Creatine has been rebranded for women, and it is suddenly everywhere in pastel gummies and tone and sculpt language. In this commentary episode, Dr. Kelsy Vick separates the real science from the marketing. She covers whether women's bodies actually handle creatine differently than men's, why creatine monohydrate is the same molecule regardless of who it is sold to, and the genuine women's health benefits for muscle, bone, mood, and cognition, especially heading into perimenopause and menopause. She also digs into the gummy format, why creatine can degrade into an inactive form during gummy manufacturing, what independent testing has found about underdosing, and reads the actual labels on popular options from brands like Lemme, Arrae, and Create. The goal is not hype and not a takedown, just the facts so you can decide for yourself, and skip the pink tax if you want to.

This episode is educational and not medical advice. Talk to your own clinician about what is right for you.

Episodes Mentioned:

49:: Dr. Katie’s Episode: https://player.captivate.fm/episode/077def9c-370a-4963-b662-8d1f61256f73/

Dr. Stacey’s Episode on creatine during perinatal period: https://player.captivate.fm/episode/0c1e77fb-7ec7-462d-ba02-280a154a6d24/

93:: Dr. O’Neill Menopause & Perimenopause Episode https://player.captivate.fm/episode/48ae176f-56f7-471f-8e38-00111efd5606/

loving the pod? click the follow button, & we'd love if you could leave a review! thank you x 1000 :)

sign up for the free Smart Girl Newspaper!

insta:: @dr.kelsyvickdpt & @wellnessbigsispod

youtube:: @dr.kelsyvickdpt

tiktok:: @dr.kelsyvickdpt & @wellnessbigsispod

Research articles and links

Creatine supplementation in women's health, a lifespan perspective (sex differences, baseline stores, benefits).https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7998865/

Creatine in women's health, from menstruation through pregnancy to menopause, 2025 review. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12086928/

Creatine and bone and cognition in menopause, University of Colorado Anschutz overview. https://news.cuanschutz.edu/news-stories/can-taking-creatine-help-women-stay-healthy-as-they-age

NOW Foods creatine gummy testing and third party testing limitations. https://www.nutritionaloutlook.com/view/now-tests-creatine-gummies-identifies-limitations-in-third-party-gummy-testing

Widespread failings in creatine gummy tests (roughly 86 percent failed labeled claims). https://www.nutraceuticalsworld.com/breaking-news/now-reports-widespread-failings-in-creatine-gummy-tests/

Lemme creatine gummies product and ingredient page. https://lemmelive.com/products/lemme-creatine-gummies

Arrae Tone creatine gummies product and ingredient page. https://www.arrae.com/blogs/product-guides/everything-you-need-to-know-about-tone

The same tub of white powder that your

boyfriend or husband or brother kept

2

in his gym bag is now pastel pink.

3

It comes in sour strawberry, and it

is being sold to us as women with

4

words like tone, lean, and shred.

5

But one of the core points of this whole

episode is this: creatine monohydrate

6

is a single specific molecule.

7

It is the exact same compound, whether

it is in a black tub with flames on it

8

or in a pastel pink tub wrapped in a bow.

9

The same tub of white powder

that your boyfriend or husband

10

or brother kept in his gym bag

11

Is now pastel pink.

12

It comes in sour strawberry

13

And it is being sold to us as women

with words like tone, lean, and shred

14

So today I wanna do

something a little different

15

a commentary episode

16

Because here is my honest take

17

Women should absolutely consider creatine

18

But not for the reasons

marketing is telling you

19

And definitely not because the

packaging is pink and promises toning.

20

Welcome back to Wellness Fixes the Pod.

21

I'm your host, Dr.

22

Kelsey Vick, a board-certified

orthopedic doctor of physical

23

therapy and a pelvic floor and

women's health physical therapist.

24

And this is something I dove into

probably six months to a year ago

25

when I started seeing all of these ads

targeting me as their target demographic

26

as a young 20 or 30-year-old female

obsessed with health, I, of course,

27

started getting targeted with these

creatine ads, and I started seeing

28

creatine for women everywhere in

this pastel pink and pastel purple

29

packaging and words like tone, lean,

shred, built by women, for women,

30

And it got me questioning and taking

a step back as a mindful consumer

31

on what are they actually selling?

