Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2016 May 14;8(5):295.
doi: 10.3390/nu8050295.

Protein Intake and Muscle Health in Old Age: From Biological Plausibility to Clinical Evidence

Francesco Landi  1 , Riccardo Calvani  2 , Matteo Tosato  3 , Anna Maria Martone  4 , Elena Ortolani  5 , Giulia Savera  6 , Emanuela D'Angelo  7 , Alex Sisto  8 , Emanuele Marzetti  9
Affiliations
Review

Protein Intake and Muscle Health in Old Age: From Biological Plausibility to Clinical Evidence

Francesco Landi et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

The provision of sufficient amounts of dietary proteins is central to muscle health as it ensures the supply of essential amino acids and stimulates protein synthesis. Older persons, in particular, are at high risk of insufficient protein ingestion. Furthermore, the current recommended dietary allowance for protein (0.8 g/kg/day) might be inadequate for maintaining muscle health in older adults, probably as a consequence of "anabolic resistance" in aged muscle. Older individuals therefore need to ingest a greater quantity of protein to maintain muscle function. The quality of protein ingested is also essential to promoting muscle health. Given the role of leucine as the master dietary regulator of muscle protein turnover, the ingestion of protein sources enriched with this essential amino acid, or its metabolite β-hydroxy β-methylbutyrate, is thought to offer the greatest benefit in terms of preservation of muscle mass and function in old age.

Keywords: amino acid; anorexia; frailty; leucine; malnutrition; sarcopenia; supplementation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Alterations in protein homeostasis during aging and related clinical outcomes.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Wolfe R.R., Miller S.L. The recommended dietary allowance of protein: A misunderstood concept. JAMA. 2008;299:2891–2893. doi: 10.1001/jama.299.24.2891. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Milne A.C., Potter J., Vivanti A., Avenell A. Protein and energy supplementation in elderly people at risk from malnutrition. Cochrane Database Syst. Rev. 2009 doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD003288.pub3. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Botella-Carretero J.I., Iglesias B., Balsa J.A., Arrieta F., Zamarrón I., Vázquez C. Perioperative oral nutritional supplements in normally or mildly undernourished geriatric patients submitted to surgery for hip fracture: A randomized clinical trial. Clin. Nutr. 2010;29:574–579. doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2010.01.012. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Schürch M.A., Rizzoli R., Slosman D., Vadas L., Vergnaud P., Bonjour J.P. Protein supplements increase serum insulin-like growth factor-I levels and attenuate proximal femur bone loss in patients with recent hip fracture. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Ann. Intern. Med. 1998;128:801–819. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-128-10-199805150-00002. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Tengstrand B., Cederholm T., Söderqvist A., Tidermark J. Effects of protein-rich supplementation and nandrolone on bone tissue after a hip fracture. Clin. Nutr. 2007;26:460–465. doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2007.03.007. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources