Building muscle mass is not a piece of cake. It requires proper diet, exercise, and supplementation- the three keys to make muscle growth happen.
Maintaining muscle is harder as we age. Usually, people start losing muscle around the age of and above 30. Physically inactive
people are more at risk of muscle loss. They can experience a 3 to 8% loss
of lean muscle mass. The most common reason for this drop in muscle growth is lower
testosterone levels in men and lower estrogen levels in women both hormones
that help in building muscles. Add to that, the changes in nerve and blood
cells and how protein gets converted into muscle tissue, are also important factors.
All in all muscle loss is inevitable for
elderly people, and the easiest solution is to consume the best protein for muscle growth.
Must Read: BODYBUILDING PROTEIN BARS: SUPERB TASTE, SUPERB RESULTS
THE FOUR ELEMENTS FOR MUSCLE
BUILDING AVAILABLE IN ONE PROTEIN SUPPLEMENT
There are four elements for
muscle growth, increased diet, more protein, carb, and fat consumption. For
your eases, all these elements can be fulfilled with just one supplement- the best protein for muscle growth. Let’s
dive into the four elements then.
Eat More, Not Less
The first tip for muscle growth is to eat more, not
less. It’s a false assumption, a misconception that eating more will just make
you fat. No, eating junk will make you fat, eating healthy in good quantity
will help in muscle growth. When you try to build muscles, do not make the
mistake of restricting caloric intake from a particular type of nutrient
or restrict total calories at all. Muscle
is the reservoir, the fuel to which your body will turn when your calories
are low. So, eat plenty in order to sustain muscle growth. Starving yourself
will only decrease fat stores, and weaken the body.
Elderly people who are up for exercising should
take more food for having a calorie surplus. They should maintain a proper requisite
of proteins, carbs, and fats, and eventually, their body composition will
improve over time.
Eat More Protein
The next tip is to consume the best protein for muscle growth. Dietary protein supplements offer the
body all the essential amino acids for building new muscle tissue. Protein
supplements are available in the form of tablets, powders, and bars. As the
design of muscle building, and the capacity of manufacturing muscle changes in elderly people, so does the need for protein. Since elderly people are mostly
sedentary, they need a minimum of 0.36 grams of protein per pound of body weight. It
can be increased to 0.55 to 0.77 grams of protein per pound, depending upon how
much muscle growth do you need.
Eat More Carbs
Dietary carbohydrates are crucial for muscle
growth. They provide the body with energy to carry out tough workouts.
Carbohydrates also replenish the energy stored in the muscles in the form
of glycogen.
Eat More Fat
The fourth element is fat, healthy fat of course.
You need to maintain an appropriate amount of healthy fats so as to
boost metabolism and maintain hormonal function. A low-fat or no-fat diet becomes
a hurdle in muscle growth.
WHAT DOES PROTEIN OFFER TO OUR MUSCLES
The best protein for muscle growth has all
the above four elements in it: fats, carb, protein, and a fulfilling diet. Protein
powder is seen as a superb nutritional supplement.
Protein, as is known
is the largest of all macronutrients. Being the building block of the human
body, protein builds muscle, repairs tissue, and makes enzymes and hormones. Consumption
of protein supplements balances your weight, and tone your muscles. Protein
supplements are both dairy-based and plant-based. Below is a list of the perks
of the best protein for muscle growth:
In context to muscle building, protein is
significant. Protein makes up around 10 to 35% of total calories for
adults. The people who are building muscles with physical activity especially
benefit from protein supplements, since it gives them a calorie surplus. Your aim
should be for three servings of low-fat or fat-free dairy and three
ounce-equivalents of protein foods each day. This will provide a quality dose of
protein to help you reach your muscle growth goal. Do eat grains, especially
whole grains, as they provide protein.
Carbohydrates
The best
protein for muscle growth offers a good amount of carbohydrates, which is important
for fuelling your muscles. The reason is that carbs are partially converted to glycogen,
which then leads to more energy stored in muscles. The energy helps to power your
daily activities. Men and women need to source at least half of their calories
from carbohydrates per day. Apart from protein supplementation, you can good
quality carbohydrates food that provides dietary fiber, for instance, whole-grain
bread and cereals. A lot of dairy products such as milk and yogurt, also
provide carbohydrates. Just go for low-fat or fat-free dairy foods and
beverages so as to limit the sources of saturated fat. Fruits and vegetables are
undoubtedly good options. Also, limit your meals and snacks plus avoid taking
junk foods. Make sure not to take foods high in dietary fiber immediately
before or during physical activity.
Fat
The best protein for muscle growth offers fat, healthy fat. In case you don’t know,
our body relies on fat for the sake of supplying energy to muscles during some
types of activity. However, the need for fat constituency varies from person to
person, and age to age. As a general rule, fat should constitute up to 20 to 35%
of your total calories.
For the overall good health and muscle
strength, try to take heart-healthy
fats, because the heart is the most important muscle of the human body. You
should also include vegetable oils, like olive oil and canola oil, and avocados
in your daily diet.
Recovery
The best protein for muscle growth contributes to muscle recovery after heavy activity. Protein supplementation not only helps to increase muscle
mass but also repair damaged muscles and tissues. In fact, taking up protein
shakes is preferable as it speeds up the recovery from muscle soreness after
exercise.
Many studies have concluded that taking
up protein supplements after a tiring activity will aid recovery in elderly
people, reduce muscle damage and improve muscle performance and muscle protein
synthesis.
Added nutrition
Lastly, the best protein supplements
for muscle growth are wholesome in nature. They offer added nutrition in terms
of amino acids, macro and micronutrients, vitamins, and digestive enzymes.
Since elderly people find it challenging to meet normal nutrient amounts, hence
it is a must for them to take protein supplementation.
Protein will also combat the risk of
chronic diseases in elderly people in addition to muscle growth.