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Healthy, (Nutrient) Wealthy and Wise: Diet for Healthy Aging - Research on AgingSports nutrition guidelines for aging bodies -
The human body is in a constant state of flux, with minor tweaks and fixes happening within our cells to sustain life. Throughout life, these changes to our cells, immune system, endocrine system and energy metabolism impact how our bodies function and respond to training.
The immune system is activated when we exercise, which is considered physiological stress on the body. The workload determines the amount of stress and subsequent immune responsiveness. A normal response with immune system activation is inflammation, which has an important role in cell-signaling to stimulate anabolic changes.
For lifelong athletes who perform habitual exercise, the consistent immune system activation delays dysfunction brought about by aging. Additionally, age-related inflammation i.
inflamm-aging is linked to chronically-activated immune cells and impacts cell signaling capacity. Metabolic disregulation is another consequence of aging. The energy systems that oxidize substrates carbohydrates, fatty acids and amino acids to produce adenosine triphosphate ATP, i.
energy change with age, with possible reductions in efficiency. reduced capacity to stimulate muscle protein synthesis impairs skeletal muscle development. Age-related hormonal changes affect performance. Throughout life, hormonal fluctuations occur to allow us to grow, develop, and reproduce.
As we age, secretory patterns and cyclical feedback mechanisms begin to slow. Our natural production of growth hormone declines, which impacts muscle mass and body fat.
Sex hormone synthesis is also reduced in both men and women. Because sex hormones are largely responsible for muscle definition, body fat control and bone health, lower levels contribute to changes in how we respond to training and how we perform.
Although these changes reflect potential obstacles, being a lifelong athlete has its advantages. Maintaining physical fitness — regardless of the level — improves longevity and considerably reduces the risk of developing age-related diseases. A central component of maintaining health and performance is meeting our energy needs based on our training, activity type and duration of activity.
At any age, it is important to take in enough energy to meet energy output. When training intensity declines, so does the requirement to take in as much energy. Calculations for calorie and macronutrient recommendations are not a perfect science. But if you are concerned about ingesting enough energy, you may find these tools useful.
My favorite calculation is referred to as Mifflin-St. I use this calculation because unlike some of the other equations out there, Mifflin-St. Jeor more accurately represents caloric requirements of athletes and incorporates an activity factor. With all nutrition-based calculations, experiment with what works for you and remember that a calculation will not always reflect your needs.
First, calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate BMR; energy expenditure at rest. Second, multiply BMR by an activity factor see table below.
This is your estimated calorie requirement to support health, metabolic functionality and performance. A well-balanced diet is the cornerstone of good health. Consuming adequate carbohydrates, protein and fat, along with a variety of fruits and vegetables, sustains energy levels, mental health, body system functionality and general wellbeing.
Although a balanced diet is essential to long-term health, protein is especially important for the aging athlete. Muscle protein synthesis MPS is normally stimulated in response to protein consumption or exercise.
In older adults, these stimuli are impaired, thereby reducing MPS. Studies have indicated that 40 grams of high-quality protein, such as whey, eggs or pea protein is an optimal dose for anabolic stimulation in older athletes.
Doses of 20 to 30 grams may be more appropriate for younger athletes. I always take a food-first approach when it comes to both macro- and micronutrient requirements. But supplements are great to help support what we often lack in our diets. Oftentimes I suggest key foods to clients to boost a specific nutrient.
If more support is needed, I recommend supplemental nutrient forms. Supplements are especially useful when we age due to reduced nutrient absorption. Make sure you are ingesting enough protein to support MPS. Protein powders both whey and plant-based provide high-quality protein and boost what may be lacking in the diet.
Collagen supplementation can help improve collagen synthesis, which may help reduce risk of injury to connective tissues.
Take these before or during your training or performance sessions. Ingestion can help stimulate MPS and reduce delayed onset muscle soreness DOMS. Eat enough calories and macronutrients.
The term 'Masters Athletes' refers to those who compete in categories over years of age. Different sports have different minimum starting ages, and variable range categories. For example, in cycling master's athletes start at a mere 35 years old, while golf doesn't consider you a master until age 50!
So, check with your preferred sporting body for more details. The changing body of the older athlete often occurs at around 40 years old, and can include cardiovascular, thermoregulatory, musculoskeletal and neurological changes which in turn can impact exercise performance.
Some of the physical changes that occur at an older age include reductions in strength, changes to muscle mass and body fat levels, loss of bone density, and flexibility.
But all is not lost, only if you don't use it will you lose it. So read on Resting metabolic rate decreases each year as you age, mostly due to declines in muscle mass and reduction in exercise duration and intensity.
However, energy requirements for the older athlete will be higher than their inactive counterparts. Getting adequate energy for your training regime is paramount to ensure the best performances are achieved.
