Benefits of Creatine Supplementation for Vegetarians Compared to Omnivorous Athletes: A Systematic Review
What this study found
Creatine supplementation appears beneficial for vegetarians overall. Across studies, it increased muscle and plasma creatine and phosphocreatine stores, sometimes to higher levels than in omnivores, and was associated with increases in lean tissue mass, type II muscle fiber area, IGF-1, muscular strength and endurance, Wingate performance, and cognitive measures such as memory and intelligence. Brain phosphocreatine did not appear to increase. The evidence was mixed on whether vegetarians gain more exercise performance benefit than omnivores, but the overall pattern suggests vegetarians are…
- Study & population
- Systematic review of studies in vegetarian participants, including vegan, lacto-ovo, and ovo-vegetarian subgroups, with some trials in recreationally active or physically active individuals.
- Intervention
- Creatine monohydrate supplementation was evaluated across included trials in vegetarians, using regimens ranging from short loading phases of 0.3 to 0.4 g/kg/day for 5 to 7 days, fixed doses such as 1 g/day or 5 g/day for 6 weeks, and higher short-term dosing such as 20 g/day for 5 days.
- Key limitation
- Most included studies had moderate to high risk of bias.
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Open PDFOriginal abstract
Background: Creatine monohydrate is a nutritional supplement often consumed by athletes in anaerobic sports. Creatine is naturally found in most meat products; therefore, vegetarians have reduced creatine stores and may benefit from supplementation. Objective: to determine the effects of creatine supplementation on vegetarians. Data sources: PubMed and SPORTDiscus. Eligibility criteria: Randomized controlled trials (parallel group, cross-over studies) or prospective studies. Participants: Vegetarians. Intervention: Creatine supplementation. Study appraisal and synthesis: A total of 64 records were identified, and eleven full-text articles (covering nine studies) were included in this systematic review. Results: Creatine supplementation in vegetarians increased total creatine, creatine, and phosphocreatine concentrations in vastus lateralis and gastrocnemius muscle, plasma, and red blood cells, often to levels greater than omnivores. Creatine supplementation had no effect on brain levels of phosphocreatine. Creatine supplementation increased lean tissue mass, type II fiber area, insulin-like growth factor-1, muscular strength, muscular endurance, Wingate mean power output, and brain function (memory and intelligence) in vegetarian participants. Studies were mixed on whether creatine supplementation improved exercise performance in vegetarians to a greater extent compared to omnivores. Limitations: Studies that were reviewed had moderate–high risk of bias. Conclusions: Overall, it appears vegetarian athletes are likely to benefit from creatine supplementation.