Growing old is a slow process of our body breaking down and giving out. Depressing? Considering the alternative is being “six feet under,” then aging doesn’t look so bad. Fortunately, food ingredients can help with some of the unpleasant health problems that occur.
Losing muscle, gaining fat
As we age, our body composition changes—we gain body fat and lose muscle. Accumulating body fat results from less physical activity, a decreased metabolic rate and consuming excess calories. Loss of muscle is often referred to as sarcopenia, the degenerative loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength that occurs with senescence. Loss of muscle mass and strength can lead to poor balance, slower gait, falls, fractures, disability and a loss of independence.
“Due to the reduced physical activity and increased longevity of industrialized populations, sarcopenia is emerging as a major health concern for aging population,” says David Cai, Ph.D., research manager and principal scientist, Cognis Nutrition & Health, LaGrange, IL. “Physical activity incorporating resistance training with good nutrition is probably the most-effective measure to prevent and treat sarcopenia.”
Dietary protein contributes to muscle protein synthesis. Postprandial (shortly after a meal) muscle protein synthesis is reduced in healthy older adults, but whey protein can stimulate postprandial protein gain and limit body protein loss. Some whey protein ingredients have been specifically designed to promote fat loss plus muscle gain.
A combination of whey proteins, bioactive peptides and whey mineral complex “provides fat loss at lower dosages than a typical protein ingredient or the amount of dietary protein required to achieve a similar result,” says Eric Bastian, Ph.D., vice president of research and development, Glanbia Nutritionals, Twin Falls, ID. The high level of essential amino acids in whey proteins appears to be responsible for the stimulatory effect on muscle protein synthesis in older adults. He reports that in two human clinical trials, a 24.4-gram dose of the product “provided 80% more fat loss and retained twice as much muscle than the carbohydrate control,” an outcome similar to a study published in the Journal of Nutrition (2003; 133:411-417), where researchers increased dietary protein by 57 grams per day against a carbohydrate control to achieve the same endpoint.
Another ingredient that could aid weight management and body composition is conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), which received GRAS status this year for use in milk and flavored-milk products, yogurt products, fruit juice products, soymilk beverages, and meal-replacement beverages and bars. It is self-affirmed GRAS for coffee creamers and chocolate. Several clinical studies indicate “CLA maintained, or even increased, lean muscle mass among subjects that included people older than 50, especially at a higher dose,” says Cai. “Results from these studies indicate that CLA, in combination with regular exercise, may help aging subjects build up muscle mass. Long-term trials demonstrated that daily CLA supplementation helps to safely reduce body fat mass while protecting lean body mass.”
