Muscular Fitness – How To Prevent Muscle Loss As You Age
According to a recent US report from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), only a very small percentage of older adults are doing enough to keep their muscles strong.
Muscular strength is how much weight can be lifted once. It is demonstrated when you lift something very heavy. Think of getting your suitcase off the luggage belt at the airport. Muscular endurance is lifting something moderately heavy several times, or holding it for a while. The combination of muscular strength and endurance results in muscular fitness.
With adequate muscular fitness you will perform daily movements with ease and protect your body from fatigue and injury. Another part of muscular fitness is maintaining enough muscle mass for long-term health. Muscle mass helps prevent fat mass from increasing and bone density from decreasing. Women are at greater risk for muscle loss with aging and have the most to gain from increasing their muscular fitness at any age.
Tips for preventing muscle loss as you age:
1) The moderate amount of exercise required to maintain muscles will yield other important health benefits.
2) key nutrients have been shown to help develop muscle mass and support physical functioning as we age.
Because age-related muscle loss is associated with osteoporosis and an increased risk of falls, US researchers at the Vanderbilt University Medical Centre wanted to find out if an intake of nutrients might provide a simple way to help prevent muscle loss.
The Vanderbilt researchers recruited a group of 50 women whose average age was about 77. Over a 12-week period, a ‘treatment group’ of 27 women received a daily supplement containing 1.5 grams of lysine, 2 grams of beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate, and 5 grams of arginine. A second group of 23 women received a placebo.
Before and after the trial period, several measurements were taken to determine potential changes in muscle mass:
* Whole-body protein synthesis and loss (estimated with a specially designed blood test)
* Limb, hip and abdomen circumference
* Leg and handgrip strength
* Physical functionality
* Levels of hormones that affect proteins
* Percentage of lean body mass and body fat
The hormone levels of both groups remained the same, but the treatment group improved in all other categories compared to the placebo group. The treatment group also had a significant increase in the average circumference of limbs, and their protein synthesis
increased approximately 20 percent, compared to placebo subjects.
Researchers concluded that a daily supplement of nutrients may play an important role in muscle health, while improving functionality, protein synthesis and strength in older women.
Arginine (also known as L-arginine), which is a remarkable amino acid, is known to play a role in blood vessel dilation, reduction of inflammation, repair of skin and connective tissue, and thymus gland regulation. Arginine has also been shown to facilitate muscle metabolism by reducing body fat while increasing muscle mass. Dietary sources of arginine include diary products, meat, poultry and fish, as well as nuts, rice, whole-wheat, soy and raisins.
Another nutrient in the Vanderbilt study is beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB), a derivative of the amino acid leucine. HMB is not widely studied in humans, but animal tests show that it may improve the growth of lean muscle tissue by slowing protein breakdown. The dietary sources of HMB are limited to small amounts in citrus fruits, catfish and alfalfa.
3) Exercise that incorporates weight training or resistance training will
yield the best results, including:
* Reducing the risk of falls and fractures
* Increasing endurance
* Promoting healthy bone density
* Improving insulin sensitivity
