What Does Creatine Do for Women During Menopause?

Medically reviewed by Ellen Byars, MSN, WHNP, MSCP · Written by Marianne Moser, PT, DPT, FAAOMPT, CSCS · April 3, 2026

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Key Takeaways

Creatine, a supplement popular among athletes, is now being studied for its potential benefits in helping women manage menopause symptoms.

If you’re experiencing menopause symptoms, you may have already started researching what treatment options are available to help. Creatine, typically taken as creatine monohydrate, is a well-known supplement among fitness enthusiasts. But new research shows potential uses for it among women during the stages of menopause (perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause).

In this article, we’ll discuss creatine, its potential benefits for menopause symptoms, and the possible risks or side effects of taking it.

What Is Creatine?

Creatine is a substance that occurs naturally in our bodies. Half of the creatine we need each day is produced by the liver, kidneys, and pancreas. The other half we get through diet. Our skeletal muscles use 95 percent of our creatine during physical exercise. The rest of the creatine goes to other organs and tissues, like the brain and heart. Creatine helps muscles contract during physical activity.

Who Uses Creatine?

Creatine is commonly taken by athletes and gym-goers. Athletes use creatine to support their workouts by giving their muscles a burst of energy and strength, allowing them to exercise longer. They also use it to help with muscle recovery and muscle building. Some of this may be applicable to women in menopause, but there are other benefits of creatine that may be useful.

How Does It Relate to Menopause?

Creatine can be helpful for athletes, but it is also helpful for women in all stages of menopause. As women enter perimenopause (the menopause transition phase), estrogen production begins to slow down. As hormone levels fluctuate, women start to experience perimenopausal symptoms such as mood changes, fatigue, weight gain, hot flashes, cognitive changes, and a decline in muscle mass and bone density. Creatine may be a beneficial supplement for women as they transition through menopause.

Creatine Benefits for Women in Menopause

Some research seems to support creatine as a potentially beneficial supplement for women in menopause as they experience hormonal changes.

Bone and Muscle Health

As estrogen levels decrease through the transition into menopause, there is usually an increase in inflammation and oxidative stress. These two factors can put stress on the body and make it hard to build muscle, leading to a loss in muscle strength. Creatine may help counteract this by reducing inflammatory signals in the body and promoting cellular pathways that lead to muscle growth. Some studies have shown that creatine can improve muscle health, but only when it’s paired with exercise, specifically resistance training.

Menopausal transitions also play a role in decreasing bone density. Lower bone density increases the risk of osteoporosis, which can lead to potential fractures and other orthopedic complications. Since muscle mass and bone density are closely related, creatine may indirectly support bone health by improving muscle mass. However, taking creatine alone without doing resistance training has not been shown to improve muscle health, and there is a lack of high-quality studies to show that taking creatine alone benefits bone health.

Mood Changes

Mood swings and depression are common in women during menopause, largely due to the fluctuation in hormones. Creatine supplementation can improve levels of certain molecules in the brain that are linked to depression. In theory, by affecting those molecules, it could reduce levels of depression and stabilize moods. This is especially important in women, who have lower baseline creatine levels in the brain and are affected by depression at twice the rate of men, according to the journal Nutrients.

One small study showed that taking creatine alongside an antidepressant medication reduced the time it took for the medication to become effective. More research is needed to know how creatine can be used in menopause for potential mood benefits.

Fatigue

Fatigue is another common symptom of menopausal transitions. On top of that, menopause can cause insomnia and other sleep difficulties that make fatigue even more severe. Creatine can improve energy availability in cells, which could potentially reduce overall fatigue. However, high-quality studies are needed to determine if taking creatine helps with menopause-related fatigue.

Cognitive Function

Cognitive changes that occur during menopause include memory troubles, concentration difficulties, and brain fog. Similar to the ways creatine could help with fatigue, increased energy availability in the brain can improve memory and concentration. Some research related to cognitive function in people over 60 has suggested that creatine can improve short-term memory and reasoning and may have a protective effect on nerves and brain function.

Side Effects and Risks of Creatine

As with any potential new supplement or medication, it’s important to be aware of the side effects and potential risks of taking it.

Supplement Regulation

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn’t regulate supplements for safety and effectiveness the same way it does with medications and food. This doesn’t mean supplements are necessarily unsafe, but it does mean it’s a good idea to exercise caution before starting one. It’s always best to talk to your doctor before beginning to take a new supplement to make sure it’s safe for you and doesn’t interfere with any medications or other supplements you’re taking.

Creatine Side Effects

For the most part, creatine is a fairly safe and well-studied supplement. But just like other supplements and medications, it does have potential side effects. Creatine helps our muscles to retain (keep) water, which can be a good thing to improve muscle hydration and reduce cramping, but the water retention can also lead to weight gain as a potential side effect. Since menopause can also cause weight gain, it may be something to take into consideration if this is a concern.

Since creatine pulls more water into your muscles, it can have a dehydrating effect on the rest of the body and may lead to signs of dehydration and electrolyte imbalance, such as dizziness and headaches. Sometimes this can be counteracted by increasing water intake.

Another potential side effect of creatine is excessive sweating. Hot flashes are a common symptom of menopause, and if you’re frequently affected by this, the potential excessive sweating that can come from creatine may not be worth it for you.

Taken orally, creatine can have side effects on your gastrointestinal (GI) system. GI side effects include nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

As with medications and other supplements, responses vary. If you have any specific questions about how creatine can fit into your health plan, it’s best to chat with your medical team.

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