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A new report from researchers at McMaster University in Canada offers hope for older men who wish to build physical strength — a nutritional supplement:
Whey protein supplements aren't just for gym buffs according to new research from McMaster University. When taken on a regular basis, a combination of these and other ingredients in a ready-to-drink formula have been found to greatly improve the physical strength of a growing cohort: senior citizens.
[...] The deterioration of muscle mass and strength that is a normal part of aging -known as sarcopenia -- can increase the risk for falls, metabolic disorders and the need for assisted living, say researchers.
"Older people who do little to prevent the progression of sarcopenia drift toward a state where they find activities of daily living, like rising from a chair or ascending stairs very difficult or maybe impossible," says lead scientist Stuart Phillips, professor in the Department of Kinesiology and member of McMaster's Institute for Research on Aging.
While a number of isolated nutritional ingredients have been shown to fight sarcopenia, this is the first time such ingredients -- which include whey protein, creatine, vitamin D, calcium and fish oil -- have been combined and tested for this purpose.
For the study, which was published in the journal PLOS ONE, the research team recruited two groups of men aged 70 and older. One group took a protein-based, multi-ingredient nutritional supplement for six weeks without an exercise regimen, while the other group took a placebo. The objective was to evaluate whether daily consumption would result in gains in strength and lean body mass.
Following those six weeks, subjects continued to take the supplement (and placebo) while also undertaking a 12-week progressive exercise training program consisting of resistance and high-intensity interval training.
[...] Most notable, the findings showed improvements in deteriorating muscle health and overall strength for participants both before and after the exercise regimen. In the first six weeks, the supplement resulted in 700 grams of gains in lean body mass -- the same amount of muscle these men would normally have lost in a year. And when combined with exercise twice weekly, participants noticed greater strength gains- especially when compared with their placebo taking counterparts.
Journal Reference:
Kirsten E. Bell, Tim Snijders, Michael Zulyniak, Dinesh Kumbhare, Gianni Parise, Adrian Chabowski, Stuart M. Phillips. A whey protein-based multi-ingredient nutritional supplement stimulates gains in lean body mass and strength in healthy older men: A randomized controlled trial. PLOSONE, 2017; 12 (7): e0181387 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0181387
(Score: 4, Interesting) by bradley13 on Thursday July 20 2017, @04:04PM (3 children)
Looking at the abstract, it's interesting that this supplement alone had some effect. However, those effects appear to be dwarfed by the effects of exercise, regardless of which group you are in.
There was a test program here, a couple of years ago, where a physiotherapist moved into a nursing home with a bunch of exercise equipment. The residents initially thought "WTF is he doing to us old folks", but apparently they were game to give it a try. After a few weeks, the results were pretty remarkable.
I'm not the youngest, and I do maybe 15 minutes of circuit training (weights, but quickly enough to provide some cardio) most weekday mornings. Nothing fancy, just some free weights, one machine and a mat in the corner of the basement. No intent to gain strength, it's the same routine with the same weight every time. Once you get used to it, it's a pleasant way to start the day...
Everyone is somebody else's weirdo.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Thursday July 20 2017, @04:38PM (2 children)
The real problem is: in today's world food chases you.
The ordinary daily activities of life are so reduced for most people as to allow them to fall into a dysfunctional state. If you stay active enough to go collect your own berries from the field, get drinking water from a clean source every day, and perform basic maintenance and hygiene for your domicile, you should be getting plenty of exercise. Not saying you have to do specifically those things, in modern society we have people, machines, and mostly people with machines who do that for us, much more efficiently than we used to do for ourselves - the point is to maintain the activity levels, go ahead and lift a gallon of milk as long as you can - don't switch to the half gallon because it's lighter and easier to manage until you really have to. Walk, climb stairs, bend over, do all the things, because the things you stop doing are likely the first things you won't be able to do.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 20 2017, @05:00PM
Get rid of the refrigerator. Go shopping for fresh food every day. Walk to the grocery store. You'll get plenty of exercise. You might even lose weight.
Seinfeld did an episode where Kramer lived without a refrigerator. The trouble is it's a time-consuming lifestyle which is impractical in real life unless you're perpetually unemployed just like Kramer.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 25 2017, @08:06AM
You missed the biggest one: shitting. If you had to squat to shit every day instead of sitting on a chair to do it then you'd keep the muscles to stay mobile. Sadly squatting is quickly becoming a dying art.