Creatine Takes Various Forms
For just $4.50, you can buy creatine gumdrops - in tangy fruit punch flavor.
They’re available at area Pilgrim’s Nutrition stores. General Nutrition Center sells them, too, but not in individual pouches.
Creatine, which is found in about five forms, is the nutritional supplement of the time. It’s the craze in athletics, and many high school athletes - most often football players - are consuming it in search of an edge.
The stores selling creatine have had a tough time lately keeping their shelves stocked.
Officially, the gummy creatine candies are called Phospha Gems - made by the Golden, Colo., company Experimental and Applied Sciences (EAS) - a leading manufacturer of creatine.
Creatine also comes in gel, lemon-lime chews, tablets, powder, bars and drinks. There’s even a convenient single serving size for $2.49 - the choices are grape or fruit punch and all you have to do is add water and shake.
The most popular is the powder form that usually is mixed with a simple carbohydrate drink - grape juice is a common choice.
All creatine is not created equal, says an advertising agency for GNC.
At the GNC in the NorthTown Mall, there are dozens of competing canisters - about 10 brands in varying sizes.
The store’s recent two-week shipment of creatine contained 96 one-kilogram jugs of the brand Pro Performance Laboratories.
That brand has been on sale this month for $49.99, with a second tub for half price. Normally, it’s $64.99 for a kilo.
Creatine is sold at Costco, too. The wholesale store carries the brand Weider, and 500 grams sell for $19.99.
Many area coaches can buy it cheaper.