The title of the study that led to this article is "Mechanisms by which Calorie Restriction Delays the Onset of Sarcopenia," which I think is somewhat inaccurate. Calorie Restriction is very good at extending the lives of short-lived species, but not so good for long-lived species like us. Still, it's a good thing, so don't overeat!
The study (https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.103987) shows that Calorie Restriction slows down the onset of sarcopenia, which is the rapid loss of muscle with aging, and that sarcopenia leads to many different ways to get sick and die.
People's muscle mass decreases by about 1.5% a year after the age of 50, and by 2.5% to 3.0% a year after the age of 60. The rate of sarcopenia in people over the age of 80 is as high as 50%.
There are a lot of studies that show that if you lose 10% of your muscle mass, your immune system gets weaker and your risk of getting sick goes up. A 20% drop in muscle mass causes muscle weakness, a reduced ability to do everyday tasks, and a greater risk of falling. A 30% loss of muscle mass leads to disability, loss of independence, and problems with wound and pressure ulcer healing. A 40% drop in muscle mass increases the risk of death from pneumonia, respiratory problems, and more. In addition, muscle is a place where proteins are stored and where glycolipids are broken down.
Nearly 80% of the body's glucose is used by muscle, and its resting metabolic rate accounts for 30% of the body's resting metabolic rate.
It's common for older people to have less cross-sectional area in their muscles, as well as less strength and function in their muscles. A lot of people who have done clinical studies say that the lower limbs have lost more muscle mass than the upper limbs. A lot of people use gait speed or the short physical performance battery (SPPB) to figure out how well their muscles are working. Muscle strength tends to get weaker as we get older, which shows up in things like less grip strength and knee extension, weaker hip joint bending, slower pace, and longer time to maximal muscle contraction compared to young people.
Muscle stem cells (MuSCs), which play an important role in muscle cell regeneration, also have fewer of them and can't grow or change into new muscle cells. The number of MuSCs in old mice is 50% less than in young mice.
If calorie restriction slows down muscle loss, so does weight training. But weight training also reverses muscle loss at any age. Many studies have been done over the last 50 years to show that resistance training can help people of all ages build muscle, even if they have other health problems or are already in poor health. The study explains how calorie restriction affects a number of metabolic pathways, all of which have a positive effect on quality of life at all stages of aging. It also raises questions about what is the best way to do calorie restriction for humans. There are many metabolic functions that can help us live longer, and reading about the effects of calorie restriction on them is worth the time.
Saracophenia is a common sign that people are getting weaker as they get older because they lose muscle mass and strength. Humans have struggled for a long time to both slow down and encourage healthy aging. The protective effects of calorie restriction on sarcopenia can be seen in better protein quality, stronger muscles, and better muscle function. These effects may be achieved by reducing oxidative stress, improving mitochondrial function, easing inflammation, preventing apoptosis, and activating autophagy, among other things.
Even so, the relationships between calorie restriction and things like gender, age group, animal strain, regimen length, and energy intake level aren't easy to figure out. Trying to figure out when and how to use calorie restriction to prevent sarcopenia in humans, especially in older people, is difficult because calorie restriction makes people lose more weight in older people. For this reason, more research on calorie restriction and sarcopenia is very important for people who are getting older. ”
I eat breakfast at about 10 AM and finish dinner at about 7 PM. This is a form of calorie restriction that I have used in my eating habits. I might eat lunch around 2 PM, or I might not. I don't eat anything between meals. I take supplements to make sure I get all the nutrients I need for complete nutrition, no matter how many calories I eat. I eat a lot of fat and protein to keep my muscles working well and my fat stores low. At age 61, I have a lot of muscle mass, and I can push and pull some very heavy things. So, by all means, learn how to eat a little less to get the benefits of calorie restriction.
But for the best way to improve your muscle function at any age, start a resistance training lifestyle and never stop.
