The Creatine Revolution: Why Women Need This 2025 Buzz Supplement

potentially optimize your energy, your mood and even your body composition. Hi, I'm Leanne Ward and I'm cd Burrow, and together we bring you The Nutrition Couch, the weekly podcast that keeps you up to date on everything that you need to know in the world of nutrition, as well as the benefits of creatine. Today we have a new study that looks at the links between LDL cholesterol and metopause. We also have found a new light high protein lunch on

the go option in the supermarkets. And our listener question is all things protein water and if it's actually beneficial. But to kick us off today, Susie, we're talking all things creatine because we're still getting so many questions about creating. But we do have a new creatine love to the party, don't we, Soothie?

I like the tropical idea. So off I went to the gym last Monday afternoon with my taco dog cup and my little serve of our product, and I was like, oh, like, I really felt good, And of course you think, oh, maybe it's anecdotal, but no word of a lie. I've been really feeling much better on it. Usually in the afternoons, I would feel pretty tired, you know, juggling a lot

of things. I would normally have some diet soft drink or a coffee some days, and I have not done that one day, and I've just been really looking forward to having it.

certainly interest in it. And we thought that because it's kind of whilst it's an old supplement in the sense we've used it for athletic performance, it's certainly new in the world of women's health and nutrition, and we thought we'd get so many questions on our Instagram and dms and emails asking us whether it's right for them, And so I thought it was really good to chat to our listeners about just going through. We have got a whole podcast on it, but this is a bit more applied.

What is it, who will it benefit and how do you know if it's worth trying for you? So you kick yourself there and you know, run us through what it is, and then I can talk about you know, who I think potentially can benefit and how is the best way to take it?

in mum's breast milk. And I know a lot of people are like, oh, and this was myself for so many years, Susie, Like, I remember I had my PT suggest I take creating years ago before my wedding because I was like, I want to be really you know, like leaning like you know, quote unquote shredded for like my honeymoon, and he's like, why don't you take some creatine? And I was like nah nah, nah nah. And this is years ago, but I must say I really joined

the creatine train. Now I'm really a massive fan of it, but I never really understood how naturally occurring it was. And when I learned that there was creatine naturally occurring in mum's breast milk, I was like, ahh. And it's in a lot of the foods as well, like most animal based products. It's in dairy, it's in our meats, it's in our you know, chickens and fish in that

kind of thing. So, creatine is a naturally occurring compound which is found within our muscle cells in the body, and it helps the body to produce energy during high intensity activity. Basically, so creatine increases our phospho creatine stores within the body and without getting two sciency on our listeners, that facilitates the production of our ATP cycle. And this

ATP cycle provides the body's primary energy source. Basically. Now, why we love it for women and why it's so important is because that women typically have seventy to eighty percent less endogenous creating stores than men. Women also consume less dietary creating typically than men, because we tend to eat far less meat than what our male counterparts do. So that is backed in the research. It's backed by size. Women don't eat enough creating, and we certainly don't store

or hold enough creating within our body. Now, there's been emerging research for quite some years now that has really highlighted the benefits of creating across the women's entire lifespan. We're talking about pregnancy, we're talking about the postpartum period, during you know for women during really heavy menstrual cycles, we're talking about perimenopause, actional menopause, and also postmenopause as well. So not only does it support energy production, it also

supports muscle strength and recovery. But what I'm most excited about, particularly for women's is the emerging evidence that shows that creating has a potential role in cognitive function and also mood regulation. So that's where for men who were busy, who are juggling, who are experiencing that brain flog, whether it's in the postpartum period or whether it's like just going through those periy years, or just that busy juggle that so many women are doing. This is where creating

can really give us some benefit. And one of the top questions that we've been getting is I don't exercise, can I still take creating? And I remember saying to you, and I was like, have you tried it? Have you tried it? Have you tried it? And then what you'd finally started the creating, You're like, no, I'm waiting till I go back to gym. And I said to you don't have to, like, you can take it. You're going to get the benefits from like a brain boost and

a cognitive perspective. And then when you started taking it and you were like, oh, trually good, I was like, come on, I've been telling you for months now. Please I'm honest.

