PROTEIN: How much do you need as you age?
Do you need more protein as you age?
Let's keep this simple.
Older you are, the more protein you need. It will help keep your muscles ...there, and help keep your bones more dense.
Research also show's that people begin to lose .5 to 2% of muscle mass per year after the age of 50! (*1,*2,*3)
Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA's) state that every person (*sedentary) needs .36g per pound. This number was developed as a way to prevent malnutrition. It is the very bottom end of what we need.
Ex: 165lb person = 59.4 g per day.
The (US) Institute of Medicine states that up to 35% of your diet can be Protein and still be considered a safe amount.
What does this look like? (From Precision Nutrition)
"Say you’re 74.8 kg (165 lb) and reasonably active. You need about 2,475 calories per day to maintain your weight.
If you get 35 percent of your total energy intake from protein, you’d be eating about 866 calories from protein each day.
1 gram of protein has 4 calories. So 866 calories is around 217 grams of protein per day.
That’s about 1.3 grams per pound of body weight, or 2.9 g/kg." (*4)
As you age recommendation - 1g per pound of Body Weight for 50 years or older. 165 lbs = 165g protein/day.
**Assuming you have no medical issues. Kidney or Liver problems. Etc. We are not Doctors, this is pulled from the research listed below.
This is also a great starting point for all athletes or active individuals.
If you have no idea how much protein you are already eating, a very very rough estimate is every ounce of meat is 6g or protein. Some more, some less.
If you have no way to measure, begin with making sure each meal has a piece of meat the same size and thickness of your palm. You need that at least 3x per day. 4 times would be better.
Optimal sources of Protein (variety is beneficial):
- Lean Red meat
- Chicken
- Seafood
- Turkey
- Lamb and Pork
- Eggs
- Nuts and Seeds
- Tofu
- Peanut Butter
Protein is the essential building block of so many things. Plus, it keeps you full longer.
Plan your meals around what the protein will be.
Then move to getting 5 handfuls of veggies each day.
Eat slower till your 80% full.
Coach Ryan
Sources:
1. Buford TW, Anton SD, Judge AR, et al. Models of accelerated sarcopenia: critical pieces for solving the puzzle of age-related muscle atrophy. Ageing Res Rev. 2010;9(4):369-383.
2. Nair KS. Aging muscle. Am J Clin Nutr. 2005;81(5):953-963.
3. Mitchell WK, Williams J, Atherton P, Larvin M, Lund J, Narici M. Sarcopenia, dynapenia, and the impact of advancing age on human skeletal muscle size and strength; a quantitative review. Front Physiol. 2012;(3):260.
#4 is also an excellent breakdown of all things Protein.
