Whey protein may help seniors rebuild muscle
New research published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that whey protein help seniors rebuild muscle lost from inactivity associated with illness or hospital stays.
New research published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that whey protein help seniors rebuild muscle lost from inactivity associated with illness or hospital stays. Researchers at McMaster University enrolled older adults (aged 65–80) in a five-week trial where subjects consumed 30 g twice daily of whey protein or collagen protein and experienced two weeks of inactivity with a 500-calorie per day reduction. During a one-week recovery period, subjects returned to normal activity.
The researchers found that muscle protein synthesis and muscle lean mass was significantly greater in the group consuming whey protein, while collagen did not invoke improvements. While they predicted that the collagen protein group would experience a significantly greater muscle loss than the whey protein group, and whey protein would mitigate declines in leg lean muscle mass and maintain muscle protein synthesis, that didn’t happen. Both groups lost the same amount of muscle. However, when participants returned to normal activity, the whey group increased lean muscle mass and muscle protein synthesis, whereas the collagen protein group did not show any improvements.