Should Women Take Creatine?

Creatine has been a staple supplement for bodybuilders, gym rats, and competitive athletes for decades. It’s been studied hundreds of times, offers numerous benefits, and (most importantly) has been shown to be safe.

For some reasons, though, creatine has this stigma that it’s only for men interested in building muscle. This is largely due to the fact that creatine has been hyped for decades by male bodybuilders that are sponsored by supplement companies.

But, here’s the thing…creatine isn’t just for men -- it’s effective (and SAFE) for women, too!

Today, we’re going to discuss why women should take creatine.

Let’s start with the basics.

What is Creatine?

Creatine is a compound naturally made in our bodies that helps produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP) -- the cellular currency of energy production. This mighty molecule is made up of the amino acids arginine and glycine, and it can also be found in high-protein foods, including beef, poultry, and fish.

What Does Creatine Do?

Creatine serves many functions in the body, but it’s primary two roles are to:

• Support natural energy production (via ATP generation)[1]
• Aid cellular hydration (via its role as a natural osmolyte)[2]

Why Should Women Take Creatine?

While our bodies do naturally produce creatine and can obtain it from meat. Research shows that women (compared to men) possess roughly 70–80% lower intramuscular creatine stores and consume considerably lower amounts of dietary creatine.[3]

In other words, if you want to get the benefits of creatine, relying on your body’s natural production or regular diet isn’t enough. Plus, creatine monohydrate is among the most affordable supplements on the market!

Now, let’s discuss the benefits of creatine for women.

Benefits of Creatine for Women

Improves Performance & Results

The most well-known benefits of creatine center on its ability to enhance exercise performance and lean muscle growth. While most of the research conducted over the past 30+ years has been on men, there has been a concerted effort to expand the body of creatine research in women.

As was the case in men, both short and long-term creatine supplementation has been found to significantly improve athletic performance, strength, and lean muscle gain in women.[4,5]

These findings aren’t just for younger females as additional studies find that creatine is beneficial for both premenopausal and postmenopausal females when combined with resistance training.[6]

May Support Reproductive Health

Consuming a creatine-rich diet has been linked to lower risks of reproductive issues in US women aged 12 and above. In fact, consuming at least 13mg of creatine/kg daily (~1g creatine daily for a 140-lb female) significantly lowers risks of irregular menstrual periods, obstetric conditions, and pelvic pathology.[7]

What this means is that even if optimizing performance and lean muscle growth isn’t on your list of goals for the New Year, you should still consume With this in mind,

Aids Cognitive Function

The brain is one of the most energy-hungry organs in the body. Studies note that even though the brain accounts for a mere 2% of body mass, it consumes 20% of the body’s energy.[8,9] Based on this, it should come as little surprise that creatine is very important to the brain, and supplementation with creatine can improve cognitive performance.

Research shows that creatine supplementation in both younger and older women (and men) improves several markers of cognitive performance, including recall, reaction time, and long-term memory performance.[10]

Had a rough night’s sleep?

Creatine can help!

Research demonstrates that creatine supplementation improves mental performance following 36 hours of sleep deprivation.[11]

Supports a Healthy Mood

How you feel on a daily basis can significantly impact your desire to workout, how you perform, what you want to eat, and much more.

While there are a number of factors that impact your mood each day, including how much sleep you get, an increasing amount of scientific evidence indicates positive effects from creatine supplementation on mood and cognition. This may be due, in part, to creatine’s ability to help restore brain energy levels and homeostasis.

Additional studies suggest that creatine supplementation may be even more effective for females by supporting a pro-energetic environment in the brain.[12]

This fascinating compound may even offer benefit for those suffering from mood disorders as research finds that creatine supplementation enhances and/or accelerates antidepressant response.[13]

Supports Bone Density

Bone loss (osteoporosis) occurs with aging. As bones become weaker and more brittle, the risk for serious injury from even minor bumps, slips, trips, and falls greatly increases. The good news is that simply daily habits like eating enough protein and resistance training are effective for preserving/increasing bone mineral density and attenuating the risk or loss of bone mass.

It just so happens that creatine supplementation (~8 g/day), combined with resistance training (3 times per week), is even more effective in postmenopausal women at supporting bone mineral density.[14]

How to Supplement with Creatine

You may have heard of a "loading phase" for creatine, which involves taking ~20 grams of creatine (divided across 4-5 doses) per day for 5-7 days as a way to “saturate” your muscles. While this is effective, it’s not necessary (unless you’re planning to compete in athletic competition in one week).

Otherwise, a much simpler strategy (and one with less GI distress), is to supplement with 5 grams of creatine monohydrate per day.

When Should I Take Creatine?

Timing doesn’t really matter when it comes to creatine supplementation. Since creatine’s benefits come afteryour muscles are saturated with it, there’s no need to supplement with it first thing in the morning or before your resistance training workout. The most important thing is to take it consistently (i.e. daily).

If it’s most convenient for you to take it pre workout, that’s great!

