Creatine Benefits for Women: A Comprehensive Guide

How does creatine work in the female body? Is creatine good for menopause? How much creatine should a woman take? 

We’re often asked why creatine is beneficial for women and which type of creatine is best suited to female beginners - so we put together a guide to give you the answers.

So much more than a supplement for toning or training, creatine can benefit women at every life stage, helping to enhance strength, cognition and bone health.

Ancient + Brave nutritionist, Erin Ogden, explores the importance of creatine for women and shares tips for incorporating this powerful ally for fitness, menopause and longevity into your daily ritual.

Key points at a glance:

• Women’s creatine needs evolve throughout life
• Possible benefits of creatine for women include strength, bone 
  and memory support+
• Female creatine supplementation is especially supportive during midlife and menopause+
• Creatine monohydrate is considered the best creatine for women+
• A gradual daily dose of 3-5g per day is best suited for most women+

What is creatine? 

A naturally occurring compound found in skeletal muscle and the brain, creatine plays a crucial role in the body’s energy production (1). This partly explains why creatine supplements are often used for toning, weightlifting, and improved workout performance.

While creatine can help women achieve a toned physique, at Ancient + Brave, we consider the benefits of creatine to extend to cognitive health, menopause support and beyond.

Why is creatine so good for women?

Along with supporting energy and strength, emerging research suggests that creatine supplementation may also benefit female reproductive health, cognition and longevity.

Studies also show that female creatine supplementation may be especially beneficial during menstruation, postpartum, and postmenopause (2). We will come back that later.

Benefits of creatine for women:

• Increases muscle strength and power**
• Improved lean mass when combined with resistance training**
• Greater training tolerance**
• Supports mental clarity and focus**
• Enhances cognitive performance under stress or sleep loss**
  

Why creatine matters during midlife and menopause

During perimenopause and menopause, levels of the female hormone estrogen naturally decline. The result? The body produces less creatine and supplies less energy to cells, leading to potential fatigue, changes in body composition, brain fog, irritability, sleep disturbances, and a decline in muscle strength and bone mineral density (3). 

The good news? Research suggests that nourishing both body and mind with creatine supplementation may help women to age resiliently (2).

Let’s dive into this in more detail!

Creatine’s benefits for female muscle mass and strength

Taking creatine, in conjunction with resistance training, may help slow menopausal muscle loss and strength decline by reducing inflammation and oxidative stress (2). 

Creatine’s benefits for female bone health 

Combining creatine with resistance training may benefit bone health, too. Creatine’s ability to enhance muscle strength when combined with resistance exercise indirectly affects bones by placing greater stress on them during activity, which in turn stimulates bone remodeling and preserves bone mineral density (5).

Creatine’s benefits for female fatigue 

Fatigue prevents many women from living a brave lifestyle in their later years. Creatine helps counteract this by increasing energy availability in cells (2). 

Creatine’s benefits for female mood, focus and cognitive health 

The female brain’s frontal lobe is thought to contain less creatine. As this is the area of the brain responsible for mood, cognition, memory and emotion (5), creatine supplementation may help lift brain fog (6), sharpen focus (2), and could even protect against mood fluctuations experienced during puberty, post-partum and menopause (7). 

Creatine benefits for women aged 60+ 

At Ancient + Brave, we’re often asked if creatine is suitable for women aged 60. Interestingly, some studies exploring creatine supplementation in women were conducted in women ages 57+, providing valuable insights into the benefits of taking creatine in our older years. 

Here's a summary of the benefits of taking creatine in your 60s.

• Strength and lean muscle mass: When combined with resistance training, creatine supplementation increases lean muscle mass and promotes improvements in both lower and upper body strength in older adults (8).
• Bone health: While further studies are needed to determine the impact of creatine on bone health, results from a 2-year randomized control trial showed that creatine combined with resistance training and walking may protect the structure of the hip bone, which could lower the risk of hip fracture over time (9).
• Memory: Studies suggest that supplementing with creatine may help support brain energy reserves, in turn supporting memory (10).
  

What should women know before taking creatine?

Now that you know the benefits of creatine for women, where do you begin? Here’s our step-by-step guide to getting started with creatine:

What’s the best creatine for women?

At Ancient+Brave, we consider creatine monohydrate the best creatine for women because it is the most extensively studied and clinically effective form of creatine (1). 

It is this form that we use in True Creatine+. Thoughtfully designed to support women’s creatine needs at all stages of life, this pairs creatine with vitamin D, taurine, and magnesium to power your performance and help combat fatigue.+

How much creatine should women take?

There’s a lot of confusion around whether females should take creatine every day and whether women need more creatine than men. The truth is that women tend to have lower creatine stores and therefore benefit from the same creatine dose as men (11). 

The general recommendation is 3-5g of creatine per day for men and women (2). True Creatine+ by Ancient + Brave contains 4.5g of creatine monohydrate, offering a gentle, convenient way for women to increase their daily creatine intake.

Do women need to load creatine?

