Young people should learn from the over 60s’ mobility fears urges Dr Ellie Cannon

Thirtysomethings should learn from the over 60s and take action to improve their muscle health and understanding of protein, according to Dr Ellie Cannon, commenting on new research.

Research 1 from The Good Whey Co. indicates that while people aged 60-75 identify loss of mobility as one of the most worrying physical challenges they face 2, the majority wrongly believe there was no action they could have taken to help prevent it when they were younger 3.

Whilst maintaining an active lifestyle in old age depends on several factors such as diet and the onset of medical conditions, going into old age with healthy muscles is crucial.  But muscles can begin to decline from as early as our mid-30s, which may go some way to explaining why 42% of 60-75 year olds have been surprised by how difficult particular physical activities have become in recent years.  Indeed, a quarter of all those surveyed said they regretted not taking better care of their muscles when they were younger 4.

“It’s never too late for someone over 60 to start thinking how to improve their muscle health, but ideally we should be looking after our muscles from our mid-30s onwards”, says Dr Ellie.

“For all generations, exercise is crucial for creating and maintaining muscle but feeding our muscles through a healthy diet is just as important; and that demands high quality protein, ideally throughout the day. This way we are doing something to slow the decline of muscle mass and to help us maintain a better body, which will not only help us stay active but will also help us feel good about our bodies.”

However, The Good Whey Co. found widespread ignorance about the role of muscle health and protein;  whereas almost half (48%) of 60-75 year olds believe it is important to eat fruit or vegetables to keep their muscles healthy, only a quarter (28%) understood they need protein.  Results for those aged 30 – 49 5 ,while slightly stronger, still showed lack of knowledge: only just over a third (36%) understood the need for protein.

“Our muscles work hard every day and their many fibres are constantly breaking down as a result of natural wear and tear as our limbs stretch, bend and flex, whether that’s through formal exercise or carrying heavy shopping,” explains Dr Ellie. “The body then calls for amino acids to help replenish the muscles in a process called muscle protein synthesis.

“Some amino acids are made by the body itself but others, known as the essential amino acids, must be brought in by consuming protein.  However, not all proteins carry the same quantity of essential amino acids.

“Only high quality sources of protein, such as meat, fish and dairy products, contain enough of the nine essential amino acids required for optimal muscle protein synthesis. For example, whey protein is one of the highest quality sources of protein as it contains an abundance of all nine.”

The need to spread protein throughout the day

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recommends we should consume daily 0.83g of protein per kilogram of body weight – so that’s 58g for a man weighing 70kg and 50g for a woman weighing 60kg 6 . And whilst most people probably do get their daily protein requirement, when it comes to looking after our muscle health specifically, we are not getting the best from it. Our muscles cannot absorb more than around 25g of protein when eaten in one go, which means that to get the full benefit we need to spread our protein intake across the day 7 . But in reality most people don’t consume the majority of their protein until their evening meal. This has two major implications:

1. Our muscles are not getting enough – because we eat too much too late
2. We’re not keeping our muscles in optimum condition – because we’re starving them of protein until the end of the day

But let’s face it our busy lives make it difficult to include high quality, low fat protein across the day. Being vegetarian can make this even harder.

Dr Ellie: “Whey protein is not a food supplement but a source of high quality protein that makes it easy to spread your protein requirements through the day so your muscles get the full benefit.  It shouldn’t replace other high quality sources of protein but can expand your choices, particularly if you need to eat on the go or want a healthier alternative to a carb-laden snack.”

The Good Whey Co. has recently launched its whey protein products, which as a powder can be frothed up with milk or added to smoothies to create a delicious drink.  Good Whey is low fat and rich in all nine essential amino acids required to replenish our muscles. 

Good Whey Original is at least 70% protein and low fat and Good Whey Premium is at least 80% protein and fat free; and they both come in five delicious varieties – Velvety Vanilla, True Banana, Summer Strawberry, Real Chocolate and Natural (for smoothies) – and are available to order online at www.thegoodwhey.com

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS

Consumer Research

1Research was undertaken on behalf of The Good Whey Co. by Manor Marketing in March 2012: 1001 men and women aged 60 to 75 and 1000 men and women aged 30 to 49.

2Loss of mobility was singled out as the second most worrying physical issue older people now face.

3People seem resigned to their lot, putting loss of muscle tone (54%), strength (63%) and mobility (59%) purely down to the ageing process and not something they could have prevented by taking action when they were younger. 

4 24% of people said they regretted not taking better care of their muscles when they were younger.

5Whereas almost half (46%) of 30-49 year olds believed it was important to eat fruit or vegetables to keep their muscles healthy, only a third (36%) thought they needed to eat enough protein.

6 This is the basic amount required daily, but not the optimal.

7 Recent studies on protein intake show that there is a limit to the amount of protein the body, especially the muscles, can process at one time. A 2008 study by Moore et al was the first to show that muscle protein synthesis responds to increasing protein intake in a dose-response manner and reaches a maximal stimulation after the ingestion of 20-25g of high-quality protein, after muscles were stimulated by exercise. So if more protein is consumed in one sitting, such as eating most of the daily needs during the evening meal, when it comes to muscle health, the extra protein will be wasted, or ‘oxidised’, as this study shows. A 2012 study by West et al shows that there are no gender-based differences in muscle protein synthesis responses, when muscles are stimulated by exercise.  These studies are available on request.

The Good Whey Co.

• The Good Whey Co. is part of the Volac Group, a family business based near Cambridge with over 60 years of dairy heritage and over 40 years of expertise in crafting whey protein.

• With 20 servings per pouch, Good Whey Premium (£15.95) and Good Whey Original (£13.95) come in five flavours – Velvety Vanilla, True Banana, Summer Strawberry, Real Chocolate and Natural.

• Good Whey is available online at www.thegoodwhey.com

Julie O’Hare

College Hill

Email: julie.ohare@collegehill.com

Tel: 0121 426 3122

Good Whey Original is at least 70% protein and low fat and Good Whey Premium is at least 80% protein and fat free; and they both come in five delicious varieties – Velvety Vanilla, True Banana, Summer Strawberry, Real Chocolate and Natural (for smoothies) – and are available to order online at www.thegoodwhey.com