Revelation from Olympic medals! Sarcopenia cannot be ignored

Weightlifting is one of the few sports in Taiwan where we are confident of winning an Olympic medal. After the excitement of the Olympics, I wonder if the daily lives of the spectators have changed in any way?

When we enter middle age and old age, we have to face the cruel fact of physical aging; the ability of cells in the body to synthesize protein decreases, body fat increases, muscle mass decreases, maximum muscle strength decreases, and bone density decreases. Have you ever thought about what kind of patients spend the longest time in bed? These long-term bedridden patients have common characteristics: they have very little muscle mass, muscle atrophy, decreased muscle strength, and they even need help from their family members to get out of bed! This is the neglected disease, Sarcopenia .

Sarcopenia, as the name suggests, is the loss of muscle, which is the same as frailty. Sarcopenia and osteoporosis are even more closely related! We all know that falls may cause fractures, and one of the risk factors for falls is sarcopenia, especially the decline in lower limb muscle mass and strength. How is sarcopenia diagnosed? We can refer to The European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP), which uses three factors to evaluate: muscle mass, muscle strength, and physical performance!

After diagnosing sarcopenia, we need to find out the cause; after excluding some potential medical diseases (such as endocrine diseases, cancer, etc.), in short, in addition to aging, there are also malnutrition and lack of activity. We cannot change aging, but we can work on nutritional supplements and self-training! The Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States points out that people over 70 years old need to consume more than 0.8 grams per kilogram of protein per day; the European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN) recommends that sick elderly people should consume 1 to 1.5 grams per kilogram of protein. In addition, vitamin D supplementation can not only improve osteoporosis, but also help with sarcopenia!

In terms of exercise, it is recommended to perform resistance exercises to improve muscle strength. Whether it is freehand training, barbells, kettlebells, dumbbells or mechanical weight training equipment, they are all good choices. Many girls worry that weight training will make their arms or thighs thicker. This concept is actually questionable because girls have much lower testosterone levels than boys. Appropriate weight training will actually reduce body fat percentage and increase muscle lines. A good training menu will give you an impressive back and butt! Besides, even supermodel Kate Upton and a 91-year-old grandmother are working so hard, so what excuses do you have? !

Medically, if they meet the medical indications, some people will use drugs such as testosterone, anabolic steroids, growth hormone (hGH), selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs) and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) to improve sarcopenia; but remember that drugs are not a panacea, and sufficient nutritional supplements and muscle strength training are still needed to be the right concept (natural is better!).

Conclusion: If you want to fight aging, you must not ignore sarcopenia! Only adequate nutrition and training can slow down the aging of the body; I choose to stand with strength , what about you?

This article comes from: Ye Junyuan's Healthy Factory

※For more information, please visit Dr. Yeh Jun-kwan’s blog