Supplements for Active Women: Creatine
Active women at any age can benefit from supplementing with creatine!
When it comes to supplements for active women, creatine is one of the most important yet often misunderstood. Many women shy away from it, fearing it will make them bulky—a common misconception! Building bulk requires years of heavy lifting, specific dietary choices, and sometimes even substances beyond natural supplements. Creatine alone won't cause that. What it can help with is building lean muscle tone!
So, what exactly is creatine? It's a naturally occurring compound found in your muscles that plays a key role in energy production, particularly during high-intensity workouts and resistance training.
Not so fun-fact: Women typically have 70-80% lower creatine stores than men. Supplementing with 3-5 grams of creatine daily helps ensure your muscles are adequately stocked. While you can get creatine from dietary sources like meat, I find in my private practice women generally consume less meat than men. This makes supplementation especially important for those who are vegetarian, vegan, or simply don't consume enough animal protein due to lifestyle choices.
Benefits of Creatine
Increased Strength and Power: A 2021 review in Nutrients highlighted that creatine supplementation could be particularly beneficial throughout a woman's life—from menstruation to menopause. The review found that pre-menopausal women saw improvements in strength and exercise performance, while post-menopausal women experienced benefits in muscle size, function, and bone health when combined with resistance training.
Enhanced Workout Performance: Whether you're a seasoned athlete or just starting out, creatine can improve both anaerobic and aerobic performance. This means stronger workouts, whether you're pushing for a new personal record in the gym, adding an extra sprint to your HIIT session, or increasing resistance on your lifts. Over time, this leads to more muscle, strength, power, stamina, and endurance. Who wouldn’t want that?
Recovery and Injury Prevention: Creatine may also aid in quicker recovery from injuries and help prevent them in the first place.
Cognitive Benefits: Beyond physical performance, creatine has been shown to have cognitive benefits as well. Research in Nutrients suggests that creatine supplementation can positively impact mood and cognition by restoring brain energy levels and maintaining balance.
For women taking antidepressants, creatine can be a game-changer. A study from the American Journal of Psychiatry found that women with major depressive disorder who supplemented with 5 grams of creatine daily alongside their antidepressant experienced faster relief and higher remission rates compared to those who only took the antidepressant.
Mood Support During Menstrual Cycle: Creatine can also help manage mood swings during the menstrual cycle. The luteal phase, with its increase in estrogen and progesterone, demands more creatine to support neurotransmitter changes that influence mood. For menopausal women, who are more prone to inflammation, creatine offers brain and mood benefits as well.
How to Supplement Creatine
Your body uses about 2 grams of creatine per day and naturally produces roughly 1 gram. To make up the difference, you can increase your intake of animal proteins like meat and fish or supplement with creatine monohydrate. This form of creatine is odorless and tasteless, making it easy to mix into anything—from smoothies and oats to just a glass of water.
While some athletes go through a loading phase with 20 grams of creatine daily for a week, many women don't need this. A consistent 2-5 grams per day is usually sufficient and less likely to cause fluid retention. Personally, I take 5 grams on most days, ideally close to my workout, but it’s not always perfectly timed. Sometimes it goes into my morning smoothie, even if I’m working out in the afternoon.
For a high-quality creatine supplement, I recommend Thorne or 1st Phorm.
About the author: Kait Richardson, RDN, is a registered dietitian in Orlando, FL who helps yo-yo dieters break the “all-or-nothing” mindset, find balance with food, and lose weight without restricting. She does group speaking events and is the co-host of the Nutrition Awareness Podcast. Her book How to Eat Like a Normal Person: A Guide to Overcoming the All-Or-Nothing Mindset with Food & Body is coming Fall 2024 and available for preorder.
If you need help losing weight, improving your performance, or increasing your energy, I provide 1:1 consultations at Nutrition Awareness. You can schedule your virtual or in person initial consultation here.
I was not paid to review any of the above products. All opinions are my own. This post may contain affiliate links.