The human body undergoes remarkable changes during the aging process. An important change is gradual loss of skeletal muscle after the fifth decade of lifeknown as sarcopenia.
Sarcopenia is a multifactorial age-related disease associated with sedentary lifestyles, malnutrition, and loss of anabolic and anticatabolic responsiveness.
Sarcopenia is characterized by atrophy and selective loss of type II muscle fibers, associated with decreased strength, increased disability, impaired function in activities of daily living, insulin resistance, and increased incidence of falls and hip fractures.
Interventions that increase physical activity through long-term strength training are particularly effective in combating sarcopenia due to its ability to improve strength, power and endurance.
However, very little is known about its diet. That is why a group of researchers, led by Jeong-Su Kim, wanted to investigate and improve our understanding of the possible dietary modifications that may counteract sarcopenia and the mechanisms by which they are currently believed to operate.
What do they need on a dietary level?
Muscle mass is normally constant throughout young and middle adulthood, suggesting that net protein accumulation is balanced by catabolism. Nevertheless, in the adult and older population, Changes in protein turnover result in a net protein balance that promotes a slow but continuous state of catabolism.
It has been suggested that young people need 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, while older people around 1.2 g/kg of protein.
The problem of people who present anabolic resistance is that, in addition to needing a mechanical stimulus so that there is no loss of muscle mass, they also need a greater amount of protein, but not as much as they think.
What was concluded in the study is that they seem to ultimately require a higher intake of protein, in particular an intake of BCAAs (it does not have to come from supplementation), per meal and per day in relation to youth.
Finally, it seems that it is also very important that the diet is rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, phytonutrients… so eating a diet richer in plant foods is the best.
In Vitónica | Active ageing: the key is physical exercise
In Vitónica | Following a Mediterranean diet is associated with better cognitive abilities in old age, according to a recent study
Pictures | istock