

This may be attributed to the meat eaters already having higher levels of creatine in their muscles as a result of their diet. For instance, vegetarians taking creatine supplements may experience significant improvements in brain function while people who eat meat see no difference ( 31).

Some of these effects are stronger in people on a vegetarian diet than in meat eaters. improvements in brain function, such as memory ( 31, 32).improvements in physical performance ( 29).One study placed people on a lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet for 26 days and found that doing so caused a significant decrease in their muscle creatine levels ( 30).īecause creatine is naturally found in animal tissue, vegetarians and vegans can get it only from supplements.įor vegetarians, creatine supplements may have significant benefits, including: However, studies have shown that vegetarians tend to have lower amounts of creatine in their muscles ( 29). Studies show that creatine supplements can increase both muscle mass and strength ( 28).Ĭreatine is not essential in your diet, since it can be produced by your liver. It functions as an easily accessible energy reserve for muscle cells, giving them greater strength and endurance ( 27).įor this reason, it’s one of the world’s most popular supplements for muscle building. Most of it is stored in your muscles but significant amounts are also concentrated in your brain. People following a vegan diet should supplement with a vegan vitamin B12 supplement.Ĭreatine is a molecule found in animal foods. Vitamin B12 is only found in animal and fortified foods, as well as in small amounts in certain types of seaweed. If you want to boost your vitamin B12 intake, you can buy vegan-friendly supplements locally or online. For this reason, it’s unsuitable as a source of this vitamin ( 26). However, spirulina offers only pseudovitamin B12, which is not biologically available (meaning it can’t be absorbed by the body). However, those are not considered to be sufficient sources of dietary vitamin B12 and do not provide the daily need.Īnother plant food often claimed to contain vitamin B12 is spirulina. This is because some of the vitamin B12 is destroyed during the drying process ( 19, 24, 25). Keep in mind that raw or freeze-dried nori may be better than conventionally dried types. Nori seaweed is considered the most suitable source of biologically available vitamin B12 for vegans, though it doesn’t provide a sufficient amount on its own ( 23). tempeh, a fermented soy product ( 21, 22).nori seaweed, a type of marine algae ( 17, 18, 19, 20).In addition, a few plant foods naturally contain trace amounts of bioactive vitamin B12, including: To get sufficient amounts of vitamin B12, people following a vegan diet must take supplements or eat food that has been fortified with this nutrient. possible links to Alzheimer’s disease ( 14).

