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Benefits of Creatine Supplementation for Vegetarians Compared to Omnivorous Athletes: A Systematic Review

Mojtaba Kaviani, Keely Shaw, Philip D Chilibeck

Int J Environ Res Public Health 2020 17(9):3041

Bibliography

PubMed: PMID 32349356
PubMed Central: PMC7246861
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17093041
Funding: This research received no external funding.
Competing interests: Authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Study snapshot

Design	Systematic review
Model	Human
Sample	9 studies represented by 11 full-text articles
Intervention	Creatine supplementation in vegetarians, with comparisons to omnivores where available
Duration	Varied by included study
Endpoints	Muscle creatine; Lean tissue; Strength; Muscular endurance; Power; Cognition

What the study showed, in plain terms

Review of whether vegetarians, who generally have lower dietary creatine exposure, respond differently to supplementation.

Key findings

Creatine consistently increased tissue creatine stores in vegetarians and improved several muscular and cognitive outcomes, while evidence that exercise performance improves more than in omnivores was mixed.

What this study can and cannot tell us

Only nine studies and moderate-to-high risk of bias; varied definitions of vegetarian diets and supplementation protocols.

Citation network

Articles citing this research paper

1 article

Biohack Blueprint analyses that reference this study in their evidence base.

Oct 2, 2026 Vegan Creatine: Plant-Based Diets, Lower Stores and Who Responds MostVegan and vegetarian creatine evidence: baseline muscle stores, response to supplementation, performance, cognition, vegan manufacturing and dosing.Read analysis

Editorial review

Reviewed by the Biohack Blueprint research team

Last verified 02 October 2026

Dr. Khaled Mahmoud, MBBChCritical Care Medicine, Longevity Science & Editorial Direction