Potential creatine benefits in women

-increased bone density

-decreased inflammation

-increase in strength, power, and recovery adaptations

-more regular menstrual cycles

-improved menopause health

-improvement in depression symptoms

Potential complications needing further studies:

-endometriosis

Creatine is one of the most studied dietary supplements on the planet — yet most research historically focused on men and athletic performance. Recent science, however, is illuminating a much broader role for creatine in female health — spanning from menstrual cycle physiology to menopause, brain function, and beyond.

What Is Creatine — and Why Women May Need It More

Creatine is a naturally occurring molecule used by cells to rapidly regenerate energy (ATP). It’s stored primarily in muscle, but also in the brain and other tissues, and is crucial for short bursts of high-intensity energy and cellular homeostasis.

Interestingly:

• Women have 70–80% lower endogenous creatine stores than men, partly related to differences in muscle mass and hormone-driven metabolism.

• Females also tend to consume less creatine through diet (meat, fish) than males.

Together, this suggests greater potential responsiveness to supplementation — especially during life stages with hormonal shifts (menstruation, pregnancy, menopause).

What OB/GYN and Clinicians Are Saying

While specific quotes from board-certified OB/GYNs about creatine are still uncommon in peer-reviewed research, clinicians and medical commentators acknowledge creatine’s broad benefits beyond bodybuilding. For example, Dr. Shamsah Amersi, MD notes that creatine is “safe, affordable, and one of the most scientifically supported supplements available,” especially for women during metabolic and hormonal transitions such as menopause, where it supports muscle maintenance, bone strength, and recovery.

1. Menstrual Cycle & Reproductive Health

Creatine metabolism changes throughout the menstrual cycle as sex hormones fluctuate, and this may affect energy availability and protein metabolism.

Population data shows that women with higher dietary creatine intake (≥13 mg/kg/day) had significantly lower odds of irregular periods (oligomenorrhea) compared to those with lower intake — suggesting creatine may be linked to better menstrual regularity.

⚠️ Endometriosis caution: Emerging research from cell and animal models indicates that creatine can promote cellular pathways involved in endometriosis progression. Creatine may influence macrophage behavior and cell survival in ectopic endometrial tissues, potentially facilitating lesion growth. These findings are from basic mechanistic studies and have not yet been translated into clinical guidelines, but they warrant careful interpretation and further research before recommending creatine for women with endometriosis. What’s only recently been discovered is that endometriosis seems to have a link with Ferroptosis which is a specialized, iron dependent form of cell death that occurs due to metabolic failure. Creatine may improve metalboic failure which can be beneficial in situations like cancer nd other conditions, but perhaps deterimental in cases of endometriosis when less endometrial tissue is desired. More research is coming on this newly discovered link.   Pubmed

2. Strength & Exercise Performance (Pre-Menopausal)

Multiple studies in women show creatine supplementation can improve:

• Muscular strength and power

• Anaerobic capacity

• Repeated sprint performance

• Training adaptations

These benefits occur with both short- and long-term creatine use and across training levels. Creatine increases intramuscular phosphocreatine stores, allowing for more rapid ATP regeneration and greater training stimulus, which drives strength and hypertrophy gains.

📊 Systematic reviews confirm these ergogenic effects in women, though research quality and sample sizes vary.

3. Menopause & Post-Menopausal Health

As estrogen declines with menopause, women experience:

• Loss of muscle mass (sarcopenia)

• Declining bone density

• Increased inflammation

• Lower metabolic rate

Creatine appears to mitigate some of these effects. In older women, high-dose creatine (≈0.3 g/kg/day) for short periods increased strength and functional tasks (e.g., sit-to-stand performance).

When combined with resistance training, creatine consistently enhances muscle accretion and strength and may help preserve bone structure over time — though the bone benefits are most reliable when paired with training.

Bone mineral density begins declining faster after menopause, leading to a higher risk of osteoporosis. Early research suggests that creatine — especially when paired with weight-bearing exercise — may support stronger bones by maintaining muscle forces on bone and possibly reducing inflammation markers linked to bone breakdown. Pubmed

4. Cognitive Function & Mood

The brain also uses creatine to regenerate ATP, and brain creatine levels appear to affect:

• Memory and attention

• Mental fatigue

• Mood regulation

Clinical and pre-clinical evidence suggests creatine supplementation increases brain phosphocreatine and supports neural energy homeostasis — which may help with depression and cognitive symptoms, especially in women whose brain creatine levels are naturally lower than men’s.

Research has even shown that creatine augmented improvements in depression scores when added to antidepressant treatment in women. Pubmed

5. Inflammation & Overall Well-Being

Inflammation increases as estrogen declines with age. Creatine acts like an antioxidant in some contexts, helping to reduce oxidative stress markers — which may indirectly support muscle recovery and general health. While direct clinical evidence in women is still emerging, this effect is biologically plausible and has been noted in broader discussions of creatine’s cellular effects. “Accumulating evidence across a variety of research populations indicates that creatine supplementation has the ability to provide anti-inflammatory (Figure 1) and anti-catabolic effects (Figure 2). These findings may have application for athletes/exercising individuals, disease-state populations characterized by elevated inflammation (i.e., type II diabetes), and older adults prone to muscle (i.e., sarcopenia) and bone loss (i.e., osteoporosis). The number of studies examining the anti-inflammatory effects of creatine supplementation in various disease and exercise states continues to grow with promising results.” –Pubmed

*WARNING: This article is not medical advice and a physician should be consulted prior to starting any supplementation including creatine.