Hydration Creatine

What this is. Creatine with electrolytes in the same scoop — the two things most people take around training anyway, combined.

5,000 mg of creatine monohydrate and 1,000 mg of sodium in one scoop. The creatine is the amount the research actually uses. The sodium is a full gram, which the front of the bottle puts at 43% of the Daily Value, and that is the part to think about before you buy.

What you are actually getting, per 1 scoop

• Calories — 22
• Magnesium (as malate) — 60 mg
• Sodium — 1000 mg
• Potassium — 200 mg
• Creatine Monohydrate — 5000 mg

Nothing here is a standardised extract, so there is no ratio arithmetic to show. Three things the panel does not do. It prints no Daily Value percentage for anything — the 43% is a front-of-bottle figure, and 1,000 mg against the 2,300 mg Daily Value for sodium is where it comes from. It does not name the potassium salt, although it does name the magnesium as malate, which is more than many labels manage. And it gives 22 calories without stating any carbohydrate, fat or protein, so it does not say where those calories come from. The sodium to potassium ratio is 5 to 1.

Worth knowing before you buy

Creatine monohydrate research overwhelmingly uses 5 g a day, taken every day, and consistency matters more than timing. Sodium at a gram a scoop is for replacing what you have sweated out. Those two schedules do not agree with each other, and that disagreement is the honest problem with this tub.

Take it daily for the creatine and you are adding a gram of sodium to every day, rest days included, on top of a diet that probably already has plenty. Take it only on hard training days for the electrolytes and you are not taking creatine daily, which is how creatine is studied. There is no way of using this product that gets you both patterns. If you want 5 g of creatine every day without the salt, a plain creatine monohydrate does that. If you want salt only on the days you sweat, an electrolyte powder does that.

Who it genuinely suits: someone training hard and sweating most days who would rather buy one tub than two. That is a real person and this is a sensible product for them. It is not a general daily wellness drink, and if you have been told to watch your salt, this is the wrong tub on the shelf.

The magnesium at 60 mg and the potassium at 200 mg are modest next to the sodium. Magnesium research generally works with several hundred milligrams a day, so this is not where to get a meaningful magnesium dose.

How to take it

One scoop in a large glass or bottle of water. Thirty scoops in the tub, so daily use is 30 days. Used only on heavy training days it lasts a good deal longer — and see above for what that costs you on the creatine side.

Other ingredients

The panel lists none. It states no flavouring, no sweetener and no anti-caking agent, and it carries no allergen statement. This is a powder, so there is no capsule and no gelatin question — but the panel does not state that it is certified vegetarian or vegan either, and it does not say whether it is made on shared equipment. If you have allergies, read the physical label before you use it.

Cautions

The 1,000 mg of sodium matters if you have high blood pressure, heart failure, kidney disease or any instruction from a doctor to restrict salt. In any of those cases, speak to your doctor before using this at all. The potassium matters if you take a potassium-sparing diuretic such as spironolactone or amiloride, an ACE inhibitor, or an angiotensin receptor blocker — all of those raise potassium, and added potassium can compound it. Creatine has no well-documented major drug interactions, but it does raise blood creatinine readings without anything being wrong, so tell your doctor you take it before any kidney blood test, and speak to them first if you have kidney disease or take long-term NSAIDs. Magnesium can loosen stools. Drink enough water. Keep out of the reach of children. Do not use if the safety seal is damaged or missing. Store in a cool, dry place. Do not exceed the recommended dose. If you are pregnant, nursing, under 18, taking prescription medication or living with a medical condition, speak to your doctor or pharmacist before starting this or any supplement.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.