My Sister Asked If Her Daughter Could Take Creatine Too — Here's What I Told Her

After explaining what creatine does in your body and how to choose a quality creatine supplement my sister had another question.

My niece is very active and has a busy academic schedule, and is coming across creatine advertsing too.

Can she also take creatine, or is this actually a midlife thing?

It's a fair question, and one I get from the other direction constantly — women in their fifties wondering if creatine is something younger women should also be using.

The honest answer is that creatine is relevant across almost the entire span of a woman's reproductive life. What changes from one decade to the next isn't whether it's appropriate. It's why it matters, and what the research is actually looking at.

Yes — but the “why” shifts with every life stage

The core principles of creatine don't change with age: a pure creatine monohydrate, taken consistently, at a dose that suits your goals. What does change is the research focus — because a 23-year-old's body, a pregnant woman's body, and a postmenopausal woman's body are managing creatine very differently. Let's go through it stage by stage.

Younger, cycling women: performance through the menstrual cycle

For women still cycling regularly, most of the research interest sits around exercise performance — and specifically, how that performance shifts across the cycle itself. One study looking at menstruating women found improved performance during the luteal phase (the back half of the cycle) with creatine supplementation, compared with the follicular phase.

For someone like my niece, training consistently and wanting her performance to feel less unpredictable week to week, this is the angle that's actually relevant — not bone density or cognitive ageing, which simply aren't where her body is at yet.

Pregnancy and postpartum: what the research says (and what it doesn't, yet)

This is an area I want to be very upfront about, because the research is genuinely still early.

A large prospective study followed pregnant women across gestation, tracking creatine and its precursor compound in blood and urine. What it found was that maternal creatine levels stayed relatively stable throughout pregnancy, while markers of the body's own creatine production shifted — suggesting the body adapts rather than simply depletes. Importantly, that study didn't test creatine supplementation itself, just what happens naturally.

Separately, animal studies and mechanistic reviews have raised interesting questions about creatine's role in supporting the placenta and protecting foetal brain development, particularly when oxygen or nutrient delivery is compromised. But human supplementation trials in pregnancy remain limited.

My position on this is the same as the researchers': approach it with clinical discretion. If you're pregnant or breastfeeding and considering creatine, this is a conversation to have with your midwife, doctor or practitioner — not a decision to make off the back of a blog post or a gym group chat.

The transition that changes everything: perimenopause and menopause

This is where the evidence base gets considerably stronger, and where I think the conversation needs to happen most.

Women generally synthesise around 20% less creatine than men and consume less through diet, and hormonal shifts across the menopausal transition appear to influence how creatine is used and replenished.

For postmenopausal women specifically, a 12-month randomised controlled trial combining creatine with resistance training found preserved bone mineral density and improved bone bending strength, compared with resistance training alone.

A separate 24-week trial in postmenopausal women with osteopenia or osteoporosis found improvements in lean mass and muscle function, again alongside resistance training.

Longer research running over two years has reported similar support for bone geometry and lean mass.

None of this means creatine prevents fractures or treats bone disease — it doesn't, and I'd never suggest otherwise.

What it does suggest is that creatine, paired with resistance training, may support the muscle and bone foundations that naturally come under more pressure during this transition.

That's a meaningfully different reason to take it than my niece has.

Brain, memory and mood across the decades

Cognitive research on creatine is genuinely fascinating, partly because the effects seem to depend heavily on age.

A meta-analysis pooling 23 randomised trials found memory improvements were significantly more pronounced in older adults than in younger participants — the opposite of what you might assume if you thought of creatine purely as a young person's gym supplement.

There's also early animal research suggesting creatine's cognitive effects may differ by sex, with some studies showing greater benefit in females than males — though that's preclinical data, not yet established in humans, so I'd treat it as a direction for future research rather than a reason to change anything right now.

Mood regulation is another area of active interest, and one I think deserves a proper conversation rather than a blanket statement in a blog post.

If you're navigating mood changes — particularly through the menopausal transition — that's exactly the kind of thing worth bringing to a consultation, where we can look at your whole picture rather than reaching for a single supplement in isolation.

So — can my niece take it too?

Yes. The standard doesn't change: pure creatine monohydrate, taken consistently, no loading required for most people.

What changes is the why.

My niece is likely using it to support training consistency through her twenties. A client of mine in her fifties is more often using it to protect muscle, bone and cognitive reserve through a transition where all three are naturally under more pressure.

Same supplement. Same standard for quality. Different reason entirely.

A quick reference — creatine by life stage

Life Stage	What research is looking at	Typical dose
Menstruating / cycling women	Exercise performance, particularly during the luteal phase	3–5g daily, no loading required
Pregnancy & postpartum	Emerging research only — placental and foetal bioenergetics	Clinical discretion — speak to your practitioner or midwife
Perimenopause & the menopause transition	Muscle strength, lean mass, bone density, cognitive function	3–5g daily ongoing, loading optional
Postmenopausal / older adults	Lean tissue, strength, bone geometry, memory	3–5g daily, paired with resistance training

This builds on the dosing principles I covered in Part 2 — read that one if you haven't already, for the full breakdown on loading, micronisation and choosing a quality product.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can younger women take creatine, or is it only relevant for midlife?

Creatine is relevant across most of a woman's reproductive life. Younger, cycling women are most often researched in the context of exercise performance, including how performance shifts across the menstrual cycle. The dosing principles are largely the same; what differs is the underlying goal.

Is creatine safe during pregnancy or breastfeeding?

Human research in this area is still limited. Current evidence suggests the body adapts its own creatine production during pregnancy, but supplementation hasn't been thoroughly studied in pregnant or breastfeeding women. This is an area to discuss directly with your midwife, doctor or practitioner rather than self-manage.

Does creatine help with menstrual cycle-related performance changes?

Some research has found improved exercise performance during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle with creatine supplementation, compared with the follicular phase. This is an area of ongoing research interest.

What does research show about creatine and bone density in midlife women?

Randomised controlled trials in postmenopausal women, combining creatine with resistance training, have found support for bone mineral density preservation, bone bending strength and lean muscle mass over periods ranging from 24 weeks to two years. Creatine isn't a treatment for bone disease, but may support the foundations that come under pressure during this life stage.

Can creatine support cognitive function or mood?

Research suggests creatine may support memory and cognitive performance, with effects more pronounced in older adults than younger people. Mood regulation is an area of active research interest, but isn't something to self-manage with a supplement alone — particularly during significant hormonal transitions.

How much creatine should a woman take, regardless of age?

For most general health purposes, 3–5 grams daily, taken consistently, is the widely accepted standard across life stages. Specific goals or higher physical demands may warrant individualised guidance on dosing.

Whatever stage you're at, this is worth a proper conversation

Whether creatine is right for you — and why — depends on your goals, your diet, your life stage and your current health picture.

That's exactly what a Discovery Call is for: a free, no-pressure 20-minute conversation to figure out what actually makes sense for your body, not your gym group chat.

Book a free Discovery Call →

Want the science first, or ready to choose a product?

Read Part 1: What Creatine Actually Does In Your Body →

Read Part 2: How To Choose A Quality Creatine Supplement →

Cherice Baker is a Registered Natural Medical Practitioner (NHPNZ) with over 25 years of clinical experience in nutritional medicine, herbal prescribing and functional health. She practises from Rolleston, Canterbury, and consults with clients across New Zealand online.