While supplements remain the easiest way to top up your creatine stores, the right foods can support production, absorption and recovery
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There’s little left to say about creatine supplementation; it’s proven to be safe and effective for a variety of wellbeing concerns from gaining muscle to injury prevention to having cognitive benefits. It is one of the few supplements that can make a notable difference in most people’s lives.
But it is still a supplement, and while it is one that is more convenient and cheaper per gram than eating food, we’ve all still got to eat. So we figured we’d give you the playbook on foods for creatine synthesis, no more creatine mistakes.
Foods that contain creatine
Creatine is made from three amino acids: arginine, glycine, and methionine. The latter is an essential amino acid, meaning it has to be obtained through diet. The food that include all three are animal-based (typically types of fish and red meat), but here’s the picks of the bunch.
Herring
Our grandfathers knew what was up when they got the tins of Herring down them. A low-mercury oily fish loaded with vitamin D and omega-3, but also creatine.
Much of the problem with eating creatine is that heat breaks it down, so foods that you can have raw are where you will get the best bang for buck. Herring is delicious raw, and has as much as a gram of creatine per 100g when consumed raw (this includes the raw tinned herring or cured herring like rollmop); most people need 3-5g of creatine daily.
Beef
300g of raw beef (that’s 10oz) contains 1.5g of creatine, so those of you who enjoy a steak tartare, congratulations, it is a very solid option for getting the creatine in (along with iron) and generally, you’d use a lean cut of beef like fillet for the tartare, so it’s a good lower-fat option too.
Cooked meats have less creatine, so you’d have to up the volume quite significantly to hit the goals there, which may mean the overall macros (and calories) start to look less optimal. If you’re going to eat raw beef, go to a reputable butcher who knows how to handle it and can advise you on the best cuts and storage practices.
Soybeans
There isn’t a plant-based food that can give you creatine, sadly. This is why supplementation is very much imperative for a vegan diet. That being said, you can build creatine through a combination of plant-based foods such as seeds, nuts, and legumes.
Soybeans are a very solid source for protein, so they can be useful for building up muscle in place of a whey supplement, allowing you a little less power-based boredom in your life when it comes to getting the creatine in via supplementation.
We also know that having protein and creatine is necessary for building muscle. There’s also 30g of carbohydrates in 100g of soybean, and the combination of carbs and protein, paired with a supplement, is mass-building gold.
Foods that help you absorb creatine
Fruit
One of the, frankly endless, reasons we need a rounded diet is because some nutrients help us to absorb other nutrients – when it comes to creatine, adding a simple carb source such as fruit (or fruit juice) is effective as it causes an insulin spike.
This spike will push nutrients into muscle cells, including creatine – therefore mixing your creatine with fruit juice, or simply eating fresh fruit alongside the creatine, can help it absorb more effectively. This is ideal if you’re looking to get an energy boost just before, or to boost recovery just after a workout.
Coffee
As a pairing, creatine and coffee are fantastic for elevating your workouts. One of the benefits of creatine is that it helps you to find more energy during high-intensity workouts, while caffeine will help your perceived effort (it’ll feel less difficult to push harder). For heavier strength sessions and explosive workouts, this will make a difference.
Protein shakes
Obviously, it can get pretty boring consuming various powders and pills; that being said, adding a serving of creatine to your protein shake is a convenient way to build muscle, especially post-workout. Having a strong carb source like dates alongside a protein shake with creatine in there, creates a perfect storm of creatine absorption and muscle repair and therefore it is well worth doing to make your supplementation go the extra mile.
