Can protein intake help reverse aging muscles?
We naturally lose muscle loss as we age, but with resistance training and increasing our protein intake, we can reverse the process.
Get-Fit Guy is hosted by Kevin Don. A transcript is available at Simplecast.
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Hi, this is Kevin Don, the Get-Fit Guy, and this week I wanted to continue on the topic of using fitness to hedge against the aging process.
As I mentioned last week, there are several hallmarks of aging. One of the main things we see is sarcopenia, which means “death of the flesh” in Latin, and relates to loss of muscle mass as we age.
We know that muscle mass can be dramatically increased by resistance training—in other words, we can effectively hedge against muscle loss through exercise. But another question that comes my way often is: how much protein do I need to build muscle or help retain muscle? Which is a great question, because we know that protein is a key component in muscle building. We also know that the modern diet is quite low in protein.
However, there is also a lot of information (and disinformation) out there about what kind of protein you need, how much you need, and when you should be taking it.
Let's have a look at that and see what would be optimal for resisting sarcopenia when combined with resistance training.
So firstly: what IS protein? Well, like I always enjoy doing, I looked at the etymology of the word. “Protein” comes from the Greek word “proteios” which means “primary.” Which is quite telling—even the ancient Greeks knew the value of protein to the body.
Proteins are a macronutrient (a group also containing carbohydrates and fats) made up of smaller building blocks called amino acids. There are 21 standard amino acids. Most micro organisms and plants possess enzymes than enable them to synthesize these amino acids. Animals (including humans) do not have these enzymes and therefore need to consume some amino acids from the diet. The amino acids which we need to consume are referred to as the ‘essential amino acids’ There are 9 essential amino acids:
Compared to the other 2 macronutrients (carbs and fats) they are the only macro to contain nitrogen. One of the ways we can assess muscle building and protein uptake is to test nitrogen balance. If someone has a positive nitrogen balance, they are retaining protein, and if they are in a negative nitrogen balance, they are losing protein from one of the main compartments (muscles, skin, blood). We use nitrogen to measure this, since protein is the only nitrogen-containing macronutrient. This is the most accurate way to determine if you need more or less protein in your diet. Although there are some great guidelines we can follow on how much protein we need.
How much protein should you be consuming? Well, according to the Food and Nutrition Board, who set the dietary recommended daily allowances (also called RDAs), dietary protein intake in adults should be 0.8-1.0 grams per kilogram of body weight per day, which works out at 0.35-0.45g per lb of bodyweight. However, we have to remember that the RDA is the minimum intake of any key nutritional element to avoid sickness, not to optimize and thrive. So 1.0 grams or less per day is not sufficient to maximize strength, grow and sustain new muscle, or to reduce body fat. For these purposes, we would be looking at 1.6-3.0 grams per kilogram of body weight per day.
What kind of protein should you be consuming? If you look at the protein industry, there are a myriad of types of protein. Some of these include whey protein, casein protein, beef protein, egg protein, pea protein, and soy protein. Does it really matter which of these we eat?
Well, yes and no. The source of protein we consume doesn’t make much difference, what really matters is the final available amount of protein.. What does that mean? Well, everything we eat has a “bioavailability” score. This means that when we eat something and it undergoes digestion and absorption, some will be wasted and some will be available to the body to actually be used. Some proteins are more bioavailable than others. Generally, animal-based proteins are more bioavailable and egg protein is considered the gold standard, in terms of a complete amino acid profile and bioavailability. However, all the types of protein mentioned previously have plenty of amino acids and can help you meet your protein needs. If you decide to supplement your diet with protein, remember that this should be just to top up (supplementation isn’t a replacement for a nutrient rich diet). I’d also check the nutrition panel on the back of the tub to make sure it has a full list of all the 9 Essential Amino Acids and their total values.
In fact, in a study done recently, participants were separated into 3 groups: a placebo group, a whey protein group, and a pea protein group. In response to 12 weeks of strength training, all groups had improved strength markers, but the whey and pea protein groups were significantly ahead of the placebo group in terms of outcomes, and there was little difference between the whey and pea protein groups.
We need to bear in mind, however, that there are always many factors influencing things inside the human body. Protein, as I’ve already mentioned, is composed of amino acids. The human body cannot make amino acids—they all come from dietary sources. There are 9 of these, all of which are essential for human health.. Any food which contains ALL of the amino acids is termed a complete protein source. A food missing one or more essential amino acid is called an incomplete protein.
Examples of “complete” protein sources are milk, yogurt, cheese, eggs, meat, fish, and soy. Whey protein is in this group because it comes from the dairy industry.
Examples of incomplete” protein sources are legumes (beans, lentils, etc), cereals, and grains.
So, if you are following a plant-based diet, it’s important to ensure you have some soy products in your diet in addition to legumes and grains so that you get all of essential amino acids.
Is there a best time to consume protein? You might’ve heard there is an anabolic (a.k.a. muscle building) window for 20 to 30 minutes post-training, which some say is the best time to consume protein. Well, there have actually been studies into this and it has been shown to be a myth. In studies, participants who consumed protein in the 20 minutes post-workout had no advantageous muscle gains or fat loss over the participants who just had their daily protein intake spread out over the day.
So, to summarize:
Protein is essential to health because our bodies don’t make amino acids and need to consume them. Some protein sources have all the amino acids and some don’t. If you follow a plant-based approach, you may want to add soy protein sources in, since beans and nuts are incomplete protein sources. There is no long-term difference between animal proteins and plant proteins, as long as you make sure you consume more than the RDA of 0.8-1.0 grams of protein per kilogram/ 0.35-0.45 grams per lb of bodyweight per day. You don’t need to worry about nutrient timing; it’s more important to just get the right amount of protein in over the course of the day.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6358922/
https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12970-014-0064-5