Post Punk Kitchen Forum

My omnivore hubby works out (although not religiously) and uses Creatine (rarely) when he does work out. He was reading that vegans don't get Creatine as it is found in red meat and fish and it can affect brain functioning. He is wondering if I should take a Creatine supplement now.

I don't know much about this, but found an article (although I'm not sure it is the greatest) about this topic here.

What do you know about Creatine for vegans and if we need it PPK?

your body synthesizes creatine from other amino acids that are readily found in a vegan diet. levels in your skeletal muscle will be lower than in your husband's (the body stores it until it needs it), but this doesn't mean you're deficient. unless you have a metabolic deficiency or are interested in serious bodybuilding, i can't see any reason to take a supplement; the workout benefits are minor to moderate, and taking in too much over a long period can be bad for your kidneys.

You might want to see Jack Norris' page about creatine here.

I take it. Search pubmed for studies. You should drink more water when taking it but if you do that, there doesn't seem to be any health risk (assuming you're not taking abnormally large amounts or have existing kidney problems).

Do you take it because you work out a lot vegimator or because you want it to help with your brain functioning? I don't work out much so IF I did take it, it would be for the latter reason.

I've been taking it with my morning smoothie for a while. I started taking it because I didn't have much endurance during strength training, and a blood test (which I got for unrelated reasons) showed that my creatinine (a product of creatine breaking down) levels were low. I'm not sure if I've noticed any difference in endurance during my workouts, but about a week after I took it, my short-term memory seemed to have improved. I found myself easily remembering multiple long numbers, which is something that would usually be impossible for me. It's entirely possible it's a coincidence, though.