32

Are they selling me creatine

monohydrate, the very well-studied,

33

very well-researched for decades and

decades compound, or are they selling

34

me the aspirations of a body composition

that I want of a supplement that

35

is built specifically for women and

not the typical gym bro supplement?

36

And it further got me questioning

how much are they actually spending

37

on research and development of their

product versus marketing to women?

38

So you guys can probably tell that I'm a

little skeptical, but I reached out to a

39

bunch of researchers to see their thoughts

40

On creatine for women and the variations

that creatine comes in to have more of

41

this collective mindset around how we

should be approaching creatine as women

42

So creatine is one of the most

studied supplements in the world

43

And for years it was coded as

a bro thing or a gym bro thing

44

It was a gym bag staple

45

marketed almost entirely to men

46

In the last couple of years, it

has been repackaged and rebranded

47

for our delicate femininity as women

With softer colors, with aspirational

48

words like tone and lean and Sculpt

in various influencer campaigns

49

But one of the core points of this

whole episode is this, creatine

50

monohydrate is a single specific molecule

51

It is the exact same compound

52

Whether it is in a black

tub with flames on it

53

Or in a pastel pink tub wrapped in a bow

54

There is no separate reasoning to

buy creatine for women over a typical

55

creatine It is the same compound

56

So why are we seeing this drastic shift?

57

Was it partly because the market for

men was saturated or this big push for

58

women's health where people started seeing

women's health as a real opportunity to

59

market this previously gym bro supplement?

60

From my standpoint, I consume a lot

of founders based and how I built

61

this based content And a lot of the

time these founders are saying, "I

62

just found something and altered

it slightly to make it better."

63

And I feel like creatine has gone

through this phase a little bit where

64

people found it as a supplement, a

well-studied supplement that was primarily

65

targeting men, and they realized this

opportunity to shift this same compound

66

But market it through more of a women's

health lens and talking to some of

67

the pain points that we have as women

68

It brings to the conversation the

idea of the pink tax, and anything

69

marketed or targeted or meant for

women has this natural upcharge for it

70

Just like the wedding industry, a

wedding two-tiered cake compared to

71

a two-tiered birthday cake, there's

going to be a cost difference.

72

Creatine monohydrate straight

powder marketed towards men might

73

be a little bit cheaper than a

creatine supplement built for women

74

One of the reasons we could be seeing

so much more creatine for women

75

is also because the creatine and

female physiology specific research

76

has become more mainstream over the

last probably three to five years

77

So the entire mentality surrounding

creatine has gone from this gym bro

78

supplement to, okay, women benefit

from this too, and we're starting

79

to understand how women actually

benefit from it and what might be

80

different between women and men

81

And as a little preview,

it's not that much.

82

It's just about how much we can store.

83

It's not that our bodies handle

it any differently than men or

84

require a different dosage or

a different form of creatine.

85

It's just we might not be able

to store as much as men do

86

So before we dive super deep

into this commentary, I want you

87

to be a more mindful consumer.

88

When you see a creatine product,

look at it and think, "Am I drawn

89

to this product because it is

talking to some of my pain points

90

of toning, of leaning, of shredding,

of improving my body composition?

91

Or

92

Does it seem like a solid product?

93

And does it seem to come in a form

that I'm more willing to take?

94

And does the price justify what's actually

in the product, or is it for more of

95

the marketing towards me as a woman?

96

So I previewed it a little bit ago, but

let's dive into what the female-specific

97

research is saying about creatine

98

So they're finding that

women's bodies do interact with

99

creatine a little differently

100

Just not in a way that requires

a completely different product

101

The baseline difference is that

women tend to have meaningfully

102

lower total creatine stores than men

103

In part because we generally

carry less muscle overall

104

So women just start from a lower baseline

105

However, they're finding it's not just

the storage differences between men and

106

women, but that women might actually

have an increased benefit with creatine

107

on things like their brain health

108

mood, and cognition, not just muscle

109

And at certain hormonal shifts

110

across our menstrual cycle, pregnancy,

postpartum, perimenopause, menopause

111

may make it particularly relevant for us

112

The first exposure I got to

this was actually with Dr.

