RCTJadad 0/5RandomizedDouble-BlindPlacebo-Controlled

Creatine Loading for Vegans and Vegetarians: Muscles Absorb It, But 7 Days Isn't Enough to Boost Sprint Power

Physiological ReportsSeptember 12, 2025Vol. 13 (17)

Summary

If you're plant-based and wondering whether creatine supplements are "wasted" on you, this study has good news and a reality check. Vegans and vegetarians typically eat almost no dietary creatine (found mainly in meat and fish), and prior research suggested their muscle creatine stores run lower than omnivores' — theoretically making them prime candidates for a bigger supplementation payoff.

Researchers from the University of Copenhagen put this to the test in a small, tightly controlled trial. Fifteen healthy young vegan and vegetarian adults were randomized to take either creatine monohydrate (0.3 g per kg of body weight daily — about 21g/day for a 70kg person, split into 4 doses) or a matched maltodextrin placebo for 7 days, double-blind. Before and after, the team took actual muscle biopsies to measure creatine directly, used DEXA scans for body composition, and tested repeated sprint cycling performance.

The results split cleanly into "worked as expected" and "didn't show up yet." On the biology side, the creatine group's muscle creatine content jumped by about 19 mmol/kg and total muscle creatine by about 31 mmol/kg — both statistically significant increases with no corresponding change in the placebo group. Body mass rose by roughly 1.6 kg and fat-free mass by about 1.15 kg in just one week, consistent with creatine's well-documented water-retention and cell-volumization effects. This confirms that even short-term loading meaningfully replenishes the smaller creatine reserves typical of plant-based diets.

But here's the catch: phosphocreatine (PCr) — the specific high-energy form muscles actually burn during explosive efforts — didn't change. And neither did peak or mean power output during repeated sprints. In other words, muscles took up more creatine, but that extra creatine didn't translate into more usable fuel for all-out sprint efforts within this one-week window, nor into measurably faster or more powerful sprints.

This nuance matters because it echoes a broader, older finding in exercise science: total creatine can rise while phosphocreatine — the piece most tied to immediate performance — lags behind, and short loading protocols don't always show performance gains even when muscle content clearly increases. A related 2026 trial in vegan adults found that a longer, 4-week creatine protocol did produce measurable gains in body composition (more muscle mass, less fat), suggesting duration may be the missing ingredient this 7-day study couldn't capture.

What This Means For You

For plant-based eaters curious about creatine, this study supports supplementation as biologically effective — your muscles will absorb and store more creatine, likely more readily than an omnivore's already-saturated muscles, based on prior comparative research. But don't expect a one-week loading phase to instantly sharpen your sprint performance; this trial found none.

Dosage and timing: The study used 0.3 g/kg/day split into 4 doses for 7 days (a standard "loading" protocol, roughly 20g/day for most adults) — matching common commercial guidance. After loading, the broader literature (and resources like Vegan Health) recommends dropping to a 3–5 g/day maintenance dose, since sustained high doses aren't necessary or well-studied for benefit beyond the loading window. If your goal is a quick top-up before a competition or photoshoot-related water weight isn't a concern, a week of loading may suffice for the biochemistry — just don't expect instant sprint gains.

Who benefits most: Vegans and vegetarians, especially those doing strength, sprint, or power-based training (HIIT, cycling, resistance training), are reasonable candidates given their lower baseline dietary creatine intake. Creatine monohydrate remains the best-studied, most cost-effective form — no need for pricier "buffered" or micronized versions.

Realistic expectations: Expect water-weight gain (~1–2 kg) within the first week; this is normal and not fat gain. If sprint/power performance is your primary goal, this trial suggests you may need longer than 7 days — some evidence points to 3–4 weeks of continued supplementation, ideally paired with actual training, before performance benefits emerge.

Cost-benefit: Creatine monohydrate is cheap (often under $0.20/day) with a strong long-term safety record, making it low-risk to trial even without immediate performance proof.

Important Considerations

This was a very small study — just 15 participants (7 creatine, 8 placebo) — so it's likely underpowered to detect modest but real performance improvements; a "no significant change" result here doesn't prove creatine never helps sprint performance in this population, only that this study couldn't detect it. The Jadad quality assessment scored this paper 0 out of 5, mainly because the randomization method, blinding procedures, and dropout details weren't described in the available text — a methodological reporting gap, not necessarily a fatal flaw, but a reason for caution.

The trial lasted only 7 days — a single loading phase — so it cannot speak to what happens with longer-term, maintenance-dose use, which is how most people actually use creatine. Participants were healthy young adults already following vegan/vegetarian diets; results may not generalize to older adults, those with kidney issues (who should consult a doctor before creatine use), or people combining creatine with structured training programs, since this study didn't include a training intervention alongside supplementation.