now for women and performance. So those doses were much much higher, you know, twenty grams at some points per day, followed by a five gram load continual dose. So I had someone message me online and they said, I've put on two kilos, and I said, no, it should not do that. Like, I haven't noticed any change, and I'm trying to get into address for the weekend, so I'm closely monitoring my fluid status on a daily basis, and I haven't seen any change in my body. I haven't

felt bloated or anything. And when I asked her, I was glad I did because she said she was taking five or ten grams a day, and I was like, oh no, no, no, no, no, that's way too much. Just three grams a day is clinically proven to yield these cognitive benefits, which is really just very low. Like I had someone else tell me that they have stomach distress from it, and I actually question that, Like in all my years of working with people, it should not cause

stomach distress. There is nothing in that substance that should cause issues, and we'll talk about quality in a minute, you know, and using our own product, which is Career Pure, which is one of the strongest types of creation and because it's German sourced. Leanne'll talk about that in a minute. But there should be no stomach problems from it. If you're having stomach promitts from it, I would argue that it's been consumed in a form with other foods that

might be giving you stomach distress. So if you're putting it in smoothies and things, or if you're not using our brand designed by dietitians, you know, if you're using products that have different types of sweetness or additives, possibly, but certainly in the mix that Leanne and I have formulated, there is no reason that any of those should be giving any level of stomach discomfort because it's just nothing

really in it. It's just very simple. It's mostly water, and the pure substance is not associated with any form of abdominal distress. So I would be questioning what else you're eating if you feel that it's affecting you. I've only felt no issues whatsoever with it. And then so the other questions that are coming up a lot, is when should you take it now? Really, it doesn't actually matter because a lot of what we're trying to achieve is getting rid of the brain frog, improvement in mood,

cognitive function. Myself, if I'm going to the gym, because I like to take it with a lot of water, I will put it in my drink bottle at the gym because I'll be drinking a lot then and I find it really refreshing. But if I haven't gone to the gym, I'll have it usually through the morning, similar to a coffee, or if I haven't, like I'm having it today, we're recording at eleven or in the afternoon

again when you're having that kind of afternoon lull. And I'm going to talk about protein water later and my concern with how people consume it. But in the case of this drink, I have no concern with people drinking it over a relatively long period of time. It's very low calorie, there's very little in it. If you sip it over several hours, I don't have any course for concern, do you.

how a clinical effect is three grams. There is a smaller out of emerging research, very small that if you're going through menopause or postmenopause, you may benefit from a little bit higher dose, such as five grams of creatine.

But I would always start at three and then taper up to five if you feel like you need it more so for the cognitive benefits basically, So that's the only reason I would say to drink it relatively quicker, or each time you have give it a good stove, give a little wiz with your hand whizzer, because it does tend to settle on the bottom, and if you're then just chucking that out, you're actually losing some of

that creatine. That's the only concern I would have. If not, I don't really mind how long it takes you to drink, but make sure whatever sediments on the bottom, you are just adding a dash more water and trying to get that down because if not, you're just losing that valuable creatine.

it to something else. So add it to you smoothie in the morning, add it to your breakfast bowl, because then it won't be effort to drink it. I find because I probably need to drink more water, it's a good way for me to increase water intake. So if you either are used to having a water bottle on your desk it or need to drink more water and quite like something sweet. So I've got a client of mine who loves I'm sure she wouldn't mind if I

said it. She feels she's addicted to v like We've tried several interventions to get off the V. She's tried the iced coffee is like, she just loves it, and she's got a really stressful job and it really she doesn't drink a lot of coffee, so it's her little thing. But she's been trying to get off it because of

the growing data on gut issues and energy drinks. Anyway, for her, a swap to a flavored form like Our Vitality or Our energy's smart because if she's able to swap that four a diet soft drink or a V that's a massive win for her nutrition. But it depends what kind of person you are, each to their own. I have many friends I'll shout out to Michelle Tapower, who won't mind me mentioning her name and her brand

not Stationary. She doesn't like flavored drink, so she loves pure because she has smoothies in the morning or protein shakes, and she was just not keen to have any kind of flavored drink. So I think it's more if you're a person who likes flavored drinks or not, go for Energy or Vitality. But if you're someone who prefers just a smoothie or shake or breakfast bowl added into that.

