Quote:
Originally Posted by rubicon
Villages PL: Many narratives are circulating that meat protein is essential especially for people over the age of 65.
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rubicon, I found the Daily Sun article about high-protein diets for the elderly. It was published on March 9, 2014. The heading was: "High-protein diets: Bad for the middle-aged, good for the elderly" The sub-heading was "Study: High protein diet in those 66 and older likely to live longer". But the article never said how much longer they would live, on average, and it never quantified the amount of protein. In that regard the heading conflicted with the actual information in the body of the article.
The lead author of the study, Valter Longo, said the following: Among the older subjects, the source of proteins was less important. The important thing is that
"those entering a period of frailty" take in more protein to reduce "their loss of weight and muscle mass."
My problem is with a lack of specifics in the article. The information seems to suggest that the subjects were suffering from protein deficiency, but the amount of protein was not quantified.
When I did an on-line search on how to calculate one's protein requirement, I found the following formula:
Body weight in lbs. X 0.4 = number of protein grams per day. And about 1/3 more protein is needed when the source is plant-based.
The study was about "those entering a period of frailty." So you have to imaging that they are not getting much exercise, if any. Under those conditions the most that one can hope for is to "reduce [the] loss of weight and muscle mass." Protein by itself is not going to build lean muscle.
The article mentioned that plant-based nutrients have important protective effects. So, to the extent that someone over consumes animal protein, they will be displacing the all important plant-based nutrients.
It seems that at some point nature may box a person in. If the person is frail and doesn't get much exercise, they're unlikely to have a good appetite. So if they're only eating a very small volume of food, they will likely do better with a more concentrated source of protein, like eggs, chicken or fish. (The calculation method I provided above should do it.)
All of this assumes that the frail elderly don't like beans etc. and won't eat them in any significant quantities. So one would just do the next best thing under the circumstances.