Anabolic Eating for Your Age – 3 factors

Much has been written about nutrition in the pages of magazines over the decades.  We are sure many readers who began reading muscle magazines when they were teenagers are now entering their 30’s and 40’s.  Countless pages have been devoted to describing nutritional protocols to maximize gaining muscle and losing fat.  But we submit to you that we have all been fools for we have neglected the fact that there are fundamental metabolic differences between different age groups of people.  Despite this fact, hardly any nutritional recommendations for maximizing muscle have taken age into account! it is time that we all examine optimal anabolic eating for YOUR age addressing each of the macronutrients.

Protein

We might as well get the big issue of protein intake out of the way first. High protein meals increase muscle protein synthesis and increasing muscle protein synthesis over time leads to more muscle.  The question is, how does age affect this anabolic response to protein? Research suggests that younger individuals are very sensitive to the anabolic effects of amino acids. As we age however, we become less sensitive to the anabolic effects of amino acids.  Several researchers have shown that comparatively large doses of amino acids are required to maximize the anabolic response in the elderly as opposed to young subjects.

So make sure you eat plenty of protein high in leucine (like whey) and keep room in that pill box of yours for some anti-oxidants grandpa!

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are another macronutrient that differentially impact anabolism as people age.  The primary way by which carbohydrates influence anabolism is by increasing insulin secretion.  Young individuals are very sensitive to the anabolic effects of insulin and in their case carbohydrates alone may be sufficient to increase protein synthesis and also inhibit protein degradation .  Recall that Net Muscle Gain = Muscle Protein Synthesis – Muscle Protein Degradation, so insulin is both anabolic and anti-catabolic in young individuals.

Though little data is available in the elderly, it is clear that physiological increases in insulin that would be induced by consuming carbohydrates alone will not stimulate muscle protein synthesis .  It does appear that co-ingestion of carbohydrates with amino acids does provide a small anabolic advantage over amino acids alone in the elderly, however (14).  Since carbohydrates do not provide the same anabolic advantage to the elderly as they do other age groups and because aging reduces insulin sensitivity it is likely that elderly muscle heads will want to consume less carbohydrates than young or adult individuals.

Fat

The difference in how dietary fat should be consumed as one ages should largely be influenced by the changes in carbohydrate intake with age.  As outlined previously, one should gradually reduce carbohydrate intake throughout their life as they age.  Therefore, someone who is younger and still sensitive to the anabolic effects of carbohydrates will be better off consuming lower fat with more carbohydrates, while an elderly individual will want to consume far less carbohydrates and fill in those calories instead with more protein and fat.  Fat is a very important macronutrient and it’s important that one never let it fall too low so I never recommend anyone take their fat intake lower than 0.2g/lb of bodyweight, even if they are young and highly sensitive to the anabolic effects of insulin, it is still important to consume sufficient fat.

Optimal macronutrient intake is based on numerous factors and it is always best to experiment to find out what will fit best with your individual metabolism.  We do believe that this article will help everyone better understand how age can impact optimal macronutrient profiles and adjustments that can be made to best optimize these macronutrient profiles.

Copyright www.biolayne.com