Does Increasing Protein Intake Slow Age-Related Muscle Mass Loss?

The Nugget

Increased protein intake has little to no effect on slowing age-related muscle mass loss in non-frail and even frail older adults, with resistance exercise being the only consistent method to improve muscle function and mass.

Make it stick

🍗 The recommended daily allowance for protein is about 0.8g/kg of body weight, sufficient for maintaining lean body mass in the elderly.
🏋️‍♂️ Resistance exercise consistently shows benefits for muscle mass and function but adding protein supplements doesn't significantly enhance results.
🚫 Nutrition shakes like Ensure® offer no major benefits in terms of muscle mass or strength for frail adults.
🔍 Research has shown that protein supplements may increase lean mass, but often this is just due to water retention, not actual muscle growth.

Population studies link higher protein intake to greater lean body mass, but correlation does not imply causation.
A Harvard study found no significant differences in muscle mass or strength when older adults increased protein from 0.8g/kg to 1.3g/kg per day.
Excess protein may lead to increased visceral organ size or water retention, not necessarily muscle growth.

A range of studies indicated that adding protein supplements to an exercise regime provided only marginal benefits to muscle mass in older adults.
Specifically, studies focusing on older individuals (70+) found no added benefits of protein supplementation alongside resistance training.
Analysis of frail individuals revealed that common protein shakes showed no discernable benefits in muscle mass or strength improvement.

Large randomized trials, including those involving whey protein, consistently showed no significant advantages when compared to placebos.
Systematic reviews highlighted that there are no substantial gains in muscle mass or function from protein supplementation among sarcopenic adults.
Consumer Reports indicated that most protein powders tested are contaminated with heavy metals, questioning their health benefits.

"The recommended dietary allowance of 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight is sufficient to maintain lean body mass even in old age."
"Resistance exercise is the only method consistently showing benefits for improving muscle mass and function in older adults."
"Protein supplementation may increase lean mass, but it could just reflect water retention or organ size increase."
"There was no added benefit to frail or pre-frail individuals taking protein supplements compared to a corn starch placebo."
"You don’t need the extra protein or the heavy metals our tests found."

This summary contains AI-generated information and may have important inaccuracies or omissions.