We Were WRONG About Creatine for Women | Dr. Mindy Pelz

Summary

Dr. Mindy Pelz argues that creatine may support more than muscle performance, particularly for people who are older, stressed, vegetarian, or going through menopause. She explains that the body makes creatine and stores it mainly in muscle, with a smaller share going to the brain. In her account, creatine helps recycle cellular energy (ATP), and levels may be depleted by strenuous exercise, stress, aging, or reduced estrogen. These are her explanations of the research, not a diagnostic test for low creatine.

Potential benefits she discusses

• Muscle strength and recovery: Creatine may help with brief, high-intensity efforts such as heavy lifting or sprints, allowing people to complete more demanding sets and recover between efforts more quickly. She says it may be less noticeable during lower-intensity activity.
• Brain function: She cites research associating creatine with better short-term memory, reasoning, problem-solving, focus, and less mental fatigue. She suggests this may be especially relevant for older adults, people under chronic stress, and vegetarians.
• Sleep: She describes her own experience of sleeping better after taking creatine on days with hard workouts and cites studies linking creatine intake with improved sleep measures.
• Sleep deprivation and jet lag: She says a study found better cognitive performance after creatine in sleep-deprived participants and suggests it may help people stay alert after crossing time zones.

Food, supplements, and use

• She identifies meat and fish as food sources of creatine. She says heat can reduce creatine in food and discusses rare or raw meat and raw fish as options; these are her suggestions, not general food-safety guidance.
• If supplementing, she recommends creatine monohydrate, which she calls the established form.
• The dosing approach she describes is:
  • Loading phase: 15 g daily for one week, split into three 5 g servings.
  • Maintenance: 5 g daily.
  • Jet lag: She reports study doses of 15–20 g, with some research using up to 25 g; she says to split the dose if possible.
  • After a hard workout: She sometimes takes 5 g.
  • For sleep: She describes using 5–10 g in the evening.
• She cautions that creatine can increase thirst and says to drink plenty of water. She also notes that the scale may rise by 2–4 pounds at first, which she attributes to water stored in muscles rather than fat.
• She says very hot coffee—around 140–150°F or hotter—may degrade creatine, so she avoids adding it to coffee at that temperature.
• Her overall advice is to consider food sources first and use supplementation strategically rather than assuming everyone needs it. She also says people’s needs and responses can differ.

Presenter and sources mentioned

• Presenter: Dr. Mindy Pelz
• Research cited in the subtitles: A 2018 review in Experimental Gerontology; a 2025 review (journal not specified); a 2025 study in Nutrition and Health; a 2024 study in Nutrients; and a 2014 study in Nature Scientific Reports.
• Other sources and platforms mentioned: Age Like a Girl; The Health Incubator on Substack; Reset Academy; the Resetter Podcast; and Qualia Creatine Monohydrate.