I think it's just well worth a go. And the reason that designed by dieticians is superior is that we have really invested in creer Pure, which is the German creatan, which is you talk about how it's better because you're more cross the science of it.

source their creatine from China. Now, if a brand doesn't say where it's from, even if they say it's one hundred percent creating monohydrate, Susie's laughing at me. I'm very passionate about this in case you guys could tell it's cut with other things like this, and it's also the Chinese creatine as also, doctor Cecims talks about this. It's been acid washed as well. She was talking about it on the Hovemann podcast, very very reputable nutrition sclientists. It's

they both swear by you only take German creating. The Chinese creating is not pure. It's not good. You don't know what's in there, and that's why so many people.

but it's still not from Germany. It needs to say either source from Germany or have the Creer Pure logo on the packet to ensure that it is the highest purity in the world, and you can actually notice the difference. I didn't really understand this until I really deep dived into creatine. I was just buying what I thought was the best creatine. I was buying a brand that said one hundred percent creatine monohydrate on the label, thinking that that was top quality, and not understanding that it was

still sourced from China. And then once I learned about create Pure and I just bought Creer Pure, I compared both of the different textures. You can actually notice the texture difference, and then I also notice it from a bloating perspective as well, So it's really important that you source it from Germany as well. Now I've got a couple more points. One quickly, just in terms of creating is a supplement, So We don't really recommend supplements unless

you're a healthy individual. If you do have some medical conditions, if you are taking different types of medication, absolutely touch base with your dietician or your doctor and just make sure that that's appropriate for you, particularly if you are pregnant, you are breastfeeding, you have different types of medical conditions, make sure you check with your medical professional. The other thing is that pure. We get a lot of questions because it's unflavored. Can you just take it by itself

in water? It's unflavored, but I wouldn't necessarily say it's flavorless, Susie, So I wouldn't. I personally wouldn't take it in water because I'm kind of like, oh, it doesn't to me taste that good. I would be adding it into my overnight odes smoothie. Just have it without nourish protein powder. That's how I would take the pure, unflavored version of it. You can add it into your tea and coffee. We've had a lot of emails from women asking if they

can add it into their hot drinks. Hot or warm, yes, not boiling, So make sure you're not adding it into boiling liquid or fluid, but warm or sort of like more room temperature is completely fine. And the last thing is I'll come back to your point about timing, Susie. So the most important thing with creatine is that you need to take it daily because females don't retain it. It needs to be taken consistently on a daily basis.

If you're just going to sporadically take it two three times a week whenever you remember, sometimes for a couple of days, sometimes forget for a few days, you will not get the full benefits from actually supplementing with creatines. If you're going to take it, you absolutely need to

be consistent about it. Try to take it at the same time each day, so you're getting that regular supply into the body, You're getting the regular benefits from the energy production, the cognitive benefits, and then you're continuously retopping that up at a similar time most days. The timing doesn't so much matter. You just need to take it each day if you are looking for the exercise boost

alongside the brain and cognitive boost. There is a small amount of research that says that creatine is better up taken with a one as to one ratio of carbs and protein. The best way to do that is to take your creatine with a meal. So go to the gym, do your training session, come back, have your breakfast, your lunch or your dinner, have your main meal and take your creatine after that. That's a good way to have it.

Or come back and have a protein shake creatine inside it and have a banana or something that'll do the same sort of benefit. That's really only if you're looking for some of those hashtag gains in the gym, which we know that creatine is really great in terms of providing as well, particularly for females. That's one of the biggest questions we get, isn't it so far? Yeah?

