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Red meats such as Steak and Salmon do contain some creatine and provide a natural source. However, much of the creatine is destroyed from the heat as a result of cooking the meat.

At what temperature is the creatine destroyed? Can you cook steak medium and still have creatine, or does it need to be rare? Also, when cooking salmon, does the creatine get destroyed if you cook the internal temperature of the meat to 140F as recommended?

I am pretty much wondering how practical it is to actually get a little extra creatine from eating red meats. Links to sources would be greatly appreciated.


locked by Matt Chan Sep 29 '12 at 19:44


closed as off topic by Matt Chan Sep 29 '12 at 19:43


Eat salmon sashimi and you won't have to worry about it. LOL. –  JoJo May 23 '11 at 0:27
Is there a reason why you don't just take creatine as a supplement? –  chrisjlee Jun 8 '11 at 15:01
@chrisjlee It's axiomatic to some (including me) that getting one's creatine/vitamin D/protein/whatever from normal food and activities is inherently superior to supplementing. It's often cheaper, simpler, and tastier. –  Dave Liepmann Aug 14 '12 at 18:08
This question is off topic now because of changes in the FAQ. –  Baarn Sep 29 '12 at 10:54

3 Answers 3

This paper that I found on Creatine levels and diet cites some studies that say creatine starts to degrade at 115 degrees in fish, and that baking meat causes 92% loss of available creatine due to actual breakdown and then other actions occurring because of that breakdown. (Note: While it is a research paper, most likely from a college student, it lists a lot of studies that it cites for information.)

It states that to get the same creatine from cooked fish as you would from raw fish, you would need to eat 1.7 kg (3.74 lbs) of fish. Beef has even less available creatine.

This is why everyone is telling you that dietary creatine is insignificant if you are wanting loading levels. You simply couldn't (ok, maybe you could) eat enough meat/fish for it to make the difference, and the other health effects from it would outweigh any benefits.


I can understand the fact that you probably won't ever get creatine in natural foods in sufficient quantities as you will in the commercial supplements. Someone brought the "is there enough water in sea water" analogy. The problem is a bit more complex than that because the reluctance to taking supplements stems from the fact that you can NEVER be sure what else you are going to get in the supplement besides what is labelled. More a case of "are you sure that there is only sea water in sea water?"


It doesn't matter. The amount of creatine you could possible get from meat, even raw meat, is not significant enough to matter. If you did try to get all your creatine from steak, you'd end up obese from the fat content. If you feel you need more creatine in your diet the only practical way is to supplement.

This does not answer the question. –  Chris Pietschmann May 22 '11 at 17:52
I'm not so sure that you can't get enough creatine from steak. Leroy Colbert, the 1st man to build 21 inch arms, said that he felt stronger when eating beef, but not when eating chicken, because only beef has creatine. Video source. If he was able to feel the effects of creatine versus the lack of creatine, then there is enough creatine in beef for natural bodybuilding. –  JoJo May 23 '11 at 0:10
@Chris It doesn't answer the question, but it may invalidate the question, which is based on the premise that there is sufficient creatine in steak to actually be an alternative source. On the other hand, I'm not sure why the fat content of steak should be any more concern than excess protein. –  Greg Jul 21 '11 at 17:46
Allow me to propose a parallel question to illustrate my point: Does sea water have enough water content to keep your hydrated? The answer is yes, but the question is fundamentally flawed since, if you drink sea water, you will go insane. Yes, you could get enough creatine from meat (even cooked meat), but you can't ignore the side-effects of eating such a large amount of meat to make a difference. –  Sparafusile Jul 24 '11 at 16:08
@ChrisPietschmann If your question isn't answered by this answer, then your question is purely nutritional, and off-topic for this site. –  user3085 Aug 14 '12 at 17:52
