By Neerav Padliya, Ph.D., VP, Research Alliances at Qurr –
Every spring, my favorite thing to do is take my family to Newport, Rhode Island. After admiring some of our favorite mansions from the Vanderbilt Era such as Marblouse and Rosecliff, we typically make our way to Fort Adams State Park to spend the remainder of the afternoon flying kites. The last time I went to Fort Adams State Park, I couldn’t help but reflect upon how much I have aged in the last six years as my daughters are six years apart in age.“ Daddy, daddy…kite,” shouts my younger daughter jubilantly as she dashes off while I lag behind her.
Gazing at the kites dancing above, I recall that I didn’t have to lag behind my older daughter when she was two years old. “How did I get here? I am only 38 years old,” I think to myself. As a Scientist, I understand the importance of diet and exercise but I allowed both of them to fall to the wayside when I started a new job a few years ago. “I am too busy to exercise,” I told myself. “I don’t have time to prepare my own meals and eat right,” I tried to convince myself as I would look for signs for a fast food restaurant on Interstate 95 so that I could grab a slice of pizza while driving through Connecticut in the evening. Like millions of adults around the world, it is clear that I have developed some degree of sarcopenia.
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“What is sarcopenia?” you may be wondering. Sarcopenia is the age-related loss of muscle tissue which most people begin to experience to some extent after the age of thirty. Given that I am not expecting an invitation from Coach Bill Belichick to play for the New England Patriots next season, why should I be concerned about sarcopenia?
Maintaining muscle health is important as we age because we rely upon our muscles for our mobility and to maintain our balance. Not only does poor muscle health make it more difficult to keep up with your toddler at Fort Adams State Park, it also increases the likelihood that you may suffer a fall-related injury. Falling may not seem like a big deal to a college students but falls can be devastating to people over the age of fifty, particularly if they result in a head injury. In addition to mobility and maintaining balance, our muscle tissue plays a central role in our metabolism as muscle converts glucose into molecules of ATP, important chemical energy transporters. Reduced muscle mass means there is less tissue available to keep our blood sugar levels in check, putting us at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, a major cause of death and disability in the United States.
So now that you know about sarcopenia, what can you do about it? You can do a lot about it. Do you exercise on a regular basis? Cardiovascular training such as running on the treadmill is great but don’t ignore weight training. Weight training is one of the most effective things that you can do to help reverse sarcopenia by building muscle while losing fat at the same time. Does your diet provide you with enough protein? You need to consume ~0.8 grams of protein/kilogram of body weight (46 grams/day for the average woman and 56 grams/day for the average man).
You can also consider a functional food product called Qurr (www.qurr.com). Qurr milkshakes and powder mixes contain Fortetropin®, a natural, fertilized chicken egg yolk-derived powder that is processed using proprietary technologies. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled human clinical study, people who consumed Fortetropin® on a daily basis while performing moderate weight training twice a week gained significantly more muscle mass relative to people who consumed a macronutrient-matched placebo [1].
Once I became serious about muscle loss and followed these steps, I managed to lose 15 lbs of fat in 5 weeks. More importantly, I can keep up with both of my daughters while chasing kites at Fort Adams State Park.
References:
- Sharp. et al. J. Am. Col. Nutr.35.8 (2016): 679-691.
1 thought on “Muscle Loss Doesn’t Have to be a Part of Aging”
This is a helpful post! It seems like the size of our bodies have increased compared to a decade or so ago. Some people may blame age, the food industry, etc. but ultimately they are responsible for their own fitness and health! I’m trying to eat as healthily as possible and exercise several times a week, by playing golf, going to the gym, etc.