Most of what is written about creatine was written for men, and most of what is written for women is written to sell something. This is the reading list we wish had existed — the research, the researchers, and our own attempts to explain it plainly.
Start here
Our own writing. Each one answers a single question and cites its sources, so you can check us rather than trust us.
Two researchers do most of the serious work on creatine in women, and both explain it better than we can.
Creatine Supplementation in Women's Health
Prof. Abbie Smith-Ryan, PhD — exercise physiologist, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The best starting point, because she wrote the research. Smith-Ryan is lead author of the lifespan review of creatine in women's health that we cite throughout our articles — this is her explaining it herself.
Creatine For Health
Should YOU take Creatine?
Dr. Stacy Sims, PhD — exercise physiologist and nutrition scientist specialising in female physiology
Short and direct. If you only watch one thing, make it this or the one above.
Dr. Stacy Sims Official
Should women take creatine? A physiology-based masterclass for midlife hormones
Dr. Stacy Sims, PhD
Goes deeper into the physiology, and into how the picture changes through perimenopause and menopause.
Dr. Stacy Sims Official
The Truth About Creatine for Women: Strength, Hormones & Brain Health
Prof. Abbie Smith-Ryan, PhD
A longer conversation covering the brain and mood side, which gets less attention than the muscle side.
Be Well by Kelly
Lift Heavy, Protect Your Brain: Strength, Creatine and Sauna for Women
Dr. Stacy Sims, PhD with Dr. Mary Claire Haver, MD — obstetrician-gynaecologist
Useful if menopause is the part you care about most. Haver is a gynaecologist, so it comes at it clinically.
Dr. Mary Claire Haver, MD
Should Women Supplement With Creatine?
Dr. Stacy Sims, PhD, on The Diary Of A CEO
The most mainstream of the lot. A good one to send to someone who thinks creatine is a men's thing.
Dr. Stacy Sims Official
The research
The papers everything above is built on. All are free to read, and none of them are ours.
We sell creatine, so you should read anything we publish about creatine with that in mind. These are the rules we hold ourselves to on this page:
Nothing here is affiliated, sponsored or reciprocal. Nobody paid to be listed and nobody links back to us.
Peer-reviewed sources first. Where a claim rests on a single small study, we say so rather than rounding it up to consensus.
We link to people who contradict us. If the evidence for something is thin, the honest thing is to let you see that.
Links are re-checked before every reprint of anything carrying our QR code, and dead ones are replaced rather than quietly dropped.
This page is general information, not medical advice. It is not a diagnosis and it is not a treatment plan. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, managing a kidney or liver condition, or taking prescription medication, talk to your doctor before starting any supplement.