A “loading phase” can be used for creatine; however, some individuals experience gastrointestinal discomfort following a loading protocol.

At Ancient + Brave, we believe that a daily creatine dose of 3-5g is just as effective for increasing creatine stores in the body (12). This gradual approach works well for most people, reducing the risk of gastrointestinal discomfort.

How quickly does creatine work for women?

Creatine saturation (without a loading phase) typically takes 3-4 weeks on a dose of 3-5g per day. Here’s what to expect when consistently taking creatine: 

Consistency is key when it comes to creatine supplementation. With consistent use, creatine levels stay elevated, supporting performance, strength and cognitive health. 

When is the best time for women to take creatine?

Take creatine at the time of day that feels easiest to remember, whether that’s morning, afternoon or evening, so that it becomes part of your daily rhythm.

Try leaving your True Creatine+ jar on the counter as a gentle reminder, or carrying our on-the-go True Creatine+ packets with you. This makes it easy to incorporate creatine into your daily rituals, whether that’s mixing creatine with your electrolytes in a loaded water bottle or blending with your post-workout creatine smoothie.

Just be mindful that creatine degrades when left in liquid for extended periods. To get the most out of your ritual, avoid leaving creatine in your water bottle throughout the day. Instead, mix it into your desired beverage only when you’re ready to drink it. 

Can women take creatine even if they don't work out often? 

There are a lot of myths surrounding creatine supplementation and this is a common one. Taking creatine on rest days still offers significant benefits for women, such as helping to reduce fatigue and supporting cognitive function during times of stress and sleep deprivation (2). You may also notice improvements in muscle energy and capacity. 

Can women take creatine when pregnant or breastfeeding?

Currently, there is insufficient evidence to recommend the safe and effective use of creatine during pregnancy and breastfeeding. However, women in these life stages can focus on eating protein and creatine-rich foods to obtain added creatine and reserve creatine supplementation for the postpartum/post-lactation seasons of life.

A final note on creatine for women

While not a magic fix, ongoing research continues to highlight exciting benefits for women. Whichever stage of life you find yourself in, True Creatine+ can become one support among many diet and lifestyle factors that help you feel strong, grounded and resilient to face whatever comes your way.

Resources

1. Kreider RB, Kalman DS, Antonio J, et al. International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: safety and efficacy of creatine supplementation in exercise, sport, and medicine. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2017;14:18. doi:10.1186/s12970-017-0173-z

2. Smith-Ryan AE, Cabre HE, Eckerson JM, Candow DG. Creatine Supplementation in Women's Health: A Lifespan Perspective. Nutrients. 2021;13(3):877. Published 2021 Mar 8. doi:10.3390/nu13030877

3. Davis SR, Pinkerton J, Santoro N, Simoncini T. Menopause-Biology, consequences, supportive care, and therapeutic options. Cell. 2023;186(19):4038-4058. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2023.08.016

4. Chilibeck PD, Sale DG, Webber CE. Exercise and bone mineral density. Sports Med. 1995;19(2):103-122. doi:10.2165/00007256-199519020-00003

5. Riehemann S, Volz HP, Wenda B, et al. Frontal lobe in vivo (31)P-MRS reveals gender differences in healthy controls, not in schizophrenics. NMR Biomed. 1999;12(8):483-489. 

6. Davis SR, Pinkerton J, Santoro N, Simoncini T. Menopause-Biology, consequences, supportive care, and therapeutic options. Cell. 2023;186(19):4038-4058. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2023.08.016

7. Candow DG, Forbes SC, Ostojic SM, et al. "Heads Up" for Creatine Supplementation and its Potential Applications for Brain Health and Function. Sports Med. 2023;53(Suppl 1):49-65. doi:10.1007/s40279-023-01870-9

8. Chilibeck PD, Kaviani M, Candow DG, Zello GA. Effect of creatine supplementation during resistance training on lean tissue mass and muscular strength in older adults: a meta-analysis. Open Access J Sports Med. 2017;8:213-226. doi:10.2147/OAJSM.S123529

9. Chilibeck PD, Candow DG, Gordon JJ, et al. A 2-yr Randomized Controlled Trial on Creatine Supplementation during Exercise for Postmenopausal Bone Health. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2023;55(10):1750-1760. 

10. Prokopidis K, Giannos P, Triantafyllidis KK, Kechagias KS, Forbes SC, Candow DG. Effects of creatine supplementation on memory in healthy individuals: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Nutr Rev. 2023;81(4):416-427. doi:10.1093/nutrit/nuac064

11. Wohlgemuth KJ, Arieta LR, Brewer GJ, et al. Sex differences and considerations for female-specific nutritional strategies: a narrative review. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2021;18:27. doi:10.1186/s12970-021-00422-8

12. Greenhaff PL, Bodin K, Söderlund K, Hultman E. Effect of oral creatine supplementation on skeletal muscle phosphocreatine resynthesis. Am J Physiol. 1994;266(5):E725-E730. doi:10.1152/ajpendo.1994.266.5.E725