Stay Strong For Life

By Carol Harrison, RD

How Exercise And Diet Help Prevent Muscle Loss

For a good part of our adult lives, we don’t need to think about our muscles. That makes sense—in our 20s and 30s, using them feels effortless. But, as early as our 30s and 40s, our muscle mass starts to decrease. This happens gradually, so slowly that we don’t notice it. Eventually, though, we do notice, when everyday tasks like lifting grocery bags and moving furniture take more exertion than they used to. Maybe we even grunt or groan as we move, and then we wonder, When did I start doing that?

There’s a name for what’s happening: sarcopenia. That’s the term for age-related muscle loss and loss of skeletal muscle function, including strength.¹ And it happens earlier and faster than you might think: after age 30, healthy adults lose 3% to 8% of muscle mass per decade, and the decline is even greater after age 60.²

What causes age-related muscle loss?

We don’t know for sure what causes sarcopenia, but factors may include a sedentary lifestyle, nutritional deficiencies, lower hormone levels and the body producing fewer proteins.³ Obesity, chronic diseases and insulin resistance are possible risk factors for sarcopenia.⁴

We’re all accustomed to seeing older adults who aren’t as strong and fit as they were in middle age or early adulthood, so muscle loss may seem like a natural part of aging. But, if left unchecked, sarcopenia can have a serious impact on our health and quality of life. As our muscles atrophy (degenerate) over time, the symptoms can include⁵:

• Muscle weakness
• Reduced stamina
• Difficulty doing daily activities
• Walking slowly
• Poor balance
• Falls
• Difficulty climbing stairs

Because sarcopenia increases our likelihood of falling and getting injured, it’s one of the biggest contributors to disability in older adults.⁶

How can we prevent sarcopenia?

We can’t entirely halt sarcopenia, but there are many things we can do to slow it down. Not surprisingly, strength training is one of them. Adults who don’t do regular strength training can lose four to six pounds of muscle per decade, according to Harvard Medical School.⁷

According to the 24-Hour Movement Guidelines from the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology, adults should do muscle-strengthening activities using major muscle groups at least twice a week.

In Canada, we’re fortunate to have access to high quality protein-rich foods—grown right here at home—that make delicious meals, like the ones featured below. Each meal has at least 25 grams of protein.

The other key to mitigating sarcopenia? Eating a protein-rich diet. You might be surprised to hear that most Canadians do not consume too much protein. An adult’s acceptable range of protein intake is 10% to 35% of total daily calories a day, according to the Institute of Medicine.⁸ The most recent Government of Canada nutrition survey found that adults are at the lower end of this range, at 17% of calories from protein.⁹ In fact, experts say that Canadians would benefit from increasing protein intake (to 25-30 grams of protein per meal). ¹⁰

• Breakfast: ¾ cup cooked oatmeal (5 g) + 1 hard-cooked egg (6 g) + smoothie with ¼ cup silken tofu (3 g) + ½ cup blueberries (1 g) and 1 cup milk (9 g) + 1 tbsp almond butter (3 g)
• Lunch: 100 g grilled beef strips (35 g) + 1 cup stir-fry veggies (3 g) + ½ cup cooked barley (2 g)
• Dinner: 100 g baked trout (27 g) + 1 cup roasted mixed veggies (3 g) + ½ cup cooked quinoa (4 g) + ¼ cup cooked lentils (4 g)

These meal examples show how easy it can be to get enough protein from food alone, without supplements. Counting grams of protein all the time is not very practical. An easy way to ensure you get enough protein is to have a mix of plant and animal sourced protein foods at most meals.

Check put these protein packed ideas for breakfast, lunch and supper:

References

1. Cruz-Jentoft AJ, Bahat G, Bauer J et al. Sarcopenia: revised European consensus on definition and diagnosis. Age Ageing. 2019 Jan 1;48(1):16–31. doi: 10.1093/ageing/afy169. Erratum in: Age Ageing. 2019 Jul 1;48(4):601. PMID: 30312372; PMCID: PMC6322506. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6322506/ ↩︎
2. Volpi E, Nazemi R, Fujita S. Muscle tissue changes with aging. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2004 Jul;7(4):405–10. doi: 10.1097/01.mco.0000134362.76653.b2. PMID: 15192443; PMCID: PMC2804956. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2804956/ ↩︎
3. Sayer AA, Cruz-Jentoft A. Sarcopenia definition, diagnosis and treatment: consensus is growing. Age Ageing. 2022 Oct 6;51(10):afac220. doi: 10.1093/ageing/afac220. PMID: 36273495; PMCID: PMC9588427. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9588427/ ↩︎
4. Cleveland Clinic. Sarcopenia. 2022. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/23167-sarcopenia ↩︎
5. Cleveland Clinic. Sarcopenia. 2022. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/23167-sarcopenia ↩︎
6. Volpi E, Nazemi R, Fujita S. Muscle tissue changes with aging. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2004 Jul;7(4):405–10. doi: 10.1097/01.mco.0000134362.76653.b2. PMID: 15192443; PMCID: PMC2804956. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2804956/ ↩︎
7. “Age and Muscle Loss.” Harvard Health Publishing. February 14, 2023. https://www.health.harvard.edu/exercise-and-fitness/age-and-muscle-loss. ↩︎
8. Institute of Medicine. 2005. Dietary reference intakes for energy, carbohydrate, fiber, fat, fatty acids, cholesterol, protein, and amino acids. National Academy Press. ↩︎
9. 2015 Canadian Community Health Survey – Nutrition: Nutrient intakes from food and nutritional supplements. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/170620/dq170620b-eng.htm. ↩︎
10. Phillips, S.M., Chevalier, S., and Leidy, H.J. 2016. Protein “requirements” beyond the RDA: implications for optimizing health. Appl. Physiol. Nutr. Metab. 41(5): 565–72. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26960445/ ↩︎