Vegan Bodybuilding Supplements: A Guide to Creatine

When it comes to supplements it can be tricky to figure out if a product is truly vegan.  Creatine is one of the most highly suggested vegan bodybuilding supplements if you are looking to build muscle mass.  However, there is debate around the question ‘is creatine a vegan?’ Our article seeks to give you some answers.

What is creatine and where does it come from?

Creatine is a naturally occurring organic acid which is created by the human body and by the bodies of other animals – this means that, in nature, it is not vegan.  However, a lot of creatine supplements are created artificially, so they are fully vegan.  Also, the human body creates creatine, meaning that it isn’t an essential nutrient (it can’t be produced by our body alone). 

Do vegans and vegetarians need creatine? 

For non-vegans, creatine tends to be consumed from red meat, meaning that vegans are likely to have lower levels of creatine in comparison.  This means that one of the best vegan bodybuilding supplements is creatine if you are looking to gain muscle and increase strength.

Creatine supplements have also been shown to enhance cognition in vegetarians and vegans, but not in meat-eaters.  This shows that a diet without meat, eggs or fish (the usual sources of dietary creatine) can create a deficiency.  Creatine deficiency has been linked with depression and decreased cognitive ability, so a protein supplement is a good idea for vegans and vegetarians alike.

Burke et al. performed a study where vegetarians tested creatine for eight weeks.  This led to them seeing an increase of creatine stores in muscle tissue, an increase in bench press strength, and an increase in whole-body lean mass. 

What does creatine do? 

Our body uses creatine to give our cells energy, and to gain strength you need creatine - this is what makes it so popular. So, creatine supplements, such as our Vegan Creatine Monohydrate give your muscles the chance to reach their full potential.  Muscles gain the necessary energy for the strength you need, so creatine one of the best vegan bodybuilding supplements.

Is my creatine supplement vegan-friendly?

Synthetic creatine is often made from sarcosine and cyanamide, which are combined with catalyst compounds to turn them into a safe supplement for human consumption.  If this is true of your creatine supplement then the product is vegan-friendly. 

One of the most important things to make sure you keep an eye on is creatine capsules, as gelatine is often used to create the capsule.  To avoid this, of course, you can stick to a powder supplement.

There are several types of creatine available, but creatine monohydrate is both the most tested and best form for receiving benefits. While you can play around with the various other types of creatine, creatine monohydrate is considered to be the best. 

Is creatine a pre workout?

If you are thinking of using creatine as one of your vegan bodybuilding supplements, and are new to it, many bodybuilders suggest a loading phase.  This means that you load your cells with creatine, meaning your muscles are saturated for when it’s needed.  So you should take an extra 6 grams for the first 10 days, before lowering to around 12 grams.  A loading phase results in quicker results, but you will also see a few pounds of water weight at first. 

It is common to combine creatine monohydrate with BCAAs  and drink them half an hour before a workout.

This should have given you an idea of how creatine can help you to aid a deficiency, build muscle mass, or answer the question ‘is creatine vegan?’  As you can see, your main concern should be ensuring that creatine capsules do not contain gelatine, but this can also be avoided by consuming creatine in powder form.