The "vegan and vegetarian" groups were combined and not separately analyzed, despite vegans typically having lower creatine intake than vegetarians (who may eat eggs/dairy). Exact commercial products weren't tested — this was pharmaceutical-grade creatine monohydrate and maltodextrin, dosed by body weight, which differs from flat-dose scoops in many consumer tubs. Be skeptical of marketing claims promising fast sprint or strength gains from creatine alone within days; this rigorous trial found muscle creatine rose without any matching performance boost.

Terms Explained

Creatine monohydrateThe most researched, affordable form of creatine supplement, shown to reliably raise muscle creatine stores.

Loading phaseA short period (often ~1 week) of higher-dose creatine intake used to rapidly saturate muscle creatine stores before switching to a lower maintenance dose.

Phosphocreatine (PCr)The high-energy form of creatine muscles use to rapidly regenerate ATP during short, explosive efforts like sprints; distinct from total muscle creatine.

Fat-free mass (FFM)Body weight excluding fat, including muscle, water, and bone; often rises with creatine use due to water retention within muscle cells.

DEXA scan (dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry)An imaging method used to precisely measure body composition, including fat mass and fat-free mass.

Double-blind, placebo-controlledA study design where neither participants nor researchers know who receives the real treatment versus an inactive placebo, reducing bias in results.

Muscle biopsyA small tissue sample taken directly from muscle to measure substances like creatine content with high accuracy.

Jadad scoreA 0–5 scale rating a clinical trial's reporting quality on randomization, blinding, and dropout tracking; higher scores indicate more reliable methodology.

Repeated sprint performanceA test measuring power output across multiple short, maximal-effort sprints, used to assess anaerobic athletic capacity.

Technical Study Details

Study Design

Total Score

JADAD Quality Assessment

/ 5

評価詳細

Randomization

0 / 2

Is the study described as randomized?

Yes+1

Rationale: The abstract explicitly describes the study design as "randomized," directly satisfying the criterion for Q1.

Is the method of randomization described and appropriate?

No-1

Rationale: The provided article content (abstract, references, and data availability statement) states only that the study used a "randomized, double‐blind placebo‐controlled design" but does not describe the specific method used to generate the randomization sequence (e.g., computer-generated random numbers, random number table). Without a description of the actual randomization method, its appropriateness cannot be verified, so per the Jadad scale scoring rules this item should be answered "no."</rationale> </invoke>

Blinding

0 / 2

Is the study described as double-blind?

Yes+1

Rationale: The abstract explicitly describes the study design as "double-blind," directly satisfying the Jadad criterion for this item.

Is the method of blinding described and appropriate?

No-1

Rationale: The abstract only states that the study used a "double-blind placebo-controlled design" but does not describe the actual method used to achieve blinding (e.g., identical appearance, taste, packaging, or administration procedure for the creatine monohydrate powder versus maltodextrin placebo). Since only the abstract, references, and data availability statement are provided (no Methods section detailing blinding procedures), there is no verifiable description of how blinding was implemented or whether it was appropriate. Per Jadad scale scoring guidance, merely labeling a study "double-blind" without describing the method does not satisfy this criterion — it should be scored "no" (or would require deduction) absent a concrete description of the blinding technique's appropriateness."

Dropouts/Withdrawals

0 / 1

Is there a description of dropouts and withdrawals?

No0

Rationale: The provided article content consists only of the abstract, reference list, and data availability statement. There is no methods or results text describing the number of participants who withdrew or dropped out from either the CM or PLA group, nor any reasons for withdrawal. The abstract states 15 participants were allocated (n=7 CM, n=8 PLA) and reports outcomes for these groups, but no explicit statement addresses withdrawals/dropouts.

Study Population

Sample Size15

Age Range-

ConditionHealthy vegans and vegetarians

Inclusion Criteria

Healthy
Following a vegan or vegetarian diet

Interventions

Creatine Monohydrate

Treatment

Dose0.3 g/kg/day

Frequency4 times per day

Duration7 days

Routeoral

Maltodextrin (Placebo)

Control

Dose0.3 g/kg/day

Frequency4 times per day

Duration7 days

Routeoral

Outcomes

Outcome	Type	Effect	p-value
Body mass	Secondary	-	p < 0.01Significant
Fat-free mass (FFM)	Secondary	-	p < 0.05Significant
Muscle creatine content (Cr)	Primary	-	p < 0.05Significant
Total muscle creatine (TCr)	Primary	-	p < 0.01Significant
Phosphocreatine (PCr)	Primary	-	-
Peak power output during repeated sprints	Primary	-	-
Mean power output during repeated sprints	Primary	-	-

Conclusion

A seven-day creatine monohydrate supplementation regimen in healthy vegans and vegetarians increased muscle creatine (Cr) and total creatine (TCr) content, along with body mass and fat-free mass, but did not change phosphocreatine levels or peak and mean power output during repeated sprints.