In the short term, a deficit in daily energy intake will lead to a loss of some body-fat, however, longer-term deficits will cause loss of important metabolically active muscle mass. Which in turn will reduce your energy needs further and potentially affect athletic performance.
The periodization of nutritional intake can help with meeting energy goals on high activity days by increasing intake and buffering it around training times, and on the flip side, reducing energy intake on rest days.
Remember, your energy budget needs to allow for adequate protein for muscle repair, carbohydrates for glycogen fuel, and all the micronutrients required for optimal health and recovery.
Protein needs in young populations are higher for strength-based athletes than endurance athletes and even less for inactive individuals. Protein needs are also higher for older athletes compared to their inactive counterparts. There is inevitable muscle deterioration as you age, and to alleviate this it is recommended that daily protein intakes should be ~1.
Older athletes may find it difficult to meet these needs due to lower energy demands compared to younger athletes. So, clever meal planning with high quality and regular protein intake, coupled with strength training is a must to maintain muscle mass.
Using dairy foods, nuts, seeds and eggs, as part of meals or as recovery snacks, will help achieve this. Carbohydrate and glycogen functionality is similar in older athletes compared to young athletes.
Glycogen uptake and storage, and usage of insulin may be affected by medical conditions such as diabetes, in older populations, but generally, the carbohydrate recommendations for training and performance are the same for all athletes.
Meeting these targets however, needs to be managed within a lower energy budget; therefore careful meal planning is essential. Having multiple doses throughout the day at regular time intervals is the best method of feeding and maintaining your muscle mass.
You also want to make sure you place your protein at appropriate times to ensure adequate recovery from exercise bouts.
If you are an older adult who is engaging in regular exercise, supplements like protein powder might be common place in your dietary plan. One other supplement that has been shown to have some benefits for older adults is creatine. First we must understand that the muscle stores phosphocreatine and it is a substrate that can quickly and easily be used to provide energy for activity lasting only seconds.
The second is that it is an anabolic stimulant, meaning the higher storage of creatine results in increased muscle protein synthesis and growth. The theory is that the more creatine in the muscle, the harder you can train, thus getting a better workout while getting a larger response of muscle strength and growth.
Proper dosing is needed to elicit results, and there are a few contraindications for using such a supplement. Independent assessment for this supplementation is needed. As we age, nutrition has an essential role to play in our health and wellbeing. Food can help fuel our bodies, keep our muscles strong, maintain our functionality, decrease our risk of chronic medical conditions, and overall help us age gracefully.
For more information about how you can keep your body healthy as you age, speak with a registered dietitian. Stephanie is our Registered Dietitian and sport nutritionist. She graduated with Honours from the University of Guelph with a Bachelors of Applied Science specializing in Applied Human Nutrition.
She then pursued her passion for sport performance nutrition by completing her Masters of Science degree specializing in Exercise, Nutrition and Metabolism at the University of Guelph.
Here she was involved in studies investigating the nutritional adequacy of young hockey players and hydration habits of amateur, varsity and elite athletes to name a few. She then completed her internship at London Health Sciences Centre and is currently working there on the Medicine unit.
She also has experience working with mental health and eating disorders. She also working towards being a Certified Specialist in Sport Dietetics. Stephanie spent most of her childhood in the rink as a competitive figure skater, and later was involved in volleyball, track and cross country.
During her university years she was drawn to lifting and has continued with this ever since. She is currently enjoying learning the art of Olympic weightlifting. Stephanie believes that every food fits in moderation and truly believes that nutrition has a huge impact on our sport performance and health.
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Nutritikn you nutritoin, Child injury prevention might notice changes in your body. Guidelinds than working against it, Pumpkin Seed Seasoning more about these changes and aaging you can do Arthritis exercises for mobility Oxygenation supplements for athletes or improve your Sporrs, fitness, body composition guideoines energy ghidelines. For Sports nutrition guidelines for aging bodies of my clients, weight loss is a goal because as we age, we tend to hold onto more body fat, especially around the midsection. There are physiological reasons why this may happen and the worst thing you can do is under fuel your body. Learn more about how to do this as we review who Masters Athletes are, other symptoms of aging, age-related physiological changes and some solutions to slow down the process of age-related physiological changes and reduce symptoms of aging. We will go over what macronutrients and micronutrients to focus on, as we age and why. Written by: Stephanie Boville MSc, Heart health assessments, Registered Dietitian and Sports Nutritionist. In general, bodifs society Agging becoming more health conscious, which is great! Agig are living longer and want to feel younger as Sports nutrition guidelines for aging bodies age. I often work with aging athletes, and older adults to help provide guidance on how they can use different nutrition strategies to help them reach their goals, whether health or fitness related. Some common issues I find older adults face include recovery, strength and body composition changes. If you are over 50 I encourage you to keep reading! Sarcopenia is the term used to describe the gradual muscle mass loss seen in older adults.
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