Bell Gibson It's not a documentary. It's a series, Isn't an Apple Side of Vinego? Which I'm really enjoying actually, just to such a reminder that there are so many people out there who are not qualified to be delivering personalized nutrition information. And they may be famous, they may be very beautiful, they may talk the talk, but if they don't have a science degree, don't buy their supplements. And I feel really strongly about that because our work is

evidence based. We do a lot of research to make sure that we have a reason for everything that we design, and we just don't want you to waste your money and make sure that if you are spending your heart earned on supplement products to help you feel and look better, that you're actually getting what you pay for. So buyer beware, and yeah, make sure it's credible whenever you're spending your

money on it. All rightly, and well, I've got some new research to talk about which our listeners are going to love. It's from our good Well i'll say good friend because I'd like to be friends with her. But Mary Fair Harbert, who is of course the menopausal guru internationally, and she puts up some I don't know how she gets so much content up whilst doing her job, like she records so many videos, like you know, she's the

doctor kid, She's amazing. But she publishes some great research study which is really relevant to anyone who is in their late thirties and beyond because it started to really take a closer look at the changes in cholesterol levels in women through the lifespan and the correlation between increasing levels of inflammation and it being indicative of the menopause or phase you're in. Because one thing I'm seeing a lot of well, I always see doctors routinely do cholesterol checks.

They don't routinely do a HbA one C or glucose, but they always seem to do cholesterol. Now I don't I think it's just taking the box because in some cases you'd be like, if you haven't had a history of our cholesterol and you have a blood test every year, you probably don't really necessarily need it. But it's just something that's easy to do and people keep an eye on it. But what this study is showing is that there is a gradual increase in LDL levels, which is

indicative of the menopausal changes. So you can act and sort of prevent or help to reduce the information that occurs in these phases in life from dietary changes very early in the piece, rather than waiting ti cholester rolls really high before you do anything. Because one of the issues I'm also having is a lot of women are using HRT or I have had a marina put in, and hence they're not necessarily aware what's happening with their natural mentrual cycle. So they don't know if they're still

getting a period or not. But they've been told there's benefits to take versions of HRT, whether it's the pill or gels or whatever they're using, so they actually don't even know, and that can be misleading from a blood perspective, and you just don't know where you're up to in

terms of information. So the study is published in it just recently, very very recently in Frontiers in Endochronology in January this year, and it took a closer look at the small particles, the very inflammatory low density or LDL lipoprotein and cholesterols across the cross section of women over two thousand, which included women twenty percent who were in premenopause four point two percent in perimenopause, and then seventy

four percent who are actually postmenopausal. And basically, the studies showed that the levels of Eldier cholesterol gradually increase over those different time frames in.

you're in. And as I said, because the general menopause will shift is pro inflammatory in women, and this is why so many issues come up in your late forties and fifties, when it comes to joints, when it comes to sleeping, when it comes to blood sugar, when it comes to weight control, when it comes to cholesterol, and our disease risk increases so significantly because the whole system

in our bodies is pro inflammatory. So basically the take home message today is if you've started to notice your LDL cholesterol creeping up, I don't care so much about the total. Your HDL might be quite high, you might have had a calcium score done, you've got no family

history of heart disease, you're not worried. But if it is creeping up, it is probably then worth taking a closer look at your estrogen levels progesterone in general, having some specialized advice on managing the peri and menopausal period to keep on top of it, because like all things, it's much easier to bring down some ld or cholesterol early in the piece. You know, you can add some plant sterols in, we can add some walnuts, we can

reduce the animal product in your diet. There's a lot of dietary strategies to keep on top of it before it blows out and certainly be causing damage to the heart over time. So I think, yeah, go back on some old blood tests and just check and if if your LDL isn't increasing, quite likely you're not even in

perimenopause yet. But if it's starting to creep up, it's a sign you might want to proactively see a dietitian, get some specialized dietary advice about it, or really look into eating for inflammation to help reduce that process which will naturally occur in the body. But we can certainly be on top of it, and that's really relevant for anyone who is using HRT or has a marina and you just don't even know if you're still getting your periods or not to really keep an eye on it.

So I thought it just really interesting association between LDAL specifically and inflammation and the menopausal phases.

their diet. And I think that's the most indicative sign that you're reaching those menopause or years is when you haven't really changed anything different, but your cholesterol is increasing, You've got a lot more you know, brainfall, cognitive issues, and then also you're experiencing a little bit of weight gain, particularly around that you know, that abdominal area as well.

