Verdict
Conflicting
Women need the same 3 to 5 g of creatine monohydrate a day as men.
4 sources: 3 positive, 1 negative
By Arun AgrahriLast reviewed
Short answer
The same 3-5g of creatine monohydrate a day as men. Women may have the most to gain, because their stores run lower and they make less of it. For cognition under high stress, up to 10g/day comes up. No loading phase is needed.
Creatine is worth taking.
The verdict on Creatine overall. 11 sources: 8 positive, 2 partly, 1 neutral
positive partly neutral negative Each researcher and each study counts once per claim, however often they come up.
Women need the same 3 to 5 g of creatine monohydrate a day as men.
4 sources: 3 positive, 1 negative.
Researchers say
3 positive, 1 negative
Louisa Nicola, on Rangan Chatterjee's channel, at 1:47:12
Positive Video · Opinion
Open the tape at 1:47:12 →“you can start on five grams a day and for the ladies listening this is not going to make you bigger”
Stacy Sims, 2 mentions on this claim
Positive Video
on The Diary Of A CEO, at 1:02:05 · positive
“If we're looking at creatine for health and for women, the dose is 3 to 5 grams only once a day without carbohydrate.”
on Huberman Lab, at 1:53:57 · positive
“five grams of monohydrate per day sort of to five three to five yep”
Peter Attia, on The Drive, at 21:31
Positive Video · Opinion
Open the tape at 21:31 →“women should probably dose it at about the same doses as men”
Mike Min, on Bryan Johnson's channel, at 19:37
Negative Video · Opinion
Open the tape at 19:37 →“probably just like saying five or something like that is not really accurate because you know women may not need quite as much”
Studies show
No study counted yet.
Louisa Nicola, on Rangan Chatterjee's channel, at 1:47:12 Video · positive · Opinion
“you can start on five grams a day and for the ladies listening this is not going to make you bigger”
Stacy Sims Video · positive · 2 mentions
on The Diary Of A CEO, at 1:02:05 · positive · Opinion
“If we're looking at creatine for health and for women, the dose is 3 to 5 grams only once a day without carbohydrate.”
on Huberman Lab, at 1:53:57 · positive · Opinion
“five grams of monohydrate per day sort of to five three to five yep”
Peter Attia, on The Drive, at 21:31 Video · positive · Opinion
“women should probably dose it at about the same doses as men”
Mike Min, on Bryan Johnson's channel, at 19:37 Video · negative · Opinion
“probably just like saying five or something like that is not really accurate because you know women may not need quite as much”
Women need the same 3 to 5 g of creatine monohydrate a day as men.
Louisa Nicola, on Rangan Chatterjee's channel, at 1:47:12
Positive Video · Opinion
Open the tape at 1:47:12 →“you can start on five grams a day and for the ladies listening this is not going to make you bigger”
Stacy Sims, 2 mentions on this claim
Positive Video
on The Diary Of A CEO, at 1:02:05 · positive
“If we're looking at creatine for health and for women, the dose is 3 to 5 grams only once a day without carbohydrate.”
on Huberman Lab, at 1:53:57 · positive
“five grams of monohydrate per day sort of to five three to five yep”
Peter Attia, on The Drive, at 21:31
Positive Video · Opinion
Open the tape at 21:31 →“women should probably dose it at about the same doses as men”
Mike Min, on Bryan Johnson's channel, at 19:37
Negative Video · Opinion
Open the tape at 19:37 →“probably just like saying five or something like that is not really accurate because you know women may not need quite as much”
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Women need the same 3-5g of creatine monohydrate per day as men. What changes is the case for taking it at all.
Baseline creatine stores run lower in women, and women make less of it. Cynthia Thurlow, a guest on Mark Hyman's show, recommends creatine monohydrate for women on that basis, for muscle building, cognition and sleep. Creatine researcher Darren Candow, a guest on Rhonda Patrick's show, puts the benefits well beyond athletic performance.
He covers brain, bone and cardiovascular health, and flags women and aging populations as the ones with the most to gain.
For cognition the standard 5g/day applies, with up to 10g/day through high-stress periods such as sleep deprivation. The brain burns about 20% of the body's energy and uses creatine to recycle ATP. Andrew Huberman lands on 5g/day for both performance and cognition across 19 videos, and Stacy Sims, a female-physiology researcher, endorses creatine as a guest on his show.
Form and protocol match anyone else's. Creatine monohydrate is the gold standard, and the expensive alternative forms add nothing. You don't need a loading phase for long-term use, and you don't need to cycle. The most common worry is elevated creatinine on bloodwork, which is a harmless byproduct of muscle metabolism, not kidney damage.
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