We started CREA+ because we believed the science. We're writing today because the science just got a lot harder to ignore — and we want to share it with you.
Over the past year, a wave of landmark studies has transformed what the scientific community understands about creatine and women's health. This isn't incremental progress. This is a step-change — and if you're a woman over 35, it matters for your brain, your energy, your mood, and your future.
Here's what the research is now telling us.
Your brain is running low — and creatine can help
The most exciting finding of 2025 and 2026 isn't about muscle. It's about your mind.
A landmark randomised controlled trial — the CONCRET-MENOPA study, published in the Journal of the American Nutrition Association — looked specifically at perimenopausal and menopausal women supplementing with creatine over eight weeks. The results were striking.
Frontal brain creatine levels rose by 16.4%. Reaction time improved significantly versus placebo. And creatine showed a meaningful advantage over placebo in reducing the severity of mood swings — something that will resonate with anyone navigating perimenopause.
The brain relies on creatine as a rapid energy reserve. When brain creatine is depleted — through hormonal changes, stress, sleep disruption, or simply ageing — cognitive function suffers. Supplementation refills that reserve. This is exactly the mechanism behind CREA+'s positioning from the start: creatine depletion is real, and it starts earlier than most women are told.
The depletion story: confirmed again
A comprehensive review published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition in May 2025 — authored by researchers across the University of North Carolina, University of Idaho, Monash University and more — examined creatine across the entire female lifespan, from menstruation through pregnancy to menopause.
The findings reinforced something we've said since day one. Women face a structural disadvantage when it comes to creatine:
- Women synthesise 20% less creatine than men
- Women consume 30–40% less dietary creatine than men — largely because creatine comes from animal protein, and women tend to eat less of it
- Hormonal fluctuations throughout the menstrual cycle reduce creatine availability further still, with dips in the luteal phase linked to reduced energy and slower recovery
The review's conclusion? Creatine supplementation "presents a promising strategy for enhancing various aspects of women's health across the lifespan."
The perimenopause gap — and why it matters right now
Dr. Abbie Smith-Ryan, director of the Applied Physiology Laboratory at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and lead author on the 2025 review, put it plainly at the Creatine Conference 2025 in Munich:
"There's a lot of good data on creatine after menopause, but it's really that transition to menopause when women begin to struggle — with sleep, bone health, muscle loss, joint pain, fatigue, brain fog and even inflammation."
This is the window that matters most. The window where so many women feel like they're losing themselves — their sharpness, their energy, their resilience — and are told it's just ageing.
It doesn't have to be.
Safety: confirmed, again and again
A study published in December 2025, tracking female athletes across an entire competitive season of creatine supplementation, confirmed what decades of research has consistently shown: creatine is safe and well tolerated over the long term. All blood biomarkers remained within normal clinical ranges throughout.
A separate comprehensive review of 685 clinical trials found no significant differences in side effects between creatine and placebo groups. No kidney damage. No dehydration. No cramping. Just one of the most thoroughly researched supplements in the history of nutrition science — now with a growing body of evidence that speaks directly to women.
What this means for you
That fatigue at 3pm isn't weakness. That brain fog isn't inevitable. That feeling of running on empty isn't something you just have to accept.
Creatine isn't magic. But it is one of the most well-evidenced nutritional tools available to women in midlife — and the research published in the last twelve months has made that clearer than ever.
We made CREA+ for exactly this moment in a woman's life. Pure creatine monohydrate. No fillers. No complexity. Just the compound your body needs more of — and is no longer making enough of on its own.
Every pouch of CREA+ sold donates 20p to Refuge, supporting women escaping domestic abuse across the UK.
