Must you take creatine for menopause signs? Let’s discuss it.
Creatine is the brand new massive factor, particularly for ladies in menopause. Touted as a miracle for every thing from mind fog to bone well being, creatine is displaying up extra ceaselessly in dietary supplements marketed towards girls over 40. However does creatine truly work? Is creatine good for menopausal girls?
Let’s discover how the scientific analysis stacks up in opposition to the most typical claims.
Declare #1: Creatine Improves Bone Density
Verdict: False
Bone well being is a serious concern throughout menopause. As estrogen ranges drop, bone mineral density (BMD) declines, growing the danger of osteoporosis. Due to this, many dietary supplements declare to enhance bone energy or density — and creatine is not any exception.
Some have hypothesized that creatine may assist with bone well being by bettering muscle energy, thereby enhancing mechanical loading on the bones. Nonetheless, the scientific proof doesn’t help this principle.
A randomized managed trial (PMID: 25386713) involving postmenopausal girls discovered that though creatine improved muscle operate, it had no vital impact on BMD. Equally, a complete 2023 meta-analysis (PMID: 37144634) concluded that creatine doesn’t stop bone loss or osteoporosis.
In comparison with vitamins with well-documented results on bone well being — similar to calcium, vitamin D, and magnesium — creatine lacks a robust physiological mechanism or scientific proof for bettering BMD in menopausal girls.
In abstract, whereas creatine might contribute not directly to musculoskeletal operate, it doesn’t improve bone density and shouldn’t change confirmed osteoporosis prevention methods.
Declare #2: Creatine Helps with Cognition
Verdict: Most likely False
Many ladies going by way of menopause report signs like mind fog, reminiscence lapses, and issue concentrating. This has led to rising curiosity in brain-boosting dietary supplements like creatine.
Creatine performs a central function in mobile power manufacturing, together with in mind cells. The speculation is that declining endogenous creatine ranges with age may impair mind operate, and supplementation may assist replenish these shops.
A 2018 overview (PMID: 29704637) checked out creatine’s results on cognitive efficiency and located blended outcomes, with solely modest cognitive advantages in very particular conditions. For instance, some research used extraordinarily excessive doses (as much as 20g/day) and targeted on sleep-deprived or cognitively harassed people. These circumstances aren’t consultant of the overall menopause inhabitants.
There may be additionally restricted proof on creatine’s function in bettering temper or melancholy. A 2024 pilot research (PMID: 39488067) discovered that creatine may improve the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral remedy (CBT) in individuals with melancholy. Nonetheless, extra sturdy trials are wanted to substantiate this potential profit.
Different analysis has examined creatine’s results in neurodegenerative ailments, however findings are preliminary and never immediately relevant to the typical girl experiencing menopause.
In conclusion, creatine will not be a confirmed resolution for cognitive decline or melancholy in menopause, and any potential advantages are seemingly small and context-specific.
Declare #3: Creatine Helps with Muscle Energy
Verdict: True
Probably the most well-documented results of creatine is its potential to improve muscle energy and energy, particularly when mixed with resistance coaching.
Menopause typically accelerates sarcopenia, the age-related lack of muscle mass and performance. This contributes to a decline in mobility, metabolic fee, and general high quality of life.
A number of meta-analyses help creatine as a helpful ergogenic help for older adults:
- A 2021 overview (PMID: 34836013) confirmed that creatine supplementation improved upper-body energy in older adults.
- One other 2024 evaluation (PMID: 40292479) reported that creatine, paired with resistance coaching, led to better enhancements in energy and lean physique mass than train alone.
Creatine will increase intramuscular phosphocreatine shops, which in flip helps produce extra ATP throughout quick bursts of high-intensity train. This results in higher coaching efficiency, better workload capability, and quicker restoration.
Though creatine doesn’t immediately construct muscle with out coaching, it does assist improve the advantages of weightlifting, making it a wonderful complement for bodily lively menopausal girls.
Is Creatine Secure for Menopausal Ladies?
Verdict: Sure
Creatine is without doubt one of the most extensively studied sports activities dietary supplements and has a sturdy security profile, together with in older populations.
A 2021 place paper by the Worldwide Society of Sports activities Vitamin (PMID: 33800439) concluded that long-term creatine supplementation (3–5g/day) is secure for wholesome people. Frequent myths about kidney injury have been disproven repeatedly by scientific trials.
Creatine is mostly well-tolerated. Some customers might expertise delicate water retention or bloating early in supplementation, however these results are non permanent. Importantly, creatine doesn’t negatively have an effect on hydration standing, liver enzymes, or kidney operate in wholesome adults.
Ladies with kidney illness or different persistent circumstances ought to seek the advice of their healthcare supplier earlier than beginning any new complement, together with creatine.
Ought to You Take Creatine Throughout Menopause?
In the event you’re questioning whether or not creatine is price including to your complement routine throughout menopause, right here’s the quick reply:
- Don’t take it for bone well being or cognitive efficiency — the proof simply isn’t sturdy sufficient.
- Do contemplate it in the event you’re doing resistance coaching and need a secure, efficient approach to enhance energy and restoration.
On this context, creatine is a software to reinforce efficiency, not a magic tablet. However for lively girls in midlife, it may be a part of a complete technique to keep up muscle, enhance exercise capability, and keep sturdy by way of menopause and past.
Learn how to Use Creatine for Greatest Outcomes
In the event you determine to attempt creatine, right here’s learn how to use it safely and successfully:
- Dosage: 3–5 grams per day of creatine monohydrate (probably the most researched kind)
- Loading: Not crucial. Simply begin with the day by day dose.
- Timing: Anytime of day is ok, although some proof suggests post-workout might supply slight advantages.
- Hydration: Keep effectively hydrated, as creatine attracts water into muscle cells.
- Consistency: Take it day by day to keep up muscle saturation, even on relaxation days.
Last Ideas on Creatine for Menopause
Creatine will not be a miracle treatment for menopause signs, but it surely could be a invaluable software for ladies targeted on energy, mobility, and general well being.
Right here’s the underside line:
- Creatine doesn’t enhance bone density or considerably enhance cognitive operate.
- It might improve temper when paired with different remedies, however extra analysis is required.
- It improves muscle energy and efficiency, particularly with resistance coaching.
- It’s secure and well-tolerated in most wholesome people.
In the event you’re lifting weights, recovering from exercises, or managing age-related muscle loss, creatine could be price including to your routine.
References:
- Candow DG, et al. (2015). Results of creatine supplementation and resistance coaching on bone mineral content material in postmenopausal girls. PMID: 25386713
- Forbes SC, et al. (2023). Creatine and bone well being: A scientific overview and meta-analysis. PMID: 37144634
- Avgerinos KI, et al. (2018). Results of creatine supplementation on cognitive operate. PMID: 29704637
- Silva S, et al. (2024). Creatine in adjunct with CBT for melancholy: A pilot research. PMID: 39488067
- Chilibeck PD, et al. (2021). Impact of creatine supplementation throughout resistance coaching on muscle mass and energy in older adults. PMID: 34836013
- Candow DG, et al. (2024). Creatine and resistance coaching in ageing: A crucial overview. PMID: 40292479
- Kreider RB, et al. (2021). Worldwide Society of Sports activities Vitamin place stand: Security and efficacy of creatine supplementation in train, sport, and medication. PMID: 33800439