This product used to be great, but now they're producing it in China and it has a smell/taste to it. Creatine should NEVER have a smell OR taste to it. Trust all the other reviews on here, and find another brand for now. Sadly, this used to be an amazing deal.<br /><br />EDIT: I wrote my review back in 2016 and am updating in 2019. Don't want to mislead people if the product has improved. There is a more current review from a guy with the same username as me that says this product is good, but doesn't dissolve as well as he'd hoped. I have not re-ordered this product.

The description states that the origin of this product is the USA. It is clearly marked on the package that it is manufactured in China. I have been using this product for a while (the USA stuff) and I noticed a difference in the consistency when I opened the Chinese version. I don't know if it is OK, but the lack of regulation for supplements is enough to make me shy away from ingesting anything with a dubious origin.

NOW Foods has outsourced this to China. No longer made in the US. I was surprised as I had associated NOW with quality. There are other quality Creatine powders on Amazon that are made in the US.

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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />THE REST OF THE REVIEW IS FROM A VEGETARIAN BODYBUILDERS PERSPECTIVE<br /><br />Personally, 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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />Hope this review helped.

I have used creatine many times before from different brands, but I have never encountered a strange smell with them until Now Sports Creatine. Normally creatine does not have a smell at all, but when I opened the bottle it had a strange chemical smell to it. I figured it was probably just residual smell of the plastic or something since Now has been a reputable company that follows GMP. So I went ahead and used the product. Each time I use it I get a kind of ache in my lower back and I can't sleep, one time is coincidence, but when I can repeat the same results each time I take it leads me to believe it is definitely this product. I tried to contact Now and inquire about it, possibly get an explanation. They have not replied. I don't give out one stars lightly, but I feel the bad quality control and the bad customer service combined deserve a one star. I recently received Jarrow Creatine, which comes from Creapure, and it smells like absolutely nothing, just as it should.

I am a HUGE skeptic when it comes to athletic supplements. I'm a very skinny/slim build Asian who towers over most of my brethren in a crowd and all my life I've dreaded going to the gym because I look rather ridiculous struggling to life a 5LB dumbbell. Ok that was a joke but my weakness is definitely something to laugh about. As a type this neat review and continue to procrastinate on my final paper regarding the aspects of poverty and the required policies to counter it, I've noticed that my performance at the gym has exploded. Now, before you start getting out your credit card or Amazon gift card, because it's Christmas!, allow me to point out that the muscle acquisition curve is very high for beginning gym goers. This basically means that a sting-bean couch potato such as myself can gain noticeable strength and stamina because......I HAD NONE TO START WITH!<br />That being said, I would not disregard the correlation between my using this product and my being able to swim a mile at the gym in a mere three months of working out. It was very hard to believe when I didn't reach my level of fatigue at the usual 20 laps in the pool. In fact, it sort of startled me greatly when I realized I was swimming about 6 times further than when I started three months ago. I do believe this product has lent itself greatly to my gaining speed and endurance. So, as I sit here dreading my inevitable return to my paper, I smile at my toned body. I see muscle where there was none and a general sense of well being. Don't believe me? Try it out.