358: The Truth About Creatine for Women: Strength, Hormones, + Brain Health | Abbie Smith
Be Well by Kelly Leveque
Kelly Leveque
4.8 • 1.4K Ratings
🗓️ 29 October 2025
⏱️ 77 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode, Dr. Abbie Smith-Ryan, a leading researcher in exercise science and women’s health, breaks down the science behind creatine and its many benefits for women. From reducing inflammation and improving recovery to boosting brain health, mood, and sleep, Dr. Smith-Ryan shares the latest research and practical advice on how women can safely and effectively use creatine. She also addresses common myths and side effects, the best dosing strategies, and how creatine can support everything from menstrual health to perimenopause.
Topics Discussed:
→ What are the benefits of creatine for women?
→ Does creatine help with perimenopause and hormones?
→ How does creatine support brain health and mood?
→ Can women build muscle and bone mass with creatine?
→ Is creatine safe for postpartum recovery?
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Timestamps:
→ 00:00:00 - Introduction
→ 00:02:48 - Creatine for inflammation & recovery
→ 00:07:05 - Other uses of creatine
→ 00:12:59 - Creatine & menstruation
→ 00:16:46 - PCOS & irregular cycles
→ 00:17:44 - Creatine side effects
→ 00:20:55 - Dosing & loading phase
→ 00:26:13 - Perimenopause study insights
→ 00:33:11 - Brain health, mood & sleep
→ 00:36:09 - Cognition & hormones
→ 00:38:27 - When & how to take creatine
→ 00:41:10 - Combating the afternoon crash
→ 00:44:15 - Body composition explained
→ 00:46:21 - Best workout times
→ 00:48:49 - Fasted exercise pros & cons
→ 00:52:14 - Improving bone & muscle mass
→ 00:56:49 - Heavy lifting & proper form
→ 00:58:04 - Surgery & injury considerations
→ 00:59:07 - Lifelong athletic training
→ 01:02:40 - Postpartum recovery tips
→ 01:06:11 - Blood sugar balance
→ 01:09:10 - Water weight & puffiness
→ 01:10:54 - Types of creatine
Check Out Abbie:
→ IG: @asmithryan
→ Website
Check Out Kelly:
→ YouTube
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Most women are not getting enough creatine in the diet well below, which has been associated with some menstrual cycle, negative effects and kind of ovarian effects over time. |
| 0:15.2 | Yeah. |
| 0:15.5 | Which really tells me, okay, even if you do eat enough animal proteins, that supplementation can really supplement |
| 0:23.0 | the diet in a very positive way. |
| 0:26.0 | You're listening to Be Well by Kelly Leveck. |
| 0:31.8 | A world-renowned scientist and educator, Dr. Abby Smith-Ryinyan is a professor in the Department of Exercise and |
| 0:39.0 | Sports Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. With over 205 peer-reviewed |
| 0:45.4 | manuscripts, numerous book chapters, and international presentations, Dr. Smith-Ryan is a leading expert |
| 0:52.4 | in body composition, metabolism, sports nutrition, and exercise performance, and with special focus on women's health. |
| 0:59.4 | Her research spans NIH-funded projects to industry-supported clinical trials, all aimed at improving metabolic and cardiovascular health through evidence-based exercise and nutrition interventions. Beyond the lab, |
| 1:12.6 | Abby is a former collegiate athlete, a mother of two, driven by a passion to translate scientific |
| 1:17.9 | advances into real-world tools for busy women and parents. She specializes in smart, time-efficient |
| 1:24.0 | strategies to elevate health, performance, and daily quality of life. |
| 1:29.0 | Abby Smith, Ryan, I have been waiting. I have been stalking you. I've been waiting for this |
| 1:33.5 | interview. I love your brain and all the things you're researching, and I just couldn't wait to |
| 1:39.8 | have you on to be the expert on all things, body composition, creatine, training for women in |
| 1:46.4 | and pari menopause especially, thank you for your time. Thanks for having me and such a great |
| 1:51.1 | way to get to talk about real life and science and how do we pull it all together. So thanks for |
| 1:55.2 | having me. Yeah. And I love to hear that you were having a sleepover with Gabby Reeves because |
| 2:00.0 | she's like she is goals when |
| 2:02.9 | it comes to like holding on to lean muscle mass and training, you know, through perimenopause |
| 2:09.1 | and metapause and all of that and like just, yeah, what a babe. |
... |
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