So just another really great research to kind of, I guess, a paper that shows us what we already know clinically, don't we were seeing this reported in our in our female clients already. But also a really good point Susie to actually go and proactively book in with a dietitian because there's so much we can do from a cholesterol perspective. There's also more research coming out about, you know, nutrition strategies for cholesterol as well. And it's not just food,

there's some lifestyle strategies as well. So a really good important I guess measure to just go and find a great dietitian to book and with to just give your diet a bit of a once over before your cholester gets to the point where the doctor says, all right now we need medication. All right now, this is getting a bit dangerous. You want to catch the trend before it kind of becomes too late, don't we. True?

One of them is a red bean and quinoa one and the one that she had, there's another lentil and black rice one, and then I think there's another one with a few x beans and maybe like a little bit of chili or something in it. She had one that was sort of like a pery pery flavor or something. It was quite tasty. So they are pretty light, they are great on the go lunch option, they don't need refrigeration.

They're fairly affordable, like budget wise. So the one that we're going to do today, Susie is the lentils with sweet corn and Thaie black rice. So at retails in Woolworths currently for three dollars fifty for one hundred and sixty gram pouch. And you would argue that you would eat the whole pouch. It's only small and then per serving, so for the full one sixty gram pouch. It's seven hundred and seventy six kilogel, so not even two hundred

calories like they're very light. Seventeen point three grams of protein, which is quite high protein. Two point six grams of that with only point six of that being saturated. Two thousand milligrams of amgis free, which is great from our tuna, with twenty one milligrams being EPA and one hundred and

forty three milligrams being DJ. Twenty one point three grams of carbohydrate perserve predominantly coming from the additions of the beans, the legumes of the corn, six point nine grams of s I think there's a very small amount added in terms of Mediterranean vinegarrette, and the rest is just naturally occurring. Four point four grams of dietary fiber, which is actually quite good for like a small pouch, let's be honest. And four hundred and eighty five milligrams of sodium. So

I quite like this, Suzia. I think they're a great little option. They're a good option for snacklet. I wouldn't really call this a meal. I would call it a very light lunch option that you would add stuff to to bulk it out, or it could be a great little high protein, high fiber snack for a lot of women in between meals, just to kind of get them

through a couple of hours until meal time. So looking at the ingredients, we have got twenty five percent skip jack tuna, followed by twenty percent Mediterranean vinegarette, which is made up of water, sugar, vinegar, salt, garlic, sunflower oil. Though we've got a lemon concentrate, some citric acids, herbs and spices, thick and a natural color paprika, some green lentles at twelve percent, Thai black rice at twelve percent,

twelve percent sweet corn, carrot, and red capsicum. So great addition of a lot of whole food type ingredients, different types of carbohydrates, fibers, and some plants in there as well, which is really nice to see. So I quite like them. I would just be hesitant to call it a lunch option because it is very light. I would be adding that to a bowl with perhaps a bit of feta, bit of avocado. You could put that into a wrap.

You could add definitely some more veggie just to balk that out, some greens, a bit of tomato, a bit of capsicerm to really bulk that meal out a little bit, because the volume of it is quite small. When the calorie loaded, that is quite small too. And although it's good protein, particularly for a snack, seventeen grams is amazing, it's not enough protein for a meal. And again a lot of people would think, oh, that's a great high

protein meal. We know that most women at a minimum need twenty grams of protein per meal, ideally thirty and if you're in a large body or you're a male new training really hard, you might even be looking at upwards of thirty grams potentially thirty five forty grams of protein for me. So for me, they get to give approval. I really like them, but I do think that careful with how you use them, because to me, they're not really a complete meal. They're a bit light on what do you think.