113

Katie's episode, gosh, maybe

two and a half years ago.

114

She talked about female specific research,

and she mentioned creatine loading in our

115

luteal phases as women, Which can help

give us some of the performance benefits

116

that we often lack in the luteal phase.

117

And ever since she mentioned

that in her episode, I have been

118

doing it consistently, and I have

noticed a difference in my exercise

119

performance And my ability to perform

resistance training in my luteal phase

120

and not feel quite as fatigued

during my workouts in my luteal

121

phase with that creatine loading.

122

So I'll leave that link below if you're

curious, but it has been a game changer

123

for me, as someone who's pretty in tune

with her body, I noticed a huge difference

124

With how my body felt exercising when

I did creatine load for five grams a

125

day, four times a day for five days, so

20 grams a day for five days total, I

126

felt significantly better in my luteal

phase during those workouts compared to

127

my luteal phase when I wasn't creatine

loading and just doing the five-gram

128

doses that I normally do every day.

129

So luteal phase to luteal phase

comparison, not necessarily that

130

I'm feeling absolutely stellar on

my luteal phase creatine loading

131

compared to my follicular phase,

but it has made a huge difference.

132

We also talked in that episode about

feeling less puffy, and I'd say that

133

has definitely applied as well, 'cause

in my luteal phase, I will typically

134

get a little bit puffier feeling, and

creatine loading has really helped me

135

with some of those symptoms as well

136

So diving into a little bit

more of the science, but reviews

137

of creatine in women's health

138

Note that women store roughly 70 to 80%

139

less endogenous creatine

than men In absolute terms.

140

So similar comparisons between both

141

and that female creatine

metabolism tends to interact

142

with estrogen, which is why

143

Researchers flag menstruation, menopause

144

and pregnancy where it might matter

more I keep referring back to a lot of

145

these episodes that we've done before

in the past, but I think the research on

146

creatine and the people studying creatine

and at the forefront of figuring out how

147

creatine can help us as women, I think

that research is super fascinating.

148

we've done an episode with Dr.

149

Stacy out of Australia, and she is

studying creatine during pregnancy and

150

working on figuring out how our bodies

and the health of our babies can be

151

impacted by creatine during pregnancy.

152

So she chatted her research, gosh,

now probably two years ago as well.

153

So I'll leave that link below, if you

guys are interested in that conversation.

154

But both Dr.

155

Katie's episode and Dr.

156

Stacy's episodes highly, highly because

they are two of the leaders when it comes

157

to researching the female body in general,

but also creatine and the female body

158

So some of the menopause data is

super fascinating In post-menopausal

159

women, creatine paired with resistance

training Has been associated with

160

better preservation of bone at the

hip, which the hip is one of the

161

primary places they look at when

diagnosing bone mineral density issues

162

In one study, these women lost only one

point two percent of bone mineral density

163

at the femoral neck compared

to 4% in the placebo group

164

A twenty twenty-five randomized control

trial in peri and postmenopausal women

165

Found creatine also improved reaction time

and reduce the severity of mood swings.

166

And there's just reasonably

strong evidence overall that

167

creatine can support mood

168

But despite our lower baseline

169

Women reach similar

muscle creatine saturation

170

and get similar benefits at the

same standard dose as men So

171

women do not need a higher dose

A lower dose or a special formula

172

Creatine monohydrate does not

know if you're a man or a woman

173

So if you've ever been on the fence about

creatine, the female specific research

174

is a reason to consider it

Especially for muscle, bone

175

mood, and brain, and especially

heading into perimenopause

176

I guess I'm just going to link all of

the episodes that I've done with any of

177

the women who have mentioned this, but

we also did an episode on menopause and

178

what we can do in our 20s and 30s to help

us prepare for menopause and help our

179

bodies during menopause with a physician

who specializes in treating women

180

during perimenopause and menopause,

and she also recommends, independent

181

from everyone else that I've

talked to, creatine and resistance

182

training for her patients.

