Creatine has rightly claimed its position as one of the most in-demand nutritional supplementation in the market. Its decades-long scientific backing and its general benefits for both athletic and non-athletic users have established it as one of the leading choices in its field.
As with any other supplementation, creatine must be in line with our eating choices regarding quantity, quality, and timing. In this new article we will have a look at some relevant information regarding the relationship between creatine and food.
Enter FACTS AND FIGURES ABOUT CREATINE AND FOOD!
why is creatine important?
As we have previously discussed in our blog, the role of creatine in our body is fundamentally that of a performance and athletic booster. For a quick list of specific benefits of creatine regarding physical performance, we can consider the following five:
– Boost of high-intensity exercise performance facilitating the duration of peak body performance during exercise.
– Increase in muscular strength and power through the replenishment of ATP, which is crucial for strength workout.
– Improved resistance training by lowering your demand for oxygen by using phosphocreatine in your body, which translates into higher resistance levels.
– Increase in muscle mass by boosting the production of IGF-1, a key hormone for muscle growth, and the reduction of muscle breakdown during exercise.
– Improved recovery times after workout sessions.
CAN WE GET CREATINE NATURALLY?
Most athletes and sportspeople who are familiar with creatine consider it a nutritional supplement to help their athletic performance. However, many may not know that creatine is an amino acid organically produced by our own bodies at a rate of one gram a day. As such, it is a natural part of body processes.
Furthermore, there are additional amounts of creatine that we can get just through nutrition and diet.
SO, THERE ARE FOODS CONTAINING CREATINE?
Most definitely! As we mentioned before, one cannot dissociate creatine intake and regular nutrition. Generally speaking, creatine can be primarily found in food such as poultry, red meat, fish, and seafood. This is due to the fact that its sources are predominantly animal muscle fibers.
Natural sources of creatine may be the preferred way of intake for those who might not be familiar with supplementation or are looking for a less straightforward intake at the beginning.
WHICH ONES ARE THE MOST COMMON?
In this regard, red meat is the most common source. Cuts such as steak and ground beef tend to have some of the highest levels of creatine in animals, ranging from 2,5 grams to 5 grams per raw kilogram of meat.
Moreover, chicken and turkey are also a good source of natural creatine, with chicken breast and thighs containing around 2 to 2,5 grams of creatine per raw kilogram. Beef cattle cheek and heart, pork, black pudding, dried cured ham, and rabbit meat are other worthy creatine sources.
In addition, fish lovers are in for a treat too. Herring, in particular, has the highest levels of creatine in all seafood, with somewhere between 6,5 to 10 grams per raw kilogram. Besides, tuna and cod have shown to be great options too at approximately 4 grams per raw kilogram. Salmon, with its 2-2,5 grams per raw kilogram, completes the list.
Regarding creatine in food, we must take into account that these amounts are reduced considerably once the meat and fish are cooked. This decrease in creatine levels after cooking is imprecise in numbers and a reason to look for more direct sources of supplementation.
that's a lot of meat though. anything for vegans and vegetarians?
Since the creatine that can be found in muscle fibers stems from animal meat, vegans and vegetarians may have a harder time looking for natural sources. Indeed, research shows that it is typical for athletes who adopt a vegan or vegetarian diet to have lower levels of creatine in comparison with meat eaters.
Dairy products have much lower levels of creatine than those found in animal sources, even though we can find some exceptions, such as parmesan cheese (which contains around three grams of creatine).
It is true that some vegan-friendly foods contain trace amounts of creatine. It can be found in specific whole grains (like quinoa, brown rice, and barley), as well as in some legumes (beans, lentils, chickpeas), nuts and seeds (almonds, walnuts), and vegetables (broccoli, spinach). However, these levels are so low that they barely register as part of a creatine-rich diet – as healthy as they are regarding other kind of nutrients.
Nevertheless, not all is lost. Some of these foods (milk, cheese, white beans, pumpkin seeds, watercress, or seaweed, among many others) contain arginine, glycine, and methionine, the amino acids that our liver synthesizes creatine from.
All in all, creatine supplementation tends to be the most usual method for vegan athletes to complete their levels of creatine.
A brief SUMMARY
Through our article FACTS AND FIGURES ABOUT CREATINE AND FOOD we have explored several relevant pieces of information regarding the relationship between creatine and nutrition.
After a brief summary of the health benefits of creatine regarding athletic performance, we have seen that it is naturally produced by the body and the different ways we can get supplementation through nutrition. Red meat, chicken, turkey and some fish are the most recurring sources, with creatine amounts ranging from 2 to almost 10 grams per raw kilogram.
Regarding vegan and vegetarian diets, we have analyzed different food sources, such as dairy, seed, and vegetables, and established their unlikely validity as creatine sources.
The final conclusion we can reach is that, while food sources are an excellent natural resource for standard levels of creatine, athletes and sportspeople (particularly vegans) may have to increase their levels of creatine if they wish to make the most of its benefits regarding athletic performance. The easiest way to achieve this is through supplementation.
We would recommend one is which requires no loading phase and contains both creatine monohydrate and phosphocreatine. The exclusive formula of Clonapure® is the one product in the market that gives you immediate energy for your muscles, which translates into more energy, shorter recoveries and better performance.
Clonapure® is manufactured in a GMP site and has its purity and quality consistently verified through continuous testing (HPLC). If you wish to give Clonapure® a go, try here!