It's like twenty bucks here, you're looking at three or four dollars, like really cost effective. So yeah, I'm a big fan of them if you use them as a backup, if you travel regularly for work, like even my regular commuters to Sydney and Melbourne. Like you go to the Quantus Club or the Virgin Lounge and there's hard boiled eggs, but not much else, Like you know, there's Nutcho's, it's often quite heavy food, whereas you can sort of get

your plate and have, you know, whatever they're offered. And add that to it and you really have a nice complete meal so you're not as hungry and it's really cost effective. So big big thumbs up from me. Good find,

so be good find all rightly and well. Our final segment of the day is a listener question that's come from our Nutrition Couch podcast Instagram account and we do absolutely get all our questions from there, and this is actually one that's come up before, so I was glad to see it again at the top of it today, and it was a question about protein water and is it a good choice nutritionally, And we had a little bit of a back and forth about this because we

had a bit of a disagreement on whether we think it's good or not. Protein waters came to the market, I want to say five to seven years ago, and they were really marketed towards the gym crowd, is something that you could get your protein after training in a

sort of portion control bodel. Then they became quite popular with anyone who'd had bariatric surgery because in the days before GOLP medications like call Goovian Manjaro, people who really struggled with weight would often or frequently be referred for weight loss surgery and have a gastric sleeve or a bypass or a lap band and then the slave luckily or for good for the people. Now you can often get that much better results with the GOLP drug, range of os in peak, etc. You don't have to have

your organ taken away. So we would use a lot of protein water because it was really difficult for those clients to get their protein requirements in orally with solid food, so we'd supplement the diet with protein water. Now i've seen more recently they're really targeting mainstream. It's in supermarkets and I certainly have clients who use it.

got a few calories in water. It's still largely water. This is not This is thirty grams of protein in water. It's not insignificant. And I have an issue with the absorption of protein like that in water. I think my gut feeling with it, pardon the pun, is that protein is best absorbed within a context of a meal. So for that reason, if people are going to use it, I want them to consume it as or with a meal, not just sipping on it as a water. So Leanne

disagree with me a little bit. She thinks that it's fine to sip on it, whereas I'm a little bit more. If you're going to have it, you need to have it as part of a meal in a controlled environment, not sip it over the whole course of the day. Do I think it's better than an omelet?

an issue for you. I don't believe there are many vegan ones out there if you're someone who just doesn't like the taste of dairy or I've had a lot of clients who just don't like milky things, like they're just like I don't like milky things. They might have something like that, But again it's more for convenience. It's never something that SUSI I would write into a meal plan, right.

But if we've got a client and they're traveling and they're going on a really long car trip, or you know, they're training pretty heavy at the gym and they're going from gym directly to work, and you know they're going to take a banana and a coffee with them, and you know, sep on a protein water to get that protein in post gym because they don't like a you know, a protein shake. For whatever reason, it can work, but

for me, it's more of a convenience option. It's also not inexpensive, like I think a bottle of protein water is a good few dollars, Like you're probably playing similar cost to a coffee, So it's not something that I would think that a lot of people could afford to buy regularly anyway. To me, it really is just a one off kind of convenience option. If you're traveling, if you're on the run, if you're caught out, you're at the supermarket, you just want a bit of a protein hit.

Like to me, I would go more for like a protein yogat in a pounch or I would grab like a couple of two to sushi rolls or something like that. Like like you, I would prefer to get it more in a whole food source. But I'm not against them. I just don't think that it's something that we regularly need to be necessarily taking in. But yeah, I'm definitely not against them. I have certainly had clients who like them, who do use them, but they're not inexpensive, put it

that way. So I think it's each to their own. I don't have anything against them. And like you said, SUSI, if you want to use it as a bit of a protein hit, it is good to have that kind of not all at once, like sculling it, but you know, in a sort of you know, twenty thirty minutes, as you would a meal or as you would take a protein yogurt to get that regular hit of protein in throughout the body. Because we do want those regular hits

of protein regularly throughout the day. We don't want that kind of protein being sipped on all throughout the day, like you said, So I think it is it's a it's an interesting question but I don't really have anything against it, I just don't personally use them a lot. Put it that way, true, I agree. Well, that brings us to the end of the Nutrition Couch. Another exciting podcast for the week, Susie. We always think we've got nothing else to talk talk about, and yet you know,

we seem to find something every single week. So thank you for your support. We appreciate it. And if you are wanting to check out our range of creatine products, our functional hot chocolates, and also our brilliant protein powder, the best tasting protein on the market. We are a little biased, but that's what we think. Check out our supplements at design Bydietitians dot com. Thank you for your support and we will catch you in next week's podcast.