The research behind what we say
Nevienne talks about creatine the way the science talks about it - carefully. This page sets out the studies behind every pillar on our pages, with each finding linked to its source.
Across our pages we describe what creatine research is exploring. We do this in a deliberate way: we tell you what studies have observed, and we do not promise you an outcome. This page is where we show our work. It summarises the published research, names the type of each study, and links to the source so you can read it yourself.
How to read this page
- Creatine is a food supplement, not a medicine. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
- One health claim for creatine is authorised in the EU: creatine increases physical performance in successive bursts of short-term, high-intensity exercise. It applies at a daily intake of 3 g or more. Everything else on this page is emerging research.
- Emerging research is not a promise. Where we describe a study, we are reporting what that study observed in its participants. We are not telling you it will happen for you, and we are not making an authorised health claim.
- Study populations and forms vary. Some studies below used creatine monohydrate, others used creatine hydrochloride, at different doses. Nevienne uses creatine monohydrate, the most-researched form and the one the authorised EU claim is based on.
The starting point - women and creatine
"Estrogen has a creatine-sparing effect on muscle and brain tissue. As estrogen declines through midlife, that support fades - which is why creatine research has turned toward women at this stage specifically."
What the research shows
The interest in creatine for women starts with a measurable difference. Reviews of creatine metabolism report that women hold substantially lower endogenous creatine stores than men, and that hormonal changes across the lifespan - through the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and the perimenopausal and postmenopausal years - influence how the body handles creatine.
This is the reason researchers have begun to study creatine in women specifically, rather than assuming findings from largely male, gym-focused studies carry across. It is also the starting point for Nevienne: a research question worth following, not a benefit we claim.
Brain and cognition
"Cognition in midlife is one of the most active areas of current creatine research."
What the research shows
Cognition is the area where the recent evidence has grown fastest. It is also where we are most careful with our language: the studies below are promising and consistent enough to be worth following, but they are not the basis of an authorised health claim, and outcomes vary between people and study designs.
A 2024 systematic review and meta-analysis pooling 16 trials reported that creatine supplementation was associated with improvements in measures of memory, attention time and processing speed in adults. The reviewers noted larger effects in women and in people under cognitive or metabolic stress.
A placebo-controlled trial conducted with researchers including the University of Oxford reported that six weeks of 5 g per day of creatine produced small but measurable benefits in working memory, with acceptable tolerability.
Reference 6
In a randomised controlled trial in perimenopausal and menopausal women, eight weeks of creatine hydrochloride was reported to improve measures including alertness, executive control and reaction time, alongside measurable increases in brain creatine seen on MRI spectroscopy.
Strength, muscle and physical performance
"Creatine increases physical performance in short bursts of high-intensity exercise. Its role in muscle and strength as the body matures is a growing field of study."
The authorised claim
This pillar contains the one statement on our pages that is an authorised EU health claim. Creatine increases physical performance in successive bursts of short-term, high-intensity exercise. The claim applies for adults performing high-intensity exercise at a daily creatine intake of 3 g or more. Nevienne provides 5 g of creatine monohydrate per serving.
What the wider research shows
Beyond that authorised claim, researchers have studied how creatine interacts with strength training as the body matures. The recurring finding is that creatine appears to work as a complement to resistance training, not as a replacement for it.
A 14-week study in peri- and postmenopausal women reported improvements in lower-body strength with creatine monohydrate, and, among perimenopausal participants, improved sleep quality.
Reference 10
Over two years, 237 postmenopausal women following resistance training and walking, with creatine added, walked faster over an 80 m course than those on exercise plus placebo.
By contrast, a separate two-year trial that gave 3 g per day of creatine without a structured exercise programme reported no benefit for lean mass or physical function. Read together, these trials suggest creatine acts as a multiplier of training rather than a substitute for it.
Cellular energy
"Creatine helps regenerate ATP, the energy molecule every cell runs on. What that means day to day is an open research question, not a promise we make."
What the research shows
The role of creatine in cellular energy is well-established biochemistry rather than a contested claim. Creatine is stored in tissue as phosphocreatine, which acts as a rapid reserve: when a cell's energy demand spikes, phosphocreatine donates a phosphate group to regenerate ATP, the molecule cells use for energy.
What is still being researched is the practical, day-to-day consequence of supporting that system with supplemental creatine - particularly in the brain. This is why we describe cellular energy as a mechanism, and treat its everyday effects as an open question rather than a stated benefit.
Bone and structural ageing
"Bone is part of the midlife shift too. Creatine's role here, usually studied alongside resistance training, is an emerging area of research."
What the research shows
Bone is the most preliminary of our four pillars, and we describe it that way. The evidence is mixed, and we think it is more honest to show you both sides of it.
In the two-year trial of 237 postmenopausal women doing resistance training and walking, the group with creatine added was reported to maintain hip bone geometry - measures such as section modulus and buckling ratio - better than the exercise-plus-placebo group.
In the same body of research, traditional bone mineral density (the standard DEXA measure) did not differ between the creatine and placebo groups, and a separate two-year trial without structured exercise found no benefit for bone mineral density. We include this because it matters: the bone evidence is about training-supported structural measures, not a general bone-density claim.
Safety
What the research shows
Creatine is one of the most studied supplement ingredients, including in longer trials in women.
As with any supplement, if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, taking medication, or under medical supervision, you should speak to your doctor before starting creatine.
What the research does not establish
An honest evidence page has to be just as clear about the edges of the research as it is about the findings. The points below are the limits we hold ourselves to.
- Creatine is not a replacement for exercise, for hormone therapy, or for medical care. The strength and bone findings come from studies where creatine was paired with training.
- Many findings are specific to particular groups, doses and conditions. Results vary between people and between study designs, and emerging findings can change as more research is done.
- Long-term disease-prevention claims are not supported. Nevienne does not make them, and neither does this page.
- This page reports research; it is not medical advice. Nothing here is a promise of a personal result, and only the physical-performance statement is an authorised EU health claim.
References
Each reference below is noted with the topic it is cited for on this page. Links open the source.
- Creatine metabolism and sex differences in endogenous stores pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33800439
- Creatine in women - review across the lifespan pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7998865
- Creatine, the brain and energy metabolism in women pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7916590
- 2024 systematic review and meta-analysis - creatine and cognition pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39070254
- Review - creatine and cognitive function frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2024.1424972
- Placebo-controlled trial - creatine and working memory pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37968687
- Creatine and brain energy reserves nature.com/articles/s41598-024-54249-9
- RCT - creatine, cognition and brain creatine levels in perimenopausal and menopausal women nutrition-evidence.com/article/481576
- Clinical trial registry entry - creatine in menopause clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06660004
- 14-week study - creatine, strength and sleep in peri- and postmenopausal women pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12291186
- 2-year RCT - creatine with training in postmenopausal women pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37144634
- 2-year randomised controlled trial on creatine - hip bone geometry semanticscholar.org - 2-year RCT on creatine (Chilibeck, Candow)
- Creatine and postmenopausal bone mineral density - no effect reported nutraingredients.com - creatine shows no effect on postmenopausal BMD
- 2-year trial - creatine without structured exercise academic.oup.com/biomedgerontology/article-abstract/75/5/931
- Creatine, muscle and ageing sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0531556515300206
- 2025 review - creatine safety frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2025.1578564
Source compilation: internal research one-pager, "Creatine for Women: Long-Term Benefits Beyond Muscle." This page presents the subset of that research that supports the pillars used on our marketing pages.