Creatine intake in children aged 0–24 months

Nonhuman milk, infant formulas, and other milk products were a source of creatine in 438 out of 597 children (73.4%), and creatine-containing meat-based foods were consumed by 205 children (34.3%). A total of 149 children (24.9%) were exclusively fed with breast milk (number of breastfeeding sessions 1–31 per day). The mean dietary intake of creatine across the sample was 0.28 ± 0.24 g/day (95% confidence interval, from 0.25 to 0.30).

Suboptimal dietary creatine intake in US

Among 4,004 NHANES adult participants that reported detailed dietary intake information, 2,611 (65.2%) were calculated to have dietary creatine intake below recommended levels of 1.00 g/day. The average daily creatine intake in this subpopulation was 0.52 ± 0.26 g (95% confidence interval, from 0.51 to 0.53).

Dietary creatine and cognitive function

The participants who consumed more than 0.95 g of creatine per day (3rd and 4th quartiles of creatine intake) were found to have higher scores on the cognitive functioning test as compared to their peers with lower creatine intake (1st and 2nd quartiles).

Dietary creatine and growth in children

The average daily intake of creatine across the whole sample was 1.07 ± 1.07 g (95% CI, from 1.04 to 1.10). Height, weight, and BMI were significantly different across creatine quartiles (p < 0.001), with all measures significantly higher in the 4th quartile of creatine intake (≥1.5 g/day) than those in other quartiles (p < 0.05).

Food creatine and kidney function in adults

The odds ratio for having failing kidneys in U.S adults consuming ≥2 g/day of dietary creatine compared to low-intake peers (<1 g/day) was 0.74 (95% CI from 0.39 to 1.38), indicating no significant association between dietary creatine intake and kidney dysfunction.

Dietary creatine intake in US population

The average intake of creatine in the U.S. population is 1.38 g/d. Of the studied population, 42.8% have an average intake below the recommended levels of 1 g/d of dietary creatine, indicating widespread creatine malnutrition in the U.S. population.

Dietary creatine and human health

The health and ergogenic effects of dietary taurine, creatine, carnosine, anserine, and 4-hydroxyproline are expected to reverse the drastic decline in consumption of red meat (e.g., beef) in the U.S. due to an inadequate understanding of animal-source foods to provide functional amino acids, peptides, and creatine.

Food creatine and depression in US adults

Depression prevalence was 10.23/100 persons (95% CI: 8.64–11.83) among NHANES participants in the lowest quartile of dietary creatine intake compared with 5.98/100 persons (95% CI: 4.97–6.98) among participants in the highest quartile (p < 0.001). An inverse association was measured between dietary creatine and depression (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 0.68, 95% CI: 0.52–0.88).

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