What Foods Can You Take With Creatine?

You can take creatine with any food you wish. Creatine occurs naturally in some foods, most notably in red meat. You also produce approximately 2 g of creatine per day. Creatine plays a role in supplying energy to your muscles for high-intensity contractions, and this process occurs continually throughout the day. Consult a health-care practitioner before using any dietary supplement.

Creatine

Creatine -- a combination of three amino acids -- gets stored primarily in your muscle tissue. Creatine levels remain part of what determines your ability to sustain muscular effort, including activities such as sprinting or resistance training. The ability to generate an extra repetition or two can lead to an increase in lean muscle mass, according to a study published in the "International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism" in 2003.

Creatine Use

Creatine can improve your strength or your short-term burst speed, such as sprinting. Supplementing with creatine has been shown to increase strength in people who engage in resistance training, according to a study published in 2000 in "Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise." Creatine has also been shown to conclusively increase your ability to recover from repeated bouts of sprinting, according to a 2002 study published in "Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise."

Creatine and Protein

To get more out of your creatine, or simply for convenience, you may wish to take your creatine with a protein supplement. During training, you break down muscle tissue and your body scavenges amino acids that need to be replaced quickly for optimal recovery. Whey protein is an easily digestible protein that you can mix creatine with, and consume immediately after a workout. In a 2007 study published in "Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise," people supplementing with both creatine and whey protein showed an improvement in both strength and lean muscle mass.

Speeding Recovery and Strength

In addition to protein, you can add a simple carbohydrate such as dextrose to your post-workout shake. Your muscles' glycogen levels, or their sugar reserves, also are depleted during training. The greater your training volume, the greater the depletion of your glycogen reserves. In a study published in "Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise" in 2007, participants using a combination of whey protein, creatine and dextrose improved in strength and lean muscle mass when compared to the group only using protein and carbohydrates.

References

• "Textbook of Biochemistry with Clinical Correlations"; Thomas M. Devlin; 2010
• "International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism"; Effect of Creatine Supplementation on Body Composition and Performance: a Meta-analysis; J.D. Branch, et al.; June 2003
• "Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise"; Effects of Oral Creatine Supplementation on Muscular Strength and Body Composition; M.D. Becque, et al.; March 2000
• "Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise"; Effects of Creatine Supplementation on Muscle Power, Endurance, and Sprint Performance; M. Izquierdo, et al.; February 2002
• "Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise"; Effects of Whey Isolate, Creatine, and Resistance Training on Muscle Hypertrophy; P.J. Cribb, et al.; February 2007
• "Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise"; A Creatine-protein-carbohydrate Supplement Enhances Responses to Resistance Training; P.J. Cribb, et al.; November 2007