney problems. There is zero data, however, to show that creatinine toxicity is responsible for the occasional side effects associated with creatine.
In fact, it's doubtful that the modest increase in serum creatinine seen with creatine supplementation causes any toxic effects. After all, creatine monohydrate is more than just a sports nutrition supplement—it's also used therapeutically, to help people with neurodegenerative diseases and genetic defects in creatine metabolism. It's even been given "orphan drug" status for use in clinical trials for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's Disease).
In other words, creatine monohydrate is used to treat sick people. This would be inconceivable if creatinine "toxicity" was a genuine risk.
4. Kre-Alkalyn is more stable than regular creatine monohydrate.
Dr. Mark J. Tallon recently tested the stability of Kre-Alkalyn vs. untreated creatine monohydrate under acidic conditions, and presented his results at the 4th Annual International Society of Sports Nutrition conference. The title says it all: Kre-alkalyn® supplementation has no beneficial effect on creatine-to-creatinine conversion rates.
"In contrast to the claims of All American Pharmaceutical and Natural Foods Corp., the rate of creatinine formation from CM was found to be less than 1% of the initial dose, demonstrating that CM is extremely stable under acidic conditions that replicate those of the stomach. This study also showed that KA supplementation actually resulted in 35% greater conversion of creatine to creatinine than CM. In conclusion the conversion of creatine to creatinine is not a limitation in the delivery of creatine from CM and KA is less stable than CM in the acid conditions of the stomach." |
So much for claims of superior stability—at least under experimental conditions.
To sum up, the attacks on creatine stability are unfounded. There is no case "for" Kre-Alkalyn.
Does all of this mean that Kre-Alkalyn is worthless? Not necessarily. Kre-Alkalyn is still creatine monohydrate. While there are no studies confirming Kre-Alkalyn effectiveness, there are anecdotal reports from users who swear by it. It's not expensive and apparently not harmful, so it remains as one of many untested alternatives to regular creatine on the market.
Nonetheless, potential users should choose a creatine supplement with eyes wide open, and not on the basis of false and misleading advertising claims. As Paul has written in detail, regular creatine monohydrate is a safe and effective supplement for anyone wishing to improve performance and increase lean body mass—and anyone who tells you differently is selling something.
Kre-Alkalyn supplement brands include:
All American EFX capsules, softgels, powder, liquid,
PBL Kre-Alkalyn Xtreme,
SciFit Kre-Alkalyn 1500,
Fusion Nutrition Purple K,
Ultimate Nutrition Kre-Alkalyn,
Elite Delivery Technologies Elite-K,
Supplement Direct Pure Kre-Alkalyn, Shocker Nutrition Kre-Alkalyn |
Kre-Alkalyn supplements are available at BodyBuilding.com!
*Personal communication, 10/19/07
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