Last week, there was some drama in the United Kingdom regarding James Smith sharing lab tests of the popular creatine gummy supplement Ovrload that unfortunately showed less creatine than what the label claimed. In that post, we talked a bit about the gummy production process and some of its key points that could affect the stability of creatine. Since then, we’ve had more insights shared on this, particularly regarding pectin recipe gummies, which every creatine gummy we found appears to use.
Pectin gummies require high heat
Pectin-based gummies pose a challenge for creatine stability, mainly due to the high heat required to actually make them. Traditional high-methoxyl (HM) pectin gummies need to be heated to 180–200°F (82 – 93°C) to activate the gelling process. At these temperatures, creatine starts breaking down into creatinine, meaning if the muscle-building ingredient is in there at that stage, a significant portion could be lost before the gummies even set. If boiling lasts 10–15 minutes, something like half the creatine may degrade, reducing the dosage and efficacy before the product even reaches consumers.
There is an alternative with something called low-methoxyl (LM) pectin, which doesn’t require acidity and instead relies on calcium to gel. This would be a more creatine-friendly option, but every pectin-based creatine gummy we could find didn’t contain calcium, meaning they likely used HM pectin with high heat. Without calcium on the label, it’s safe to assume these gummies were made under conditions that don’t favor creatine stability.
Low pH of citric acid
The issue can get worse when citric acid is involved, which we saw on the label of almost every creatine gummy we found. Citric acid can keep the pH level low, and creatine is unstable in acidic environments, so even the creatine that survives the boiling process could slowly break down over time, meaning the longer the gummies sit the less creatine you get. In over six months to a year, a gummy that started with 5g of creatine after any sort of production process could fall under 3g due to ongoing breakdown.
Creatine gummy tests coming
These are all possibilities and points that may not necessarily apply to every creatine gummy supplement on the market, although they are awfully coincidental. Pectin gummies require high heat, LM pectin requires calcium (which none of these had), and citric acid keeps the pH low. Every creatine gummy we found is coincidentally pectin-based, all but a couple had no sign of calcium or mention of low-heat manufacturing, and they all utilized citric acid.
It’s extremely interesting that the variety of points that were brought to us can break down creatine, and low-and-behold, creatine gummies are having trouble testing out. We’re looking to put all of this to the test ourselves and will be selecting some creatine gummy supplements this week and sending them to the lab. If there is any sort of pattern or potential signs consumers can look out for, that’d be worth sharing, especially with the immense rise in this type of product and its continued success.
