Who Else Wants To Know Why You Don't Hear About Creatine for Women?

Creatine Supplementation for women

• Improved strength. Not size. Several studies have shown women improving their strength by up to 25% when supplementing with creatine. You won’t bulk (unless you’re training too).

• Enhanced power. Creatine has been shown to significantly improve sprint performance and agility tasks in elite female soccer players.
• Increased aerobic performance:  Studies have been shown to reduce the work done by the cardiovascular system for women too. Creatine is also currently being researched as a supplement to benefit certain heart problems and other health conditions.
• Pregnancy: Creatine synthesis within the muscles naturally increases when women become pregnant, and it’s been suggested that increasing creatine muscle levels is beneficial for a woman’s body during pregnancy.

** NOTE: Vegetarians tend to have lower levels of creatine simply because they don’t have access to it in their diets. And because more women than men tend to be vegetarian, this makes this supplement vital to women.

How to Use Creatine

Creatine will not do the work for you. When you stress or overload your body (positively, with weights or power work), creatine comes into play. Specifically, phosphocreatine plays a key role in the energy transport from your mitochondria to the specific muscles being stimulated. Improvements in lean muscle mass and power come about from increases in the output of these muscles when you’re supplementing with creatine.

Why haven’t women been using this?

There are a few myths and misconceptions around creatine I think may limit its popularity with women.

Bloating, stomach aches and diarrhoea

First, there’s the pervasive rumour that creatine causes gastrointestinal upset, stomach aches and diarrhoea. We know that discomfort arises using incorrect dosing and those that overdose on supplements are more likely to be younger men who are looking for big gains quickly. So don’t let this rumour put you off as there doesn’t appear to be anything substantial to support it.

Next, is bloating. Increasing muscle creatine levels increases cellular hydration in the muscle (the cells are holding more water). This means your body is hydrated. You may notice a small increase on the scales – but it’s temporary water! Hydration improves energy plus performance and helps to prevent injury when training, so a little extra water is fine – especially when training in summer.

Note: weight ‘gain’ from creatine is more common in men than women. In fact, studies reviewed shows that women can reduce body fat percentages and drop ‘weight’ while supplementing with creatine.

Avoid or minimise bloating by taking creatine when you train – up to an hour before or directly after. You can take it on non-training days too – but do this first thing in the morning. Creatine carries water with it, and water retention is more likely to be experienced when your muscles aren’t absorbing creatine – hence the timing is critical. Deliver nutrients when your body needs them. Stick to the dosage recommended. If you have any issues like diarrhoea, just reduce the amount you’re taking.

What form of Creatine should I use?

Reviews of studies show that Creatine Monohydrate is not only the most common form used in research, it is also the most powerful or potent form, giving you the biggest bang for your buck.

Don’t waste your money on these forms of creatine: 

• Buffered Creatine (Kre-Alkalyn– available in one of the top women’s creatine supplements).
  
• Creatine Hydrochloride (Con-Cret– also sold as the active form of creatine in another of the top women’s supps) When ingested, both buffered creatine and creatine hydrochloride’s special effects are negated by stomach acid. They turn into the basic creatine molecule. They’re not better or worse – just more expensive for virtually the same product. There is some suggestion that Creatine Hydrochloride is more water soluble.
  
• Creatine Ethyl Ester– degrades almost entirely in the intestines into the metabolite creatinine.
  

Watch for: Proprietary Blends

A proprietary blend is a brand’s blend of a variety of different supplements.  These blends are made at the brand’s discretion.

For example, the nutrition panel from the BPI Sports Best Creatine shows us that the container gives you 50 servings at 4g per serve.  But that 4gr of creatine is made from a proprietary blend of undisclosed proportions of differing forms of creatine plus betaine and salt. How much creatine monohydrate are you taking? I recommend avoiding these kinds of products because they aren’t clear about what is in the product. 

What’s better the best form to take?

There are no significant differences between powders, tablets, or capsules. Capsules and tablets are just vessels for the powder. So use what suits you!

How Much Creatine?

If you don’t want to supplement, you can increase your creatine levels through diet – an 115grm (4oz) piece of salmon, tuna or beef provides roughly 500gm. You need to eat meat or fish daily to try and raise your muscle creatine levels to 120mmol/kg threshold. It’s a lot of work, and it’s not an exact science. You have to balance your nutritional intake and your calories too.

And this is what makes supplement so easy. When supplementing, take the creatine monohydrate form at a dose of between 3gr to 5gr of creatine a day to maximise muscle creatine stores.

Take creatine with either carbs or protein to raise insulin which will optimise creatine uptake into the muscles. You can take creatine either pre or post-workout, but it’s recommended to take it within one hour of exercise.

Drink plenty of water to ensure adequate liquids for cellular hydration.

TIPS:

If you have a powder that needs to dissolve in water, warming the water slightly helps your creatine to dissolve completely. Anecdotally, this has also been suggested as a method to prevent or minimise bloating.

What to buy?

As a woman, the world of supplementation is shrouded in mystery, and it’s easy to be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of choices all in pretty, gendered packaging. The marketing on the front tells you what you want to hear and they all give the impression they’ll deliver the results you’re after.

Before you buy anything, your first step is to understand the nutrition panel. Some of these products contain ineffective ingredients and minuscule dosages of otherwise quality elements leaving you with a supplement that’s either a cheap, ineffective stimulant or complete dud in pleasing packaging.

I have chosen a range of creatine monohydrate products. There are powders and tablets in all ranges. But with prices ranging from $13 and up, these are by far the most cost effect way to take creatine.

The other benefit is you can balance your supplements yourself. Personally, as a self-confessed control freak, I like to know what I am taking and to have control over what I put in my body. I find blends too tricky, or they just include ingredients that are rubbish. But it’s up to you of course.

You will notice there are no pink packages in this little selection– they were more expensive or had additives in them I wasn’t looking for. I hope you like blue instead…

Creatine Monohydrate products

These products are available in a wide range of stores. Or just jump online and have them delivered. Now you have the basics down pat, you can find your own preferred brands or products. Click through for ideas on what’s available and where – prices start at around $9.

I have chosen (and I use) simple, inexpensive and effective brands that deliver what you need without proprietary blends.

Is Creatine safe?

Yes, very. I first investigated creatine for my son, 12 years old, and has a health condition. He takes it to boost his energy production as part of a supplement cocktail. I wouldn’t give him anything at all without finding out the complete picture of pros and cons.

There is no substance to the rumour that creatine is damaging to kidneys. However, if you have a health condition, it’s always a wise idea to communicate your desire to use a supplement with your doctor. She will know if you’re contraindicated or if the supplement interferes with a medication you’re taking. And even if you’re perfectly healthy, it’s always a wise idea to tell your doctor what you’re up to.

Let us know how you go with creatine, what you choose and what changes you notice.