Should I take creatine?
I so often get asked by my clients whether they should take creatine. It seems everyone is talking about it right now. It used to be mostly associated with male bodybuilders and was seen as more of a sports supplement. However, creatine is not just for gym junkies and it certainly is not just a supplement for men.
So what is creatine?
Creatine is a natural compound formed from amino acids (glycine, arginine, methionine) in the liver, kidneys, and pancreas. In an ideal world, the body makes about half of our daily requirements, and we get the other half from food (from animal foods such as red meat, seafood and cow, goat and sheep milk). Approximately 95% of creatine is stored in skeletal muscles, where it helps generate a molecule called ATP. ATP is the ‘energy currency’ our bodies use for movement, lifting, sprinting and many everyday activities. This means that when we have an ample supply of creatine, our muscles can keep working, especially when we are exercising. However, we also need energy outside of exercising, so our demand for creatine is actually quite high. In fact, the other 5% of our creatine is distributed across the brain, heart, and other metabolically active tissues.
Creatine & women
Women tend to have less creatine available. This is because women naturally have about 70-80% lower endogenous stores of creatine compared to men and they also tend to consume less creatine as it is mainly found in red meats and seafood (Smith-Ryan et al., 2021). This means that women can definitely benefit from creatine supplementation.
What can creatine help with?
It has been shown that consisten creatine supplementation helps with:
improving strength and power output
sprint performance
muscle protein synthesis
preserving bone mineral density (but only when paired with resistance training as creatine by itself is not a bone supplement) (Chilibeck et al., 2015)
reducing age-related muscle wastage
improved cognitive function, in particular memory and executive functioning - this (Candow et al., 2026)
Creatine deficiency signs
Unsurprisingly, deficiency signs for creatine are all related to having less energy available. For example:
1) Reduced strength or power
a. Struggling with lifting weights, especially heavier ones
b. Struggling with climbing stairs or getting up from the floor
c. Struggling with higher intensity efforts like sprinting or walking up hills
2) Faster muscle fatigue
a. You feel tired after carrying out everyday tasks such as carrying your shopping, gardening or cleaning the house
b. You need longer (than you used) to recover from a heavy gym session’
3) Difficulty building or maintaining muscle
a. Despite regular strength training, you just can’t build muscle well or you plateau once you have reached a certain stage
b. You might even notice some muscle loss (especially in mid-life)
4) Brain fog or mental fatigue
a. You might have trouble concentrating, experience brain fog or feel mentally drained quite easily – this can of course be happening for different reasons too, but insufficient creatine might play a role here.
Who is most at risk of having low creatine?
1) People on a vegetarian or vegan diet, or those who eat a low meat diet as creatine is found in animal foods only
2) Women (as already pointed out above) – especially during perimenopause and menopause
This is because during perimenopause how much creatine is made, stored, and used in muscle and brain is changing. This is because:
Muscle loss (as mentioned before, 95% of it is stored in skeletal muscle) – this occurs because of estrogen fluctuations and unless we actively work to improve muscle mass, we are losing it. Less muscle = less creatine
During this time, we also become less efficient at retaining and using creatine due to fluctuating estrogen
3) Older populations
As we age, we naturally store less creatine, which is partly associated with the fact that we tend to do less high intensity exercise or resistance training as we age. However, when muscles are used less for power and strength, they tend to down-regulate creatine storage.
4) Anyone who is regularly exposed to high stress and poor sleep
This includes shift workers, emergency responders, many professionals and let’s face it, most Mums!
It also includes those that have consistently interrupted sleep or those who are just mentally and physically exhausted
High stress and poor sleep can impair muscle building, which goes back to point 2) above
Creatine deficiency is not something that we can test for. Instead, we rely on symptoms such as those described here. Unfortunately, research into women and creatine is still mostly lacking, but it is pretty clear that women can benefit from creatine.
How do we get more creatine?
There are 2 sources:
Food – ensure you regularly eat red meat or seafood (not every day but every week at least)
Supplementation – there are many creatine products out there, so you need to look at the label to see which form of creatine they use. The most widely researched and most effective one is creatine monohydrate.
Dosage: start low with 3g daily and work up to 5g daily
Don’t start with a high dose or ‘loading phase’ as this can often result in gastrointestinal issues
Ensure you drink plenty of water whilst taking creatine – your water needs go up whilst taking creatine as creatine pulls water into cells (which is a good thing!)
Should teenagers or adolescents take creatine?
Most teenagers are unlikely to need creatine supplementation. They should get enough from their diet. Before considering any supplementation, they should focus on
Adequate protein intake
Adequate sleep
Strength training quality (good technique, progressive overload to build muscle)
Consistent meals rather than skipping meals, which can lead to under-fuelling
Creatine might be beneficial for some adolescents (16-18 years) or young adults. It can be considered when:
They are engaged in regular, structured resistance training (working with a PT in a gym, strength sports or high-performance programs)
They already have good nutrition practices in place (adequate protein, regular meals and sufficient calories)
Creatine should not make up for poor dietary choices
They understand how to dose it appropriately
Again no ‘loading phase’ or ‘hyperdosing’ - a dose of 3g per day should be adequate for most
As always, teenagers and adolescents should consult a healthcare provider or nutritionist before starting supplementation.
Lastly, a word of caution. Whilst creatine is a safe supplement for most (Chilibeck et al., 2015), anyone (including adolescents) with a diagnosed chronic kidney disease, a history of kidney issues or any medical condition that places a heavy strain on kidneys, should NOT take creatine without medical supervision.
If you want to find out if creatine could be beneficial for you, book in for a 1:1 consultation.
References:
Candow, D. G., Pratt, J., Fabiano, N., Gordji-Nejad, A., Smith, A., Rawson, E. S., … Kerksick, C. M. (2026). Creatine Supplementation and the Brain: Have We Put the Cart Before the Horse? Journal of Dietary Supplements, 1–30. https://doi.org/10.1080/19390211.2026.2616440
Chilibeck, P. D., Candow, D. G., Landeryou, T., Kaviani, M., & Paus-Jenssen, L. (2015). Effects of Creatine and Resistance Training on Bone Health in Postmenopausal Women. Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 47(8), 1587–1595. https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000000571
Smith-Ryan, A. E., Cabre, H. E., Eckerson, J. M., & Candow, D. G. (2021). Creatine Supplementation in Women's Health: A Lifespan Perspective. Nutrients, 13(3), 877. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13030877
