Dr. Rhonda Patrick

So this means a few things.

The first is that if you're older, you need a higher total daily protein intake to maintain or increase muscle mass.

It also means that you need a higher dose of protein at each meal to stimulate muscle protein synthesis.

But anabolic resistance is not inevitable or only due to aging, as some might suggest.

In fact, physical inactivity may actually be the biggest contributor.

Reducing physical activity worsens anabolic resistance.

For example, taking fewer steps for just two weeks causes anabolic resistance in older adults.

and reduces their insulin sensitivity.

Imagine what decades of inactivity can do.

That's the bad news.

But the good news is that exercise makes muscle more sensitive to protein and essentially negates anabolic resistance.

When older adults exercise before protein intake, their muscle anabolic response is identical to that of a younger adult.

So how do I interpret this?

Active older adults probably don't experience as much anabolic resistance

as inactive people, and therefore it might not be such an issue for people that are physically active.

The most effective way to combat anabolic resistance as we age is through regular physical activity combined with a higher daily protein intake, ideally around 1.6 grams per kilogram body weight.

We do not have to be frail and old age.

We can build muscle into our 40s, 50s, 60s, and even our 70s and beyond.

and we can definitely increase muscle strength and power output at this age.

In one study that recruited adults aged 90 years and older, eight weeks of high intensity strength training produced a 174% increase in muscle strength.