Protein Consumption and the Elderly: What Is the Optimal Level of Intake? - Sanz Solutions Health and Longevity

Protein Consumption and the Elderly: What Is the Optimal Level of Intake?

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4924200/

"Elderly adults are less responsive to the anabolic stimulus of low doses of amino acid intake compared to younger adults. However, this lack of responsiveness in elderly adults can be overcome with higher levels of protein consumption. This is also reflected in studies comparing varying levels of protein intake. This suggests that the lack of muscle responsiveness to lower doses of protein in older adults can be overcome with a higher level of protein intake. The requirement for a larger dose of protein to generate responses in elderly adults similar to the responses in younger adults provides the support for a beneficial effect of increased protein in elderly populations. The consumption of dietary protein consistent with the upper end of the AMDRs (as much as 30%–35% of total caloric intake) may prove to be beneficial, although practical limitations may make this level of dietary protein intake difficult. The consumption of high-quality proteins that are easily digestible and contain a high proportion of EAAs lessens the urgency of consuming diets with an extremely high protein content."

What can we take away from this study?

Elderly adults need to eat more protein in their diet to build or even maintain lean body mass when compared to younger adults. Ideally elderly adults should be eating 30%og their total calorie intake as protein. Let's put this into perspective...

If a 150 pound male is eating 2000 calories a day then about 600 calories should come from protein. 600 calories of protein is 150 grams. I think it is safe to say that elderly adults should be eating about 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight to build or maintain lean body mass. 

How to eat that much protein...

4 ounces of lean beef and chicken come in at about 30 grams of protein

5 eggs is about 30 grams of protein.

1 scoop of whey protein powder is between 20-30 grams of protein.

2 single serve cups of Greek yogurt is about 30 grams of protein.

5 ounces of salmon is about 30 grams of protein.

1 can of tuns is about 30 grams of protein. 

 

Tomorrow I will discus why maintaining lean body mass is important as we age. 

 

 

 

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