By Marleen, FemVital — pharmacologist and menopause fitness coach

Say the word creatine to most women my age and you get one of two looks. Either “isn’t that for bodybuilders?” or “oh no, isn’t that bad for your kidneys?”

I get it. For years, creatine was sold to young men in the gym, and the old myths have stuck around. So let me do the thing I was trained to do — read the science and explain it simply — and show you why creatine is one of the most useful, and most overlooked, things a woman in midlife can take.

First, what is creatine?

Here’s the bit that surprises people: creatine isn’t a drug, and it isn’t something strange. Your own body already makes it every day. You also get some from food, mostly meat and fish. And nearly all of it is stored in your muscles.

So you’re already running on creatine right now. Taking a little extra just tops it up.

Why it helps you get stronger

Your muscles run on a kind of fuel. When you do something hard and quick — carry the shopping upstairs, stand up out of a low chair, push up from a squat — your muscles use that fuel up in just a few seconds. Then they have to make more, fast.

Creatine is what helps them do that. Think of it like a little back-up battery sitting next to your muscles. The more creatine you have stored, the fuller that battery is — and a full battery means you can do one or two more reps before you’re tired.

That might not sound like much. But those extra reps, week after week, are exactly what build real strength over time.

And this isn’t a hunch. Lots of studies show the same thing: creatine plus strength training builds more muscle and strength than training on its own. The key word is plus — creatine doesn’t do anything by itself. It helps the work you’re already doing go further.

Why it matters more for women — especially in menopause

This is the part I really want you to hear.

Women naturally store a lot less creatine than men. And when our oestrogen drops in menopause, it seems to make things harder still. So the time of life when we most need to protect our muscles and bones is exactly when our bodies find it hardest.

That’s why the research in women is so exciting. In women past menopause, creatine alongside strength training helps keep muscle strong. And in one year-long study, women who took creatine while they trained actually lost less bone at the hip — one of the places we most want to protect as we get older — than the women who trained without it.

Stronger muscles. Stronger bones. Staying steady and independent. That’s not a bodybuilder’s wish list. That’s ours.

How to take it (nice and simple)

You don’t need special “loading” weeks, or to take breaks, or any of the complicated routines you’ll see online.

• 3 to 5 grams a day, every day. That’s it. Rest days too.
• Any time of day is fine. Whenever you’ll remember.
• Pick creatine monohydrate. It’s the type with all the research behind it. The fancier, dearer versions are mostly marketing — monohydrate is cheaper and better studied.

I stir a scoop of plain, unflavoured creatine into my morning coffee and honestly can’t taste it. Easy to remember, and remembering is the whole trick.

The kidney myth, cleared up

This one comes up every single time, so let me put it to rest.

People worry about their kidneys because creatine can nudge up one number on a blood test (it’s called creatinine). But that number is simply what’s left over when your body uses creatine. So if you take a bit more creatine, there’s naturally a bit more left over to clear out. It’s a bit like seeing more empty boxes in the recycling because you bought more shopping — it doesn’t mean anything is wrong.

Creatine has been studied for years, at much higher doses than I’m suggesting, and it’s one of the best-tolerated things you can take. A few sensible notes: if you already have a kidney problem, check with your doctor first; drink enough water; and if a dose ever upsets your tummy, just split it into smaller amounts.

The honest bottom line

I’ll always be straight with you — that’s the whole reason I started FemVital. Creatine is not a magic powder. It won’t “fix” menopause, and on its own it does nothing. But paired with strength training, for a woman over 45, it’s one of the best-researched and safest things you can add. And it costs just pennies a day.

So no, it’s not only for the lads in the gym. If anything, it’s more for us than for them.

Marleen is a pharmacologist and the founder of FemVital, helping women feel strong through menopause. This article is for information only, not medical advice — if you have a health condition or take any medication, check with your own doctor before starting a new supplement.