CREATINE Essential

It depends on your goal and how you feel physically:

1. Take CreaMag (creatine + magnesium malate + Albion bisglycinate) if, in addition to improving your physical performance, you want an extra boost in muscle recovery, reduced cramps, or feel physical and/or mental fatigue. It's ideal if you're starting to move more and want to reduce the risk of muscle soreness or cramps, especially in the context of excessive sweating where up to 20% of the body's magnesium can be lost.

2. Take Creatine Essential alone if your focus is on physical performance, strength, or muscle mass gain. It's a more direct option, designed for those who already train regularly and are looking for results more related to creatine, and reducing fatigue or muscle cramps is not a priority because their body is more adapted to exercise and/or they don't experience significant sweating during physical activity.

Creavitalis® is a patented creatine monohydrate produced by the German company AlzChem Trostberg GmbH, guaranteeing 99.9% purity. Furthermore, Creavitalis® has undergone an ultrafiltration process that improves its solubility and digestive tolerance, making its bioavailability even more optimal. There is nothing finer on the market.

In addition, it has a set of certifications and controls that guarantee its quality and safety:

Vegan, kosher, and halal certifications make Creavitalis® suitable for people with different dietary and religious needs.

IFS Food Certification, a standard recognized by the Global Food Safety Initiative, which ensures quality throughout the entire production chain.

ISO Certifications: Alzchem Trostberg GmbH, the manufacturer of Creavitalis®, is certified under ISO 9001 (quality management), ISO 14001 (environmental management) and ISO 50001 (energy management).

In addition, each batch of Creavitalis® creatine carries a unique identification code that guarantees its authenticity.

In the case of Go & Start by IVB Wellnesslab, this code is: 24VN25.

No, taking creatine does not damage the kidneys, nor is it associated with the appearance of kidney stones or any other deterioration of kidney function.

A common misconception that has contributed to perpetuating the myth that creatine damages the kidneys is that, in some people taking creatine, and as a consequence of increased muscle use (due to having more creatine available to regenerate energy), a waste product called creatinine, increases. This creatinine is released into the blood and filtered by the kidneys normally. But if measured in the blood at that time, it may appear higher, simply because there is more waste due to more raw material (creatine). This does not mean that it accumulates in the kidneys or that they are not functioning properly. It only indicates that your muscles are producing more.

Although this does not happen in all people, a simple strategy to avoid confusion in tests is to stop taking creatine 2-3 weeks before undergoing them. This way, your muscles will not have that extra creatine, and no more creatinine will be generated that could interfere with the interpretation of the results.

This evidence comes from robust studies such as:

• Zhou B, Hong M, Jin L, Ling K. Exploring the relationship between creatine supplementation and renal function: insights from Mendelian randomization analysis. Ren Fail. 2024;46(2):2364762.
• de Souza E Silva A, Pertille A, Reis Barbosa CG, et al. Effects of Creatine Supplementation on Renal Function: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. J Ren Nutr. 2019;29(6):480-489.

Yes, absolutely. Women benefit from creatine's ability to regenerate cellular ATP, the universal energy currency, in the same way as men.

So much so that there are studies specifically designed to evaluate the positive effects of creatine supplementation in women, such as:

• Smith-Ryan AE, Cabre HE, Eckerson JM, Candow DG. Creatine Supplementation in Women’s Health: A Lifespan Perspective. Nutrients. 2021;13(3):877.
• Ellery SJ, Walker DW, Dickinson H. Creatine for women: a review of the relationship between creatine and the reproductive cycle and female-specific benefits of creatine therapy. Amino Acids. 2016;48:1807–1817.
• Muccini AM, Tran NT, de Guingand DL, et al. Creatine Metabolism in Female Reproduction, Pregnancy and Newborn Health. Nutrients. 2021;13(2):490.

These studies emphasize not only the safety, but also the utility, of creatine in different aspects of women's health: not only in muscular performance and health, but also in mood, cognitive, function, and even in key bone health, parameters such as bone strength and resistance in the femoral neck, a crucial area for hip stability and strength.

Furthermore, precisely because women tend to have lower muscle creatine stores than men, the benefits of supplementation may be even greater in them.

Once supplementation stops, intracellular creatine stores gradually decrease, and within 3-4 weeks of stopping, they return to pre-supplementation levels in all cells, including muscle cells.

Creatine can cause weight gain due to water retention, as it is an osmotic, meaning it draws water into muscle cells. This happens because creatine uses a sodium-dependent transporter (SLC6A8) to enter cells, and by increasing creatine levels within the muscle, it retains more intracellular water. This hydration does not cause abdominal or subcutaneous bloating, but rather gives the muscle a fuller appearance, and is partly responsible for its beneficial effects on athletic performance, recovery, and muscle mass gain.

Furthermore, despite this slight weight gain from water, creatine does not cause weight gain in the sense of increasing body fat. In fact, some studies suggest it may even help reduce body fat percentage, especially when combined with strength training. This is shown, for example, in the meta-analysis by Forbes et al. (Changes in Fat Mass Following Creatine Supplementation and Resistance Training in Adults ≥50 Years of Age. J Funct Morphol Kinesiol. 2019;4(3):62), where a significant decrease in fat mass was observed in older adults after creatine supplementation and exercise.

What can negatively affect our appearance is excessive sodium intake, as this can cause extracellular water retention (outside the muscle), leading to visible bloating or a feeling of heaviness, but this is not related to creatine itself. And this usually improves with:

1. Evaluating your diet to identify and moderate foods high in sodium.

2. Increasing potassium intake (avocados, leafy greens, sweet potatoes) to promote the excretion of extracellular sodium.

3. Drinking plenty of water to maintain fluid balance.

Currently, there is no scientific evidence to support that taking creatine causes hair loss.

There is only one isolated study conducted in 2009 over 21 days with 20 people, which found an increase in dihydrotestosterone (DHT) levels (one of the various hormones associated with androgenetic alopecia) after creatine supplementation. Specifically, a loading protocol of 20 g/day for one week, followed by 5 g/day for two weeks, was used, and an increase in DHT was observed. However, that study had significant limitations:

• Hair loss was not measured, only hormone levels.
• It has never been replicated in subsequent trials.
• It was not assessed whether this increase in DHT (which remained within normal ranges at all times) had a real impact on hair health.

But most importantly, in April 2025, the first placebo-controlled clinical trial was published that directly evaluated the impact of creatine on hair in healthy young men. Lak M, Forbes SC, Ashtary-Larky D, et al. Does creatine cause hair loss? A 12-week randomized controlled trial. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2025;22(S1):295229.

This study used 5 g/day of creatine monohydrate compared to a placebo for 3 months and analyzed the following parameters:

• Hormonal and renal biomarkers (total testosterone, free testosterone, DHT, creatinine, eGFR)
• Direct hair health: through trichoscopy performed by dermatologists and a digital system for assessing hair density, thickness, follicular units, and hair cycle phases

Results:

There were no significant differences between creatine and placebo in DHT hormones, testosterone, or hair loss. No adverse effects or alterations in kidney function were observed.

Thus, this is the first study to directly rule out the idea that creatine causes hair loss, and its results debunk the hypothesis that emerged in 2009 regarding creatine and hair loss.