"Feminine Force: The Triple Power of Creatine"

There are only a few supplements I recommend daily for women, and we are going to look at a very powerful one.

Research shows this supplement can help strength, power and performance as well as enhance our brain health and mood in midlife🌟.

It is one of the most studied supplements on earth, so we have tons of good data!

Well what is it?

It starts with “C”

Can you guess (well it was in the email title)

Yes thats right … Creatine💥

Lets take a look at creatine a little closer today in the Snack Bar.

What is creatine?

Creatine is a naturally occurring substance found in your muscle cells that helps them produce energy during activity, such as high-intensity exercise and heavy lifting.  

Your body keeps creatine in your muscles in a form called creatine phosphate.

When you need to generate that extra boost of energy during intense activity your body separates the phosphate molecule from the rest of the compound, which it uses to create a muscle-powering energy molecule known as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). 

Having creatine stored in your muscles ready for action, means you can train more intensely and enjoy greater strength, power, and speed gains from your workouts. 

For women, supplementing is the best way to ensure those creatine stores are well stocked up.

Ninety-five percent of all creatine is stored in your skeletal muscles, and you can bump up those creatine reserves by about 20 percent with supplementation.

Together, your liver, pancreas, and kidneys naturally produce about 1 gram of creatine per day, but we need more than this.

You have to make up the difference by either eating more animal protein like red meat and seafood or getting it through supplementation with creatine, specifically creatine monohydrate, which is the most effective.

The only research paper you need to read about creatine

A recent 2021 review of the literature published in Nutrients reported that:

“creatine supplementation may be of particular importance during menses, pregnancy, post-partum, during and post-menopause”

This review states women need creatinine throughout their whole lifespan.

“females with varying levels of training and fitness may experience improvements in both anaerobic and aerobic exercise performance from both short-term and long-term creatine supplementation.” 

Menopause and creatine

Creatine supplementation has been shown to act as a possible countermeasure to the menopausal related decrease in muscle, bone, and strength by reducing inflammation, oxidative stress, and serum markers of bone resorption, and resulting in a boost of bone formation when combined with resistance training.

The 2021 study published in Nutrients also reported that creatine might have positive effects on mood and cognition and maybe even more effective for females by supporting brain health and is especially useful for menopausal women who are more susceptible to increased inflammation.

Your brain and creatine

So, when it comes to brain health, creatine seems to have some cool benefits.

First off, it helps produce energy in our brain cells. Our brains need a lot of energy to work well, so having enough creatine can give them a good boost.

Also, creatine helps protect our brains from things like oxidative stress and inflammation. These are bad guys that can damage our brain cells over time, but creatine swoops in and helps shield our brains from their harmful effects.

Research suggests that creatine could also help with memory and cognitive function, which are super important for thinking, learning, and remembering stuff as we age.

So, in easy terms, creatine supplementation can give our brains more energy, protect them from damage, and even improve our thinking abilities.

How do I take creatine?

Creatine is white powder and is chalky like in texture.

It does mix very easily into a smoothie, oatmeal or a recovery drink, and you really don’t taste it.

Take 5g daily.

Simple.

Your brain, muscles and bones will thank you.

Make sure it is in the form of creatine monohydrate.

Here is an example of a product on Amazon. It is inexpensive and lasts a long time.

Ready to Change the Things You Can Change?

Throughout our lifespan there are hormonal changes that effect our health, mood and cognition.

The first transition being the onset of menses and the 2nd female transformation is menopause, and for some sprinkled in between is the fluctuating hormones of pregnancy.

While there are a million supplements on the market promising all great things, as you know, some are evidenced based and others are like wishing on a star🌟

Creatine is one of the most evidenced based supplements that women should be taking daily.

It will help your energy levels, power and performance during activity as well as brain function and mood.

Reflection

I encourage you this week to take a look into creatine, read some of the research and consider supplementing your diet to boost power, energy and strength💥

The Snack Bar by Strong Woman Project

Medical Disclaimer:

The Snack Bar by Strong Woman Project provides information for informational purposes only and is not intended to substitute the advice, diagnosis, or treatment from a qualified medical professional. The user should always speak to their doctor, physician, or other qualified medical professional with any medical questions they may have. The Snack Bar by Strong Woman Project and its editors do not advocate nutritional supplementation over proper medical advice or treatment. If the user is using any pharmaceuticals or drugs given to them by a doctor or received with a prescription, they must consult with the doctor in question or an equally qualified medical professional prior to using any nutritional supplementation. The Snack Bar by Strong Woman Project does not assume liability for any actions undertaken after visiting The Snack Bar by Strong Woman Project and does not assume liability if one misuses supplements. The Snack Bar by Strong Woman Project and its editors do not claim that unforeseen side effects will not occur even at the proper dosages, and do not assume responsibility for any side effects from supplements or practices mentioned on The Snack Bar by Strong Woman Project and its content. The Snack Bar by Strong Woman Project neither makes any representations nor recommends or endorses any specific tests, products, procedures, opinions, or other information that may be mentioned on The Snack Bar by Strong Woman Project. Reliance on any information provided by The Snack Bar by Strong Woman Project, its directors, officers, employees, affiliates, agents, contractors, interns, suppliers, service providers, or licensors (collectively, its “Representatives”), or any visitors to The Snack Bar by Strong Woman Project is at the user's own risk.