Reclaiming Creatine: Fuelling Women’s Health

Maddie Hughes
Jul 17
5 min read

Creatine is often seen as something just for bodybuilders and gym bros – but that stereotype is finally being shattered. For women, creatine is a surprisingly powerful supplement, supporting not just physical strength but also brain health, mood regulation, bone density and hormone resilience.

So, with creatine being one of the most researched supplements out there, why is it not talked about? And how exactly does it work? Here’s what you need to know.

What is Creatine, Really?

Creatine is a naturally occurring nitrogen compound made in the liver and kidneys. It is stored mostly in your muscles but also in your brain, where it plays a vital role in energy production.

You can get creatine from your diet – mainly from red meat and fish – but many women have low baseline levels of it.

In fact, due to lower muscle mass and hormone-related differences, women generally have 70-80% less stored creatine than men.

That’s where supplementation comes in. The most effective form? Creatine monohydrate – one of the most researched supplements out there.

How Creatine Fuels Your Body

Creatine is stored in the body as phosphocreatine. During short bursts of high-intensity activity (like sprinting or lifting), your body quickly uses up ATP (adenosine triphosphate), the main energy source. When ATP is used, it becomes ADP (adenosine diphosphate). Phosphocreatine donates its phosphate to ADP to regenerate ATP, allowing continued energy supply for muscles and brain.

This energy regeneration is key not only for workouts but for brain function, hormonal transitions and mental fatigue.

Why Creatine Matters More for Women

Strength and Muscle Recovery

Creatine helps draw water into muscle cells, improving hydration, volume and protein synthesis. This translates to better training performance, faster recovery and lean muscle maintenance – not ‘bulking’.

Women who pair creatine with resistance training often experience improvements in strength and endurance.

Bone Health & Aging

From your 30s onwards, and especially after menopause, declining oestrogen levels accelerate bone mass loss. Creatine has been shown to support bone mineral density by improving muscle on bone, which stimulates osteoblast (bone-building cell) activity.

In postmenopausal women, combining creatine with strength training slowed bone loss and preserved lean mass. This makes it a critical tool for long-term musculoskeletal health and mobility.

Brain, mood and cognitive health

Creatine isn’t just for muscle – it’s vital for brain energy. Studies also show improvements in memory, attention and cognitive performance, especially during:

Sleep deprivation
Hormonal contraceptive use
PMS
Depression

Some evidence even suggests creatine may support treatment-resistant depression more effectively in women than men.

Support During Hormonal Shifts

From menstruation to perimenopause, women often face brain fog, fatigue and mood swings linked to hormone changes. Creatine helps smooth out these energy dips by stabilising ATP availability across tissues, especially in the brain.

Research suggests that creatine may also reduce mental loads and improve exercise tolerance in women on hormonal contraceptive, during PMS and post-menopause.

Gut-Brain Connection

Emerging data suggests creatine supports mitochondrial health in gut lining cells, potentially protecting against inflammatory bowel conditions and supporting digestion. By fuelling gut-brain communication, creatine can help modulate mood, immune responses and nutrient absorption.

Debunking Creatine Myths

“Does it cause bloating?”

Your body mainly stores creatine in skeletal muscles and some in the brain and other organs. Muscles become ‘saturated’ with creatine over time, especially with daily supplementation.

Creatine is osmotically active. What this means is that creatine molecules pull water into muscle cells. They attract water to maintain a balance in concentration, just like salt does. The more creatine inside the muscle cells, the more water is drawn in to maintain cellular fluid balance.

Therefore, more water retention occurs in the muscles, which contributes to the fuller, more toned muscle look rather than bloating. It can also make the muscle feel tighter and perform better due to hydration which supports protein synthesis, muscle recovery and increased training volume.

“Does it cause hair loss?”

There is no substantial evidence of creatine influencing hair loss in women. This concern came about because there has been a study indicating a marginal increase in dihydrotestosterone (DHT), which is one of the hormones that can promote male pattern baldness. However, creatine is not going to increase DHT to a level where this is could happen – especially in women.

How to Take It

Dose: 3-5g daily.
Timing: Anytime.
Stir into water or smoothies just before drinking or take the pill form.
Consistency rather than loading. You don’t need to ‘load’ creatine. Daily use gradually saturates your stores.

What to Expect

Within the first week, you might notice a slight muscle water retention and possible small water weight gain. Your biceps might feel plumper – a look most gym goers seek.

In weeks four to eight, you might see improved strength, power, mood, focus, and reduced fatigue. And in the long-term, you will have better muscle and bone preservation, and sustained cognitive resilience with potential longevity benefits.

Which Type Should You Use?

Creatine monohydrate is the most researched form and remains the gold standard. It’s affordable, well-absorbed and consistently boosts strength, endurance and brain performance. Other forms (such as buffered creatine) may be marketed as ‘advanced’ but research doesn’t show superior benefits.

If you’re starting out, monohydrate is your best bet.

Choosing High-Quality Creatine

Not all supplements are created equally. Look for creatine monohydrate with third-party testing, which guarantees purity and solubility. Lower-quality powders may cause bloating or gastrointestinal discomfort due to contaminants or poor absorption. Clean sourcing matters – your gut will thank you.

Hiding in Plain Sight: Why We Haven’t Heard About It Until Now

It’s Long Been Marketed to Men

For decades, creating has been branded as a ‘muscle-building’ supplement for male athletes and body builders. Most early research was done on men in strength sports and marketing followed suit – think of moody gyms and ripped men. That messaging alienated many women and non-athletes, making creatine seem irrelevant to their goals.

Mainstream Health Advice Hasn’t Caught Up

Although creatine has over 1,000 peer-reviewed studies backing its safety and effectiveness, very little of this has made it into mainstream health advice. Doctors, nutritionists and the media rarely highlight it, especially for women’s health, brain health or aging. It’s not a patentable compound, so there’s no pharmaceutical incentive to push public awareness either.

Misinformation and myths.

Creatine's reputation has suffered from outdated myths, like bloating or ‘steroid-adjacent’ claims. These misconceptions, mostly based on flawed or narrow studies (focused on just men), have deterred the wider population.

However, with information being more widely spread on social media such as TikTok, this is changing.

A new wave of research is shifting the narrative, with lead exercise scientists and neuroscientists calling creatine a ‘neuroprotective nutrient’.

Overall, creatine is not about bulking up; it’s about fuelling the female body more effectively.

References

Forbes, S. C., Cordingley, D. M., Cornish, S. M., Gualano, B., Roschel, H., Ostojic, S. M., Rawson, E. S., Roy, B. D., Prokopidis, K., Giannos, P., & Candow, D. G. (2022). Effects of Creatine Supplementation on Brain Function and Health. Nutrients, 14 (5), 921.