NOW Foods Sports Nutrition, Creatine Monohydrate Powder, Mass Building*/Energy Production*, 8-Ounce

As a 47 year old woman, I began using this product at the recommendation of others to help with perimenopause symptoms…mainly loss of muscle definition and brain fog. At three weeks in, on just a maintenance dose, I can already see a minimal amount of muscle definition returning (with 3-4 strength workouts per week). The product is flavorless in my water and has yet to cause any water retention/bloating. I plan to purchase this product again and look forward to even more muscle definition as I continue its use.

nice product and I can feel the results

Great for building lean muscle. Ideal for women in their 40’s and those going through perimenopause. Noticed that if I consume with liquid during a workout it causes stomach upset. Recommend drinking before or after exercise.

I just recently became vegan and after taking a long break from my usual Trac Extreme NO 775 grams, I decided I wanted to start taking creatine again. I needed to find a vegan friendly Creatine and this seems to be the only one I could find.In comparison to the TRAC Extreme, the texture of the NOW creatine is like drinking flavorless sand, whereas the TRAC dissolved better. Also, the NOW brand has no flavor what so ever, which can be nice when adding it to a juice without changing the flavor.I usually like drinking my creatine with water, but I CAN NOT drink this creatine with water. It is just too sandy and because it has no flavor makes it very weird to swallow.The sandy texture actually adds a nice sort of crunchiness to juice drink however, and I like it.Performance comparison between the NOW and the TRAC, well... is almost no comparison. The TRAC gives you an incredible boost of energy! So much energy that I can barely sleep at night, which doesn't sound beneficial, but WOW! I blazed through my workouts without much effort when using TRAC.The NOW is lacking in the energy department.It's not fair to compare NOW to the TRAC because the TRAC has the added NO (where the energy boost comes from).To make up for this with the NOW brand I add Sequel Naturals Inc. - Vega Sport Pre-Workout Energizer - Lemon Lime, 19 oz powder to the mix, which seems to compliment the NOW very well prior to my workouts.Gain wise....the TRAC wins in the deparment as well. I seen major gains using the TRAC. I do see some gains with NOW creatine as well, but it is seemingly slower than the TRAC.All that being said, I know I praised the TRAC in this review, but in the end, I would still choose the NOW creatine because of the price, and also because it doesn't seem as harsh on your digestive tract. The TRAC completely annihilates your stomach. I thought it was just me at first but every person I know that tried it had the same issues. It also turns your urine neon yellow which is pretty gnarly to look at but does not seem normal.Both creatines seem to cause me some acid reflux, but the TRAC was much worse. It was so bad sometimes that I could not my workouts some days that I took it.If you really want an all in one creatine and to see gains quickly with an added energy boost without needing to add anything else such as sugary drinks or energy boosters to the mix you might be suited looking elsewhere.If you dont mind mixing it up and prefer to use a more natural and less harsh creatine as I do, then I highly recommend the NOW Creatine.

Excellent

I use this for hormone help and muscle building. It does mix better than others but not perfectly . It’s easy to swallow and digest. I mix it with preworkout or coconut water and lime. It works.

Made in the USA. 100% pure creatine monohydrate with no fillers. I use lots of NOW products and love them all. They are all all-natural and most are Made in the USA.Creatine monohydrate is one of the only legal substances that is proven to increase muscle mass long term in hundreds of clinical studies, with only one study citing a negative impact (possibly reacts badly if you are on medication that adversely affects kidney function). It has a ton of research to back it up, many of which you can just look up on wikipedia so I won't repeat them here. It is the only thing I supplement with other than protein.The way creatine works is as a energy reserve for your muscles so when you are deep into intense exercise it can be called on.. like a long-term storage-sugar that waits in your muscles until it is ready to be used. Make sure you drink plenty of water when supplementing with creatine because it is similar to a salt, if you let yourself get dehydrated much of its benefits will be countered.THE REST OF THE REVIEW IS FROM A VEGETARIAN BODYBUILDERS PERSPECTIVEPersonally, I am vegetarian, so naturally I get zero creatine supplemented by my diet. There was one study done on creatine with vegetarians that showed they far out-preformed meat-eating creatine users in cognitive tests. And out-preformed vegetarians who weren't supplementing with creatine. So that is just a double bonus. There is a difference in mental clarity although you do not need the mega-doses prescribed for body building for that effect. HOWEVER, creatine is typically not sourced from plant sources, although a plant sourced creatine exists it is extremely expensive, most creatine is actually synthesized from amino acids. The amino acids could be sourced from any number of plant or animal sources, from whey, to eggs, to plants, or all of the above. Likely they are sourced from the cheapest and most commonly available sources but it's hard to find that stuff out.It doesn't say on the bottle but two reviewers posted helpful links in the comments after the review that this is suitable for vegetarians/vegans.I'm a vegetarian body builder so with creatine I am willing to bend because there are so many studies backing it up in addition to the vegetarian study. After beginning supplementation I could instantly push myself for 20% more reps.. and I always do reps until muscular failure so I doubt it is a placebo effect. Other clinical studies also dual tested with placebo's of course so there is more than just my personal experience supporting that.BUT there is less effect for meat eaters because creatine is already naturally found in meat. Vegetarians will notice a much larger impact in their workouts. I have been vegetarian for 12 years, but I used creatine before I became vegetarian. My memory is hazy, but I remember it basically doing nothing. But as a vegetarian BAM! instant results.I used creatine for a year when I thought a glass of red wine a day was good for you. That will mess you up. Body building, creatine, and alcohol in any quantity do not mix. Creatine already dehydrates you because it is a salt, as does hard workouts. Throw a bit of alcohol into the mix, which also dehydrates you due to sulfates, and it made me physically ill. Some studies in the past have shown that creatine can affect the liver or kidneys, but those studies have been refuted and even the European union's medical board gave the opinion that 3G of creatine a day for years of use is completely harmless. But alcohol does effect liver and kidneys so drinking alcohol is essentially the same thing as taking a medication that affects those organs, so I would highly advise against mixing creatine with alcohol.Hope this review helped.

I started using most of Now Sports supplements and this creative is one of them. My biggest notice was how bloated I was to the point where I thought due to age, my belly was going to be bloated from now on. I didn’t even think it wouldBe due to this. After the bottle was near finished I decided to try animal creatine. When that arrived it looked like micronized creatine which now sports creatine looks like heavy sand. Anyway 1.5 weeks and my bloated stomach completely went away! I didn’t understand how and then I realize all I’ve done it change my creatine. So, for now I will stop using now sports. It very well must of worked for the extra weight and power but, it was all bloat.