Centenarian Muscles - Go For It

So what’s the big deal about helping our muscles.?

Why should we care?

Muscles are a necessary part of health, assisting with bone health, weight loss, and keeps our bodies moving.

The more lean muscle mass that we obtain, The higher our metabolism is. With a higher metabolism, we burn more calories.

In our 30s, we start to lose muscle mass and function.

Physically inactive people can lose as much as 3% to 5% of their muscle mass each decade after age 30. Even are active individuals will still have some muscle loss.

One way to ensure our muscles are nourished is to consume protein.

===> PROTEIN

We need protein to make everything go, not just muscle and tissue, but also hormones, enzymes, organs, immune system, and blood flow.

To keep things working, like our muscles, we must eat enough protein since we don’t store protein. If we don’t consume enough daily, our body will continue to break down.

===>According to US Institute of medicine, for sedentary people, is

0.4 grams of body weight per day

Protein can help retain and build muscle.

This will allow us to continue doing the activities that we love to do, being active, having the energy to do the things we want to do, and need to do.

===> Muscle mass CAN be maintained by ...

- consuming enough protein in our daily diets

- resistance training

- pre & post protein before and after a workout

Exercise will naturally break down the muscle, which is standard and helps to build and maintain muscle mass. Nothing will fix the breakdown, that’s where we need to act by consuming protein to repair the muscle. If we keep the muscles healthy, this will slow down the aging process.

===>There are many sources of proteins

Animal protein:

-Beef

-turkey

-lamb

-chicken

-seafood

-pork

-eggs

-yogurt

-Milk

-whey

Plant protein:

-Beans

-lentils

-nuts

-seeds

-soy

-tofu

Protein quality is measured by the quality of amino acid‘s essential amino acids since they are responsible for muscle protein synthesis =(Muscle protein synthesis (MPS) the driving force behind adaptive responses to exercise and represents a widely adopted proxy for gauging the chronic efficacy of acute interventions, (i.e., exercise/nutrition). ...

However, low-intensity exercise performed to failure equalizes this response. Muscle protein synthesis in response to nutrition and exercise - NCBI - NIHNCBI - NIH › pmc › articles › PMC3381813)

Animal protein has the highest amount of protein that a human can get gram per gram.

However, the best all-around is whey protein.

===> Facts about Whey

Whey is derived from milk, superior to muscle proteins synthesis, assists in weight control; the essential amino acid content is the highest.

Whey has the highest branch chain amino acid content per serving, the highest source of leucine, this protein gets to the muscle faster in the window of opportunity post/pre workout, helps preserve lean body mass.

Whey is best-used pre-and post-workout or as a daily meal, supplement to ensure your protein content for the day has been achieved.

===> The older we get, the more protein we need.

How much protein do we need as we age?

This highly depends on our

- weight

- health

- activity level

- calorie needs

- fitness goals

===> If the goal is to preserve muscle tissue as we age we should have...

- 1 gram per pound of lean body mass daily

- Divide that between 4-5 meals, every 3-4 hours

- include on workout days 30 to 40 minutes before and after training

- if trying to build extra muscle, you may need one more serving of protein right before bed

- 20-30 grams of protein per serving (meal)

- or more specifically 0.14gram/ lb of body mass

- So as an example, about 28 g of protein for a 200-pound individual before and after a workout

Keep in mind to start or continue a resistance training program (exercise with weight or body weight)

Proper protein is a critical component in retaining our muscle mass as we age.

Our muscles give us the ability to walk, go upstairs, close doors, and open jars. We must continue to strengthen them if we want to ensure the best physical life possible