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Why Aging Muscles Could Be Aging Your Brain Faster
Why Aging Muscles Could Be Aging Your Brain Faster
Loss of muscle mass and strength begins as early as age 40 and intensifies after age 75. It's an aspect of aging most people accept as inevitable. Trouble is, weak muscles can lead to mobility problems, falls, and frailty. Even more alarming, they're linked to Alzheimer's.
One large study found those with the weakest muscle strength had more than double the risk of Alzheimer's compared to the strongest.
So while aging can't be prevented, to keep dementia and other health risks down, we need to take actions to help maintain muscle strength.
I’m going to suggest two. One of them is easy; the other takes some effort.
Stronger Muscles = Better Cognition
The method that requires work is targeted exercise to strengthen certain muscle groups. Last year, Finnish researchers enrolled 338 men and women with an average age of 66. They measured the participants’ muscle strength and put them through a battery of cognitive tests. The research team found that greater upper- and lower-body strength was associated with better cognition. They believe almost everyone can use simple techniques to increase muscle strength and mass, and that these are effective when done consistently.
In the study, the volunteers had their strength measured during leg extensions, leg flexions, and leg presses. Upper-body exercises included chest presses and seated rows.
If you are unfamiliar with these terms, search for them on Google, Bing, or another search engine, and you will find videos demonstrating how to carry them out. A few require equipment, but there are usually substitutes that target the same muscle groups without a special apparatus.
If you're older and haven't been as active as you'd like, don't worry. You can easily get started on strengthening the legs and back with two short, helpful videos from Dartmouth-Hitchcock, a nonprofit academic health system.
These are simple, low-risk seated and standing exercises for older adults. You can do them at home. While experts strongly advise us to work the muscles, researchers at McGill University say your diet can make a big difference.
Increasing Protein for Breakfast
The McGill researchers analyzed three years of food consumption and muscle strength data collected from 1,741 healthy men and women aged 67 to 84. In particular, they were interested in protein intake because it helps build muscle.
Since most seniors get most of their protein at lunch and dinner, the research team wanted to know whether those who consume a high level of protein at breakfast and therefore spread their intake evenly throughout the day would have greater muscle strength.
They found this was indeed the case.
Protein distribution across the three main daily meals was associated with greater muscle strength.
Lead study author Dr. Stéphanie Chevalier is a scientist at McGill's Research Institute and assistant professor at the School of Human Nutrition.
She said, "Our research is based on scientific evidence demonstrating that older people need to consume more protein per meal because they need a greater boost of amino acids for protein synthesis."
For those who don't usually eat much protein for breakfast, good sources include eggs, milk, yogurt (Greek yogurt is highest), nuts, and seeds (almonds and pumpkin seeds top the list).
If you choose to strengthen your muscles through exercise, it's a good idea to follow Dr. Chevalier's advice on breakfast protein, as more may be needed for muscle growth.
I’m also going to venture an opinion of my own: The first of these recommendations – simple at-home exercise – is probably more useful for building up muscles than tweaking your breakfast habits.
Meet
The Expert:
The Expert:
Carl Lowe has decades of experience writing about health and nutrition for many publications, including Prevention Magazine and Self Magazine (where he served as the food and nutrition editor). He has authored and edited over 10 books about natural health, nutrition, and other subjects. He edited The Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons Complete Home Medical Guide and was the nutrition editor for a Time-Life book series on health and nutrition. As a musician, he played viola with the Yale Symphony and bass with the Tommy Dorsey Band, and he has appeared on national TV.