Should I be taking creatine?

Creatine, it turns out, is the most researched supplement in the world. If you've only just heard of it, that's because it spent decades associated with bodybuilders and athletes before finding its way onto social media and into conversations about healthy ageing and women's health in midlife.

So if you've started seeing it everywhere, labelled "the latest wonder supplement for women over 40," and immediately thought "here we go, another thing I'm apparently supposed to be taking," I don't blame you. When it comes to women and ageing, the wellness industry has a well-earned reputation for turning every new piece of research into another pill, powder or potion we apparently need, and honestly, I find it exhausting.

In this edition I've been looking into creatine, to understand what the research really says and whether it's something that can genuinely support women in midlife, rather than what clever marketing wants us to believe.

What is creatine and why is everyone suddenly talking about it?

From social media to supermarket shelves, creatine has quietly moved beyond the world of athletes and protein shakes into a much wider conversation, one that includes cognitive health, women's wellness and healthy ageing.

Without getting too deep into the science, creatine is a compound your body produces naturally, stored mostly in your muscles and in smaller amounts in your brain. Its primary job is to help your muscles generate energy quickly, particularly during short, intense bursts of effort, by helping your body regenerate ATP, the fuel your cells run on. Your body makes some creatine on its own and you get small amounts through food, with red meat and oily fish being the richest sources, though rarely enough through either route to make a meaningful difference.

The reason it keeps coming up in conversations about women in midlife is that for a long time, research into creatine focused almost exclusively on male athletes. That's starting to change, and women over 40 are finally being studied properly, with creatine appearing in the findings in ways that are genuinely worth paying attention to.

Isn't creatine just for bodybuilders?

For a long time, that association wasn't entirely unfair. Creatine entered public consciousness through sport and gym culture, and the image of it, large tubs, aggressive branding and promises of explosive performance, didn't exactly encourage women in their forties to look twice.

What surprised me was how much the conversation has shifted. The more I read, the less it seemed to be a supplement exclusively for athletes and the more it appeared in discussions about healthy ageing, muscle loss, recovery and brain health.

One finding that came up repeatedly was that women naturally store less creatine than men, which means the gap between what our bodies produce and what we might benefit from is larger than many of us would assume. It's one of the reasons creatine is increasingly being talked about outside of gyms and sports performance circles, and why researchers have become so interested in what role it might play as we age.

Is it safe for women, particularly during perimenopause?

Based on everything I found, creatine appears to be one of the most well-researched supplements available, with a strong safety record in healthy adults at recommended doses.

For women in perimenopause, the picture is a little more nuanced. Some early research suggests creatine may help support muscle mass, bone health and energy levels as oestrogen declines, which is one of the reasons it's generating so much interest right now, but the research is still developing, particularly when it comes to perimenopause-specific benefits.

The safety data is reassuring, but some of the claims being made about creatine and midlife women are running ahead of what we currently know.

One practical note: if you decide to try it, look for a product containing 100% creatine monohydrate from a reputable brand that uses third-party testing. If you have kidney disease, diabetes, or take medication that affects kidney function, it's worth a conversation with your doctor first.

Can it help with brain fog?

This is where it gets interesting. Creatine is stored in small amounts in the brain as well as the muscles, and researchers have been exploring whether it might support cognitive function. Some early studies have shown promising results, particularly in people who are sleep-deprived or whose dietary creatine intake is very low, such as vegetarians and vegans.

For women in midlife experiencing brain fog, the honest answer is that the research is still early and the evidence isn't yet strong enough to make confident claims. The signals are interesting enough to watch, but anyone telling you creatine will definitively clear your brain fog is ahead of the science.

Can it help with mood and anxiety in perimenopause?

This was one of the more surprising areas I came across. A small number of studies suggest creatine may have a role to play in mood and emotional wellbeing, particularly in women, and researchers are increasingly interested in what it might be doing in the brain as well as the muscles.

The research is still in its early stages though, especially when it comes to perimenopause. It's worth knowing about, but it's far too soon to think of creatine as any kind of solution for low mood or anxiety. If that's something you're navigating, I'd treat this as an interesting area of research rather than a reason to reach for a supplement.

Will it help with my energy levels?

This depends on what we mean by energy. Creatine's ability to support physical performance is well established, which is why athletes have used it for decades, but whether that translates into feeling more energetic in everyday life is less clear. Plenty of women report noticing a difference, and yet the research specifically looking at fatigue and day-to-day energy in perimenopausal women is still limited. It may be worth trying, but it's not something you should bank on feeling.

Will I gain weight or feel bloated?

This was one of the concerns I came across often.

Creatine can cause a small increase in body weight initially, but it isn't body fat. Creatine draws water into the muscles, which is part of how it works, so the scales may shift slightly even though your body composition hasn't changed. Bloating can happen, particularly with aggressive loading protocols, but seems to be much less common when taken in smaller daily doses.

The idea that creatine causes weight gain in the way many women fear doesn't hold up to scrutiny. It seems to be one of the biggest misconceptions surrounding it.

How much do I need to take, and do I need to exercise for it to work?

Creatine doesn't need to be complicated. The form used in the vast majority of research is creatine monohydrate, and three to five grams a day is considered sufficient for most people. There's no real need for a loading phase or elaborate timing strategy, consistency matters far more than precision.

As for exercise, the biggest benefits tend to show up when creatine is combined with regular movement, particularly resistance training, though researchers are increasingly exploring its potential role in cognitive health, bone health and healthy ageing beyond the gym. If you're already exercising, creatine may be a worthwhile addition. If you're not, movement is where I'd start first.

One thing worth knowing: because creatine is found almost exclusively in animal products, people eating a vegetarian or vegan diet tend to have lower stores to begin with, which makes supplementation particularly relevant for those eating plant-based.

When I started researching creatine, I assumed I'd find another overhyped wellness trend. What I found was something more nuanced.

Creatine isn't a miracle supplement, and some of the claims currently being made about it are running ahead of the evidence. But unlike much of what gets marketed to women in midlife, there is a substantial body of research behind it, and that's not nothing.

Whether it's something worth taking is a personal decision. What surprised me most wasn't that creatine might help with muscle, bone or brain health. It was discovering that one of the most talked-about supplements in midlife is also one of the least glamorous. No promises, no transformation story, just a small, well-researched powder dissolved in a glass of water.

If you're curious enough to see what all the fuss is about, most of the research has used around three to five grams of creatine monohydrate a day. It's tasteless, inexpensive and easy to dissolve in water, coffee, a smoothie or whatever you're already drinking.

If you decide to try it, give it a few weeks rather than a few days, then pay attention. Do you notice anything different in your training, recovery, energy or concentration? Maybe you will, maybe you won't. Like most things in midlife, the question is rarely whether something works for everyone, but whether it works for you.

The biggest thing I took away from researching this is something that applies to pretty much every supplement conversation: we have to get better at separating the science from the sales pitch.

Creatine isn't a shortcut, and it won't do much if the foundations aren't in place. Regular movement, decent sleep, eating well, creatine sits alongside all of that, not instead of it. What makes it stand out from most of the supplement noise is that the decades of research behind it are solid, it's affordable, and the evidence for muscle health and exercise performance is consistent.

If you decide to try it, you might notice something, or the difference might be subtle. Both are fine. Creatine isn't a miracle, but it is one of the rare supplements that has genuinely earned its place on the shelf.

Until the next edition,

Jamine
Editor, MIDLIFE
midlifeedition.co