If it’s easier for you to mix it into your post-workout shake, that’s great too!

We personally find post-workout to be the most convenient time to take creatine, which is why we’ve included a full 5 grams of creatine monohydrate in every serving of 1UP Pure Rebuild.

In addition to creatine (which supports muscle recovery), 1UP Pre Rebuild also includes other prominent recovery supplements, including betaine anhydrous, glutamine, electrolytes, and essential amino acids (EAAs).

One last thing to keep in mind…

Temporary weight gain is common (more so in men than women) when loading creatine  due to the increase in cellular hydration (aka water weight).[15]

Just realize that this effect is temporary and IS NOT indicative of fat gain. Remember, though, that you don’t need to load creatine. Simply take 5 grams of creatine each day and you’ll reach saturation in a few weeks (and avoid most of the water weight gain!).

References

1. Kreider RB, Kalman DS, Antonio J, Ziegenfuss TN, Wildman R, Collins R, Candow DG, Kleiner SM, Almada AL, Lopez HL. International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: safety and efficacy of creatine supplementation in exercise, sport, and medicine. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2017 Jun 13;14:18. doi: 10.1186/s12970-017-0173-z. PMID: 28615996; PMCID: PMC5469049.
2. Ainsley Dean PJ, Arikan G, Opitz B, Sterr A. Potential for use of creatine supplementation following mild traumatic brain injury. Concussion. 2017 Mar 21;2(2):CNC34. doi: 10.2217/cnc-2016-0016. PMID: 30202575; PMCID: PMC6094347.
3. Brosnan JT, Brosnan ME. Creatine: endogenous metabolite, dietary, and therapeutic supplement. Annu Rev Nutr. 2007;27:241–261.
4. Volek JS, Rawson ES. Scientific basis and practical aspects of creatine supplementation for athletes. Nutrition. 2004. Jul-Aug;20(7–8):609–614.
5. Williams T, Walz E, Lane AR, et al. The effect of estrogen on muscle damage biomarkers following prolonged aerobic exercise in eumenorrheic women. Biol Sport. 2015. Sep;32(3):193–198.
6. Chilibeck PD, Candow DG, Gordon JJ, Duff WRD, Mason R, Shaw K, Taylor-Gjevre R, Nair B, Zello GA. A 2-yr Randomized Controlled Trial on Creatine Supplementation during Exercise for Postmenopausal Bone Health. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2023 Oct 1;55(10):1750-1760. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000003202. Epub 2023 May 5. PMID: 37144634; PMCID: PMC10487398.
7. Ostojic SM, Stea TH, Ellery SJ, Smith-Ryan AE. Association between dietary intake of creatine and female reproductive health: Evidence from NHANES 2017-2020. Food Sci Nutr. 2024 Apr 30;12(7):4893-4898. doi: 10.1002/fsn3.4135. PMID: 39055234; PMCID: PMC11266896.
8. Turner C.E., Byblow W.D., Gant N. Creatine Supplementation Enhances Corticomotor Excitability and Cognitive Performance during Oxygen Deprivation. J. Neurosci. 2015;35:1773–1780. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3113-14.2015.
9. Gualano B., Artioli G.G., Poortmans J.R., Junior A.H.L. Exploring the therapeutic role of creatine supplementation. Amino Acids. 2009;38:31–44. doi: 10.1007/s00726-009-0263-6
10. Dworak M, McCarley RW, Kim T, Kalinchuk AV, Basheer R. Sleep and brain energy levels: ATP changes during sleep. J Neurosci. 2010 Jun 30;30(26):9007-16. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1423-10.2010. PMID: 20592221; PMCID: PMC2917728.
11. McMorris T, Harris RC, Howard AN, et al. Creatine supplementation, sleep deprivation, cortisol, melatonin and behavior. Physiol Behav. 2007;90(1):21-28. doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2006.08.024.
12. Smith-Ryan AE, Cabre HE, Eckerson JM, Candow DG. Creatine Supplementation in Women's Health: A Lifespan Perspective. Nutrients. 2021 Mar 8;13(3):877. doi: 10.3390/nu13030877. PMID: 33800439; PMCID: PMC7998865.
13. Bakian AV, Huber RS, Scholl L, Renshaw PF, Kondo D. Dietary creatine intake and depression risk among U.S. adults. Transl Psychiatry. 2020 Feb 3;10(1):52. doi: 10.1038/s41398-020-0741-x. PMID: 32066709; PMCID: PMC7026167.
14. Chilibeck P.D., Candow D.G., Landeryou T., Kaviani M., Paus-Jenssen L. Effects of Creatine and Resistance Training on Bone Health in Postmenopausal Women. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 2015;47:1587–1595. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000000571
15. Sobolewski E.J., Thompson B.J., Smith A.E., Ryan E.D. The physiological effects of creatine supplementation on hydration: A review. Am. J. Lifestyle Med. 2011;5:320–327. doi: 10.1177/1559827611406071.