ABSTRACT
In recent years, much attention has been paid to the search of natural substances in foods that can be bene‚cial to the human body in preventing or treating one or more diseases or improving its physiological performance. Creatine (N-[aminoiminomethyl]-N-methyl glycine, Cr) is a nonessential dietary element found in high abundance in meat and ‚sh. Currently, Cr is widely used as an ergogenic nutritional supplement by athletes, and it is well tolerated in this speci‚c sector of consumers. It has been estimated that more than one-third of athletes regularly use Cr to improve muscular performance. On the other hand, recent ‚ndings have indicated that Cr supplementation has a therapeutic role in preventing several diseases characterized by atrophic conditions, weakness, and metabolic disturbances. Thus, Cr is an emerging nutritional supplement used not only by athletes, but also by elderly people as well as aged patients presenting different diseases.