183

That is one of her pillars on if

any woman comes to her searching

184

for answers and assistance, that

is one of her foundational things

185

that she gives every single woman

186

So I'll leave that link below to

that episode as well if you happen

187

to be interested in learning more

about menopause, perimenopause, and

188

what we can do in our 20s and 30s to

help our bodies during those times

189

Now Let's get into the format

conversation because this is where I

190

have the most concern and skepticism

191

If a gummy is the only way you can take

192

creatine consistently

193

A real gummy is better than a

perfect powder you never touch

194

But gummies come with a

genuine chemistry problem

195

That powder does not

196

Creatine is a little fragile

It degrades into an inactive

197

byproduct called creatinine when

it is exposed to moisture, heat

198

and acidity

199

Which are basically the exact

conditions of making and storing a gummy

200

Because of that fragility, I have a lot

of questions on whether or not there

201

are actually five grams of creatine in

certain gummies on the market and whether

202

or not our bodies are actually getting

the dosage that is labeled on the product

203

Independent testing has repeatedly flagged

this too One round of lab testing found

204

that 86% Of tested creatine gummy products

205

failed to meet their

labeled creatine amount

206

And a major manufacturer reported

roughly A 46% failure rate

207

in the gummies it tested detecting

the inactive creatinine in

208

the ones that came up short

209

Testing labs have noted that

gummies themselves are actually

210

really hard to test too

211

So it does not mean that

every gummy is empty.

212

There are a few out there on the market

that have been NSF tested for sport, which

213

basically tests them for illegal compounds

in them so that you can take them if you

214

are competing professionally, but also

to test whether or not what the company

215

says is in them is actually in them

216

So if you want

217

Gummies, look for a brand that

shows recent third-party testing

218

or NSF Certified for Sport

on the actual finished gummy

219

not just the raw powder

220

If they cannot show it Assume you may

be getting less than what the label says

221

and maybe zero at all with that inactive

form of creatine So let's look at a few

222

of the common ones I see and compare

them for what the product actually says

223

it is, what you're getting, and if it's

worth it from a financial standpoint

224

So starting with the Lemme

brand by Kourtney Kardashian,

225

they're creatine gummies

226

I'm looking at their packaging

right now, and LEMI Creatine Body

227

Toning Gummies in pale purple

228

Again, it's very cute.

229

It's speaking to one of my pain points

230

But is it the actual creatine I wanna

go for if I'm just looking for creatine?

231

So looking through their website, it

does show that they are NSF certified

232

for sport, which means they have had

that third-party testing done, and it

233

has been shown that the final product

does have five grams of creatine in it.

234

So fantastic.

235

It is a gummy that you will be getting

the five grams of creatine for per serving

236

So a serving size for the LEMMI Creatine

237

Body toning gummies is four

gummies for one serving.

238

So four gummies gets you

five grams of creatine.

239

It also comes in at forty calories,

nine grams of total carbohydrates, and

240

includes four grams of added sugar.

241

Compared to creatine monohydrate

powder, you're just getting

242

the five grams of creatine.

243

So there is a nutritional difference

between the gummies and just the powder

244

The other thing that I question with

Lemme Creatine Body Toning Gummies

245

is their subscription service.

246

So since the serving size is four

gummies for five grams of creatine, it

247

says each bottle comes with 15 servings

Which is great, but if you sign up

248

for their subscriptions, it says a

one-bottle supply delivered each month.

249

So each month you're only getting one

bottle, which is fifteen servings.

250

We know, chatting with a bunch of the

researchers that we've had on this

251

podcast, that one of the primary pillars

of creatine consumption is consistency.

252

We're looking for saturation

of those muscle stores, so

253

consistency is really key.

254

But if one bottle only has 15 servings

of the five-gram dosage of creatine,

255

that means you'd have to only be

taking two gummies or two and a half

256

grams of creatine at each sitting

if you're going to - make that 15

257

servings last for a whole month.

258

Or you're gonna take five grams of

creatine for 15 days over the whole

259

month, which we know one of the pillars of

creatine consumption and effectiveness is

260

the consistency with which you take it at.

