Protein for Fitness: Age Demands Greater Protein Needs

-


           
Protein for Fitness: Age Demands Greater Protein Needs
As the aging population continues to grow, making up a substantial part of our population focus is geared towards meeting the needs of these individuals in order to keep them healthy and optimize their overall quality of life. Increased protein demands, once a controversial topic, has been recognized to be imperative as an individual ages in order to combat sarcopenia, progressive muscle loss coupled with resistance to synthesize new muscle, which increases after the age of 50 resulting in 0.5-2% annual total muscle loss. Currently, the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) do not reflect increased protein needs for older adults, recommending only 0.8 gram of protein/kg of body weight per a day for the adult population, whereas current research suggests older adults over the age of 65 should be consuming approximately 1-1.2 grams of protein/kg of body weight per a day to maintain and continue to gain muscle mass and function in combination with resistance exercises such as lifting weights. In addition, currently no research has set forth a protein recommendation for older adults ages 50-65, which is a cause of concern as the body starts to loss its ability to maintain and build muscle mass.
            Although meeting protein requirements is typically not a concern in the clinical setting for most adults it has been found that older adults only consume 16% of their caloric intake from protein, leaving substantial room for improvement as the recommended range suggests 10-35% of caloric intake be from protein to optimize health status of an individual. High quality proteins from animal sources and whey protein have been suggested for older adults due to their leucine composition which has been found to play a role as a trigger for muscle synthesis. Soy products such as tofu, soymilk, beans, nuts, lentils and others have been suggested for older adults who are vegetarian. In addition, some experts have suggested equally distributing protein at every meal (30g of protein across three meals) can allow for maximizing amino acid utilization for muscle synthesis.  

References
Webb, D. (2015). Protein for fitness: Age demands greater protein needs. Today’s Dietitian, 17(4), 16. Retrieved from http://www.todaysdietitian.com/

-KP

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Are All Sugars Created Equal?

-
Image
Are All Sugars Created Equal?  I think one of the most confusing nutrition topics for people is sugar. With so many conflicting stories out there, it’s difficult to separate the facts from the fiction. Not to mention, the types of sugars are endless. How do we know what’s best for our bodies? White or brown sugar? Cane or raw? Should we just go with Stevia instead? Is it even okay to consume artificial sweeteners? Should we avoid foods with high amounts of natural sugar in them? Each answer only seems to lead to another question!  Let’s start off with distinguishing the purpose of sugar in the first place. Do our bodies even need it? The short answer is yes! Sugars are carbohydrates (what we commonly call “carbs”), one of the three main macronutrients that our bodies need for fuel to function and survive. One of the major ways to categorize sugar is by separating the “natural” sugars from the “added” sugars. Natural sugars are, well, naturally found in foods. They give us the energy th
Read more

Milk Mythbusters

-
Image
Just like with any nutrition topic, the facts about milk can become convoluted pretty quickly. Whether you drink milk for the protein, the nutrients, the flavor, or just like to switch it up, there are pros and cons to every kind. Here are some quick nutritional facts about each type to help you decide which is best for you. Animal-Based Milks  Whole Milk: The original diary drink. It gets a bad rap, but what whole milk has going for it, is that it’s in its proper nutritional form. Whole milk contains all of its original fat-soluble vitamins, A, E, D, & K, along with the fat to help you absorb them all. It also has the proper concentrations and ratio of polyunsaturated fatty acids, or your omega-3s and omega-6s, so that they are metabolized as they should be. The downside is that whole milk is calorically dense, meaning that a little goes a long way. You don’t need much to get what you need, so just don’t overdo it!  2% Milk: The fat content of 2% milk is about half of that in who
Read more