What if one of the best ways to combat old age, was to maintain a significant amount of muscle mass, long into old age? The message could actually be, “If you want to age well, build some muscle….and keep it!”.

I’ve been reading a few more of the available posts on the “Evolving Health” blog, and I like what I see, so I thought I’d share one or two more with you, my friends.

In an article called “Nevermind body fat; put focus on muscle with age“, David Despain talks about the benefits of maintaining muscle mass into old age.

“When you reach age 60 or older, it gets harder to keep, let alone build, muscle. The reasons are a combination of lack of energy, exercise, dietary protein, and hormones. One more is a blunted protein synthesis response that is described as anabolic resistance in aging. Left to run their course, these factors eventually bring on a decrease of muscle mass over time, or sarcopenia. The loss is also often accompanied with an increase in fat mass, or sarcopenic obesity. Sarcopenic obesity brings along with it the lack of both mobility and physical function, with compounding effects, that eventually lead to increased risk of chronic disease.”

“Anabolic resistance, as Phillips defines it, “is the inability of skeletal muscle in aged persons to mount a full protein synthetic response similar to that seen in the young. In other words, older people just don’t put the protein they eat online cialis into their muscles as efficiently as young people. That means as we age that our muscles gradually begin to make less protein and so out muscle mass declines otherwise called sarcopenia.” But according to Phillips, the quality of protein and how much can make all the difference for holding on to muscle with age. Specifically proteins with a higher concentration of branched-chain amino acids including leucine are key to repairing and gaining muscle with age. That means a greater reliance on animal-sourced proteins like whey protein. Plant-based sources just don’t cut it because of the difference in amino acid profile. Now, there’s something to think about before ever considering a completely plant-based diet.”

Now that’s interesting stuff!! Please make sure you read the whole article at David’s blog.

I knew that animal protein is a complete source of all of the necessary amino acids, but I didn’t realize the we require more Leucine as we age, to build muscle…..or to maintain what we have.

I don’t know about you, but I would definitely prefer to make it into old age, looking less like an average old man, and more like this guy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzlJ_xDzmdg

I think that eating a good diet in accordance with the Paleo Template, lifting heavy weights regularly, and possibly supplementing protein intake as we get older could be the best way to build muscle, and keep muscle even into our golden years.

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Barry Cripps is a Paleo-based, Certified Nutrition and Wellness Consultant, who operates out of Bowling Green, Kentucky.

For more information please visit: www.undergroundnutritionist.com

aging well, David Despain, Evolving Health, Muscle, old age