261

So that's where I start to question Lemme.

262

Let's look at one of the next ones

that's super popular called Array.

263

First off, Array calls it

their Tone Creatine Gummies

264

So right off the bat, again,

speaking to a female pain point

265

And nowhere on their website

do I see third-party tested

266

or NSF certified for sports.

267

So automatically it moves way low on my

list, because if I'm going to be spending

268

the money and taking creatine, I wanna

know that I'm actually getting creatine

269

and not the inactive form of creatinine.

270

And we found earlier That one round of

lab testing found that around 86% of

271

tested creatine gummy products failed

to meet They're labeled creatine amount,

272

and I have no idea if Oray was a part

of that, but that's still a large

273

percentage, and I really do wanna know

that if I'm taking a gummy, I am getting

274

the creatine that it says I'm getting

275

So diving a little deeper into

Array, it comes out to about $2.50

276

per serving, and each container or

package of creatine tone gummies

277

comes out to 22 servings per container

278

Which again, if you're buying their

subscription model, you're getting one

279

package a month, which is 22 servings,

so you'll have to divvy that up in

280

whatever way makes sense to you to

get that 30-day supply of creatine.

281

Which again, I'd rather know that I'm

getting five grams of creatine per day

282

for a full month, not just 22 servings

283

If we look a little deeper at

their nutrition facts, we find

284

forty-two calories in a serving,

six grams of total carbohydrates,

285

and four grams of total sugars

286

So the next creatine gummy

product we'll dive into is Create.

287

And Create was actually flagged as

a product to look into by two of the

288

researchers that I reached out to because

they had noticed that it was used in a

289

recent study looking at the effectiveness

of creatine gummies and their use

290

in elite beach volleyball athletes.

291

So Create says it is third-party

tested and NSF certified for sport

292

which means that the final gummy

product has the amount of creatine

293

that it says on the packaging.

294

When we look at the nutrition facts,

it comes out to three gummies is one

295

serving, and each package contains thirty

servings, which is a full month's supply.

296

So I'm already liking this option more.

297

Calories comes out to sixty calories

a serving, eight grams of total

298

carbohydrates, five grams of total

sugars, including two grams of added

299

sugars, and there is four and a

half grams of creatine monohydrate.

300

So a little less than the recommended

five-gram dosage, but still it

301

seems like if you can only tolerate

the gummy form of monohydrate,

302

this does seem like a good option.

303

They even say on their website that a

one-month supply comes out to a dollar

304

ninety-three a day, but if you sign

up for their subscription, it comes

305

out to a dollar seventy-nine a day.

306

So still more expensive than creatine

monohydrate powder, but it does seem

307

like a good solid option if you do want

to take gummy forms of creatine and feel

308

like you can be more consistent with them

309

So I know there's probably tons more

of options, and happy to look into them

310

for you guys, but hopefully this just

gives you a little bit of an idea on what

311

I'm looking for when I do some of these

little light investigative journalisms

312

On is it the actual product

or is it the marketing?

313

And which one?

314

Is it the actual product that is costing

more, or is it the marketing behind it?

315

And am I feeling drawn to a product

because it's talking to some of

316

my pain points, or is it because

it's actually a better product?

317

And in all of these instances,

I'd say I'd still prefer my

318

creatine monohydrate powder.

319

It comes out to cents per day versus a few

dollars or a dollar and a couple cents.

320

So it's much more price effective

321

And I can be consistent with it.

322

But I totally understand that people

sometimes cannot handle the texture

323

of creatine monohydrate powder

324

So sometimes in gummy form, the

creatine itself is real But you are

325

often also paying for the added sugar

326

proprietary extras like absorption blends

327

and postbiotics that sound impressive

328

But have thinner evidence and a

whole lot of feminine-coded branding

329

None of that's a scandal.

330

They lay it out for you

331

It just means you are paying a

premium For packaging and add-ons

332

around a cheap, very well-studied molecule

333

So I encourage you to read the

label on your preferred creatine

334

choice, and if you do enjoy creatine

gummies, I definitely would, out

335

of those three, recommend Create.

