The Potential Health Benefits of Kre-Alkalyn

Note: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn’t approve supplements for safety or effectiveness. Always talk with your healthcare professional about whether a supplement fits your health needs and about possible drug interactions or safety concerns.

Kre-Alkalyn is a trademarked form of creatine, a type of amino acid your muscles use for energy. Your body makes small amounts of creatine naturally, and it can be found in foods like red meat and seafood. You can also take creatine supplements for their potential ability to improve athletic performance and support increases in muscle mass.

Kre-Alkalyn is a creatine supplement that has been buffered to an alkaline pH, which is marketed as more effective with fewer side effects than nonbuffered alternatives. No clinical evidence indicates that Kre-Alkalyn benefits differ from those of the most heavily studied form of creatine, creatine monohydrate. With that said, it’s possible that Kre-Alkalyn (and other creatine supplements) may have certain perks.

Research consistently highlights how creatine supplementation may help support certain types of athletic performance that rely on short bouts of high-intensity activity. More specifically, it’s understood to improve maximal strength, maximal work output, power production, and sprint performance. Additionally, creatine supplementation may help the body adapt to exercise training more efficiently and speed up recovery time after a workout by mitigating muscle damage.

There’s also some evidence to suggest that, when paired with resistance training, creatine supplementation may help protect against age-related changes, such as:

• Bone loss
• Decreased muscle mass and strength
• High cholesterol
• Knee osteoarthritis progression

Creatine supplementation may provide potential neuroprotective effects as well. While the majority of creatine is stored in skeletal muscle, there’s a significant pool of creatine in the brain that may help protect against neurological disorders and trauma to the brain. Creatine supplementation may be particularly helpful for memory, attention time, and information processing speed. According to Mayo Clinic, it may improve performance during cognitive tasks in older adults specifically.

Research also suggests that creatine supplementation has both anti-inflammatory and anticatabolic properties, which may help reduce markers of inflammation and even slow the growth or progression of certain cancers, although the mechanisms for these effects remain unclear. Ultimately, more research is needed to fully define and validate the potential benefits of taking creatine supplements, whether as Kre-Alkalyn or other forms.

Research suggests that the recommended dose of 3 to 5 grams (g) of creatine per day (or 0.1 g per kilogram [kg] of body weight per day) is both safe and generally well tolerated in cases of short-term and long-term use. 

Athletes looking to maximize the performance potential of creatine supplementation in a short period of time may be advised to begin with an initial loading phase of 5 g taken at least four times daily for five to seven days before moving to a maintenance phase of 3 to 5 g of creatine supplementation daily. Those interested in longer-term supplementation who want to avoid potential weight gain that may accompany the loading phase can stick to maintenance dosing exclusively.

Buffered creatine supplements like Kre-Alkalyn haven’t been shown to promote greater creatine retention than creatine monohydrate, the most commonly studied form of creatine.

More research is needed to better understand the specific effects and potential benefits of Kre-Alkalyn.

Talk to your healthcare provider before trying a creatine supplement, including Kre-Alkalyn. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration doesn’t require these products to be proven safe or effective before they’re sold, so there’s no guarantee any supplement you take is safe, contains the ingredients it says it does, or produces the effects it claims. For this reason, experts also recommend selecting dietary supplement products that have been third-party tested for integrity by organizations such as NSF, U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP), Banned Substances Control Group (BSCP), and Informed Sport.

If you have kidney problems, don’t take Kre-Alkalyn or other creatine supplements before consulting your healthcare provider.