A patented, pH-buffered form of creatine monohydrate that proponents claim is more stable and effective than the unmodified form.  These claims have not been proven in any published, peer-reviewed study.

See the “Kre-Alkalyn Buffered Creatine: Better Than Regular Creatine Monohydrate?” review for more information.

A creatine analog.  GPA has been shown to increase insulin sensitivity and glucose clearance in animal experiments.  It’s often added to creatine transport formulas for this reason…despite the fact that it also inhibits creatine uptake and – in higher amounts – depletes creatine phosphate in muscle cells (which is why other GPA analogs have been investigated as anti-diabetic/anti-obesity agents).

See D-Pinitol.

Also known as Inzitol™ and 3-O-methyl-D-chiro-inositol. D-Pinitol is known to enhance creatine uptake in skeletal muscle, due to its insulin-like properties. However, in the one human study performed, a dose of 1.0 g (500 mg taken twice per day), was used to achieve this effect.  Women w/PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) sometimes use D-pinitol as an alternative to the closely related D-chiro-inositol, to treat insulin resistance and other characteristic metabolic symptoms.

A plant compound with a structure similar to cholesterol. It has therapeutic uses for reducing serum cholesterol and treating the symptoms of benign protstatic hyperplasia (enlarged prostate).

Beta-sitosterol is one of the plant sterols used in functional foods designed to reduce serum cholesterol (margarine, yogurt).

See Kudzu.

This is the common name for Pueraria lobata. Kudzu is a vine that’s an invasive plant pest. Just like soy, it contains the isoflavones daidzein, daidzin, and genistein, which have antioxidant and weak estrogenic activities.

See Banaba.

This is the common name for Lagerstroemia speciosa, a tree native to Southeast Asia. The leaves have been used in traditional medicine in the Phillipines as a treatment for diabetes. As it turns out, the leaves are high in corosolic acid, which has been shown to improve glucose control in human and animal studies. It appears to do this by stimulating glucose uptake in muscle cells.

An amino acid isolated from fenugreek seeds. 4-Hydroxyisoleucine exhibits  lipid-lowering and antidiabetic activity in animal feeding experiments. Early experiments on humans also indicated it could boost post-exercise glycogen resynthesis, but the data is conflicting.