336

I haven't gotten to study every

creatine gummy on the market, but

337

if it seems to be third-party tested

338

And it actually makes sense with

the way that they're selling it

339

with 30 servings for a one-month

supply, that makes sense to me, then

340

I'd definitely go with that option.

341

But do a little deep dive.

342

Be a little bit more of a mindful

consumer when you're looking

343

at certain creatine products.

344

I also wanted to flag the recent

study where they actually used

345

creatine gummies as part of their

protocol, Which from my understanding,

346

that hasn't happened very often.

347

So it's the effects of creatine

monohydrate gummies on performance

348

and body composition in female

beach volleyball athletes

349

So their conclusions were that

creatine monohydrate supplementation

350

delivered in gummy form enhanced

selected performance outcomes and

351

helped maintain body composition

in female beach volleyball athletes

352

So 32 female beach volleyball

athletes completed the study and

353

were included in the final analysis,

with 17 assigned to the creatine

354

gummy group and 15 to the control

355

And their conclusions were that this

randomized control trial demonstrated

356

that ten weeks of creatine monohydrate

supplementation in gummy form

357

significantly improved countermovement

jump performance and change-of-direction

358

speed, so the two performance measures

and-- or two of the performance measures

359

in female beach volleyball athletes.

360

Supplementation was also associated

with maintenance of body fat

361

mass and percentage, whereas the

control group exhibited increases

362

over the intervention period

363

The creatine group demonstrated a

small increase in total body water

364

compared to the slight decrease

in the control group without

365

meaningful changes in total body mass

366

There were no significant effects

between the groups that were observed

367

for lean body mass, skeletal muscle

mass, total body mass, or reaction time

368

So just an interesting study

that utilized creatine gummies

369

as part of their protocols

370

Now I wanna land it with a few

of the things that some of the

371

researchers that I reached out to said

372

All of the researchers pretty

much echoed the skepticism when it

373

came to creatine gummies, knowing

that creatine is very fragile

374

And that the gummy manufacturing

is probably very challenging . To

375

input creatine and then get

creatine in the final gummy product

376

So one researcher says the dissociation

of creatine into creatinine is an

377

issue with many of the gummies.

378

To date, one of the few brands

that has been able to maintain and

379

prove their claimed dose is Create.

380

I think some others have since proven

their dose, but I'm less familiar.

381

Create is also one of the few that is

third-party tested, certified for sports.

382

So for this reason, it is the only

gummy brand I currently recommend

383

This researcher also mentioned the

beach volleyball study and said that

384

she knows another study on their

pharmacokinetic properties compared to

385

the powder is currently in progress.

386

So excited to hear about those results.

387

And then the next researcher

said: Yes, the creatine g-gummy

388

boom is well and truly on.

389

I must say I remain reasonably skeptical

because of the manufacturing conditions

390

you pointed out, which have a high

chance of degrading creatine monohydrate.

391

As far as I'm aware, there are

no published pharmacokinetic

392

studies comparing the absorption

and distribution of creatine

393

delivered by gummies versus powders.

394

You may have seen this study also

inserted the volleyball study.

395

They used gummies as their intervention.

396

They don't report changes in blood or

muscle creatine concentrations, but they

397

did find significant performance benefits

in female beach volleyball players.

398

So both at the forefront of the research,

as you can tell, both referencing the

399

same exact study, but I thought it was

very interesting to hear their takes So

400

I'm excited for that new pharmacokinetic

study to come out to look into the

401

effects of gummies compared to powders

402

But I hope you guys enjoyed this little

creatine deep dive commentary and the

403

effects of branding and marketing, but

then also being a little bit more mindful

404

when it comes to our consumption and

purchasing of creatine, especially as

405

creatine for women has become more of

a hot topic I'll leave the link to all

406

of those research articles below, all

the episodes that I mentioned below,

407

Thank you to all of the researchers

and clinicians that helped me out

408

with just providing their take on

409

this topic and helping provide

a more full picture for me.

410

But I hope you guys learned something,

enjoyed this episode, and I'll

411

see you guys again on the next

episode of Wellness Big Sis the pod.