More and more people are turning towards a vegan lifestyle for a number of reasons. Whether it is to do with animal cruelty, the environment, or the quest for a healthier lifestyle, vegan dieting has never been more popular.
One area that many vegans struggle with is supplementation. Such an important aspect of nutrition has become quite the minefield. In this article we will be investigating C4 Pre-workout. Is C4 pre-workout vegan or does it contain animal-derived ingredients?
Table of Contents
Why Supplementation is Important for Vegans
Vegans require supplements to achieve optimal results during their workouts, but there is an extra need for certain ingredients such as creatine that the vegan diet is low in.
Studies have shown that creatine monohydrate can massively benefit vegetarian and vegan athletes [1]. despite a common misconception that it’s not suitable for vegans, because it is most commonly found in meat.
But, creatine monohydrate is often made synthetically by supplement companies and is completely free from products of animal origin.
What is C4?
C4 is a product range sold by Cellucor. They have a huge range of different types of pre-workout supplements such as C4 original, C4 Sport, C4 ripped, C4 ultimate, C4 sport, etc. C4 original is the main focus of this article and is their most popular product.
C4 pre-workouts are highly popular with gym goers due to the packaging which allows them to be used on the go, as well as the flavors available and the effectiveness of the ingredients.
Ingredients – What Is in C4?
C4 original contains a number of effective ingredients:
- Creatine monohydrate (vegan-friendly)
- Beta-alanine
- Arginine
- Tyrosine
- B vitamins
- Vitamin C
- Caffeine
Is C4 Pre-Workout Suitable for Vegans?
C4 Original is suitable for vegans. The creatine monohydrate they use is synthetically made, and there are no dairy or animal products used in the supplement.
The fact that C4 Original contains B vitamins and creatine makes it highly useful for vegans who are often lacking in these nutrients due to their avoidance of red meat. Incidentally, C4 is also gluten-free and has many positive reviews from satisfied vegans.
Which C4 Pre-Workout is Vegan?
- C4 Original
- C4 Sport
- C4 Ultimate Shred
Which C4 Pre-Workouts Are Not Vegan?
C4 Ripped Sport is not suitable for vegans as it contains dairy products. Cellucor P6 Ultimate GH is also not suitable for vegans because it uses gelatin capsules.
Are There Any Side Effects?
Any side effects that are present in C4 Original come from the caffeine content. Beta-alanine is usually associated with paraesthesia, which is characterized by a harmless tingling in the fingers.
But C4 uses Carnosyn which is able to prevent this side effect quite effectively.
If you have a low tolerance to caffeine, then you may experience jitteriness, headaches, nausea, and heart palpitations. But, unlike with many other pre-workouts, the caffeine content in C4 is quite low.
Creatine can have side effects in first-time users, but most of these can be prevented by staying hydrated. Drinking a little more water than usual can prevent any side effects.
Vegans should be particularly careful around this, as they have much lower natural creatine levels.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: Is C4 pre workout good?
Yes, it has well-dosed ingredients, doesn’t rely on “filler” ingredients, and mixes well with water. The caffeine content is quite low, making it ideal for beginners. More experienced users may want to consider two scoops if they need high caffeine dosages.
Q: C4 vs Jack3d: Which is better?
Jack3d was perhaps the most effective pre-workout of all time before being banned due to certain ingredients. C4 may not promise fat burning benefits of Jack3d, but it doesn’t contain any banned ingredients, and still provides a superb workout experience.
Q: C4 Sport vs C4 Original: Difference Between the Two
C4 sport has more creatine, but less caffeine and less beta-alanine. C4 sport contains l-citrulline and taurine, while C4 original contains arginine and l-tyrosine. C4 original used to contain synephrine, but when synephrine was banned Cellucor removed it from all their products.
Q: Why is C4 banned?
C4 is no longer banned. It used to contain synephrine, which at the time was a legal supplement ingredient.
However, the authorities added synephrine to the banned list, which made C4 a banned supplement.
Now that synephrine has been removed, C4 is no longer banned.
Q: Is C4 Dairy free?
C4 Original, Sport, and Ultimate Shred are dairy free, as is C4 Ultimate P6 GH. However, C4 ripped sport does contain milk.
Q: Is Creatine Vegetarian Friendly?
It depends where the creatine comes from. Some creatine is derived from meat and is not vegetarian or vegan friendly.
However, most supplement companies these days use synthetically made creatine monohydrate, which is vegetarian and vegan friendly.
Final Thoughts
C4 Original and C4 Sport are both vegan friendly and will offer vegans a superb workout experience. But there are a couple of products in the C4 pre-workout range that are sadly not suitable for vegans.
These are C4 Ripped Sport (which contains milk) and C4 P6 Ultimate GH which uses gelatine capsules.
If you are a vegan and you want to train at a higher intensity, then C4 Original may be the right supplement for you.
References
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/pmc/articles/PMC7246861/
