Protein and healthy ageing: What you need to know if you're over 50

Healthy ageing is the new middle-aged mantra, but where do you start? If you’re over 50, one of the quickest wins in the battle to feeling great and ageing well is to increase your protein intake.

Protein is an essential pro-ageing nutrient; it’s not just for gym junkies. It is vital to combat the serious impacts of ageing.

Protein helps to stop age-related muscle loss and keep bones strong, when combined with exercise. It supports immune function and plays an essential role in maintaining and repairing body tissues and wound healing.

Nutrition scientist Louise Fisher specialises in healthy ageing. She helped Bold Health develop its +50 pro-ageing protein powder and she has recently reviewed the past five years of published scientific research on protein and ageing to determine how much protein you really need to age well.

The science on protein is moving fast. So, we asked Louise Fisher to share the latest insights on the eight most common questions about protein and healthy ageing. Here are her answers:

Does protein help with healthy ageing?

Protein is essential for healthy ageing. It helps keep your bones healthy and most importantly, it helps preserve muscle mass to stay strong.

From as young as 30, you start to lose muscle mass and strength. This decline is barely noticeable at first, but it can accelerate to become a major problem as you get older impacting strength and mobility, increasing the likelihood of falls and even reducing your lifespan.

The good news is you can slow down muscle loss, and even build muscle well into your 90s. Many studies have shown that a higher protein diet, combined with resistance training, is the best way to combat age-related muscle loss and preserve mobility.

If you think of your muscles as a brick wall, the protein makes up the bricks and the resistance exercise is the work to build the wall. You need both to build that muscle.

That’s not the only way protein helps you age well. Every cell in your body contains protein and your body is constantly using protein. Apart from building and maintaining muscles, protein helps repair tissues, forms the antibodies for your immunity system and the blood cells of our circulatory system, makes up many hormones, such as insulin, builds body structures of bones and collagen, and forms the enzymes we need to absorb nutrients from food and use energy.

Why do you need more protein once you turn 50?

The 50s are a good time to reassess your diet because simple changes now can have a big effect on your quality of life. Generally, as you age, you need fewer carbohydrates, because insulin resistance and higher blood glucose levels can become a common problem, while more protein becomes essential for muscle health, bone health and general wellbeing.Protein is made up of amino acids. As you get older, your body needs more amino acids to maintain, repair and build muscle. It also becomes less effective at using the amino acids. This is called anabolic resistance.

As an example, one study revealed men in their 20s could build muscle with 20g of protein, while men in their 70s needed 40g of protein.

Women, especially, need to prioritise protein for optimal bone health, because the drop in oestrogen with menopause increases the risk of developing osteoporosis. As you build and move your muscles, muscle contractions stimulate bone rebuilding. This helps maintain your bone density and reduce the risk of fractures. Stronger muscles help build stronger bones. Higher protein intakes are associated with a lower risk of hip fractures in older adults. 

How much protein do you need for healthy ageing?

The latest science, combined with newer methods of assessing protein needs, show most healthy adults over 50 should consume at least 1g-1.2g of protein for each kilo they weigh, to help maintain muscle mass and age well.

The formula is the same, whether you’re male or female. So, as an example a 70kg woman should aim for at least 70-84g of protein a day, and at least 90-108g of protein a day for a 90kg man. If you are doing strength training, as recommended, or other strenuous physical activity, you’ll need even more protein. I recommend at least an extra 20-30g of protein to help with muscle recovery on training days. 

The other group that needs higher protein intakes are people who might have a poor diet or those recovering from surgery or illness.

What are the signs that you’re not getting enough protein?

The early warning signs that you are not getting enough protein can be hard to spot. It could be that you are picking up more colds and viruses than normal, or that scratches do not heal as quickly.

Sometimes that muscle weakness can show up in little things, for example it’s harder to open jars because of a small drop in grip strength. If you’re not getting enough protein, your body prioritises protein use for functions that keep you alive, such as repairing tissues, maintaining immunity, making new blood cells, hormones and enzymes.

Building and maintaining muscle becomes a lower priority. On average most Australians do eat enough protein, but for some groups that’s not the case. People over 50 are at real risk of not getting enough protein to thrive.

When is the best time to consume protein for healthy ageing?

It may be best to spread your protein intake across the day, getting at least 20-30 g at main meals. Some studies indicate you absorb protein better this way, rather than relying on one high protein meal. In practice, it makes reaching your protein targets much more achievable.

In my experience, people often miss protein at breakfast, especially if they just have a coffee or tea and toast or a piece of fruit to start the day. For something quick and easy, I’d suggest Greek yoghurt topped with nuts and fruit or high protein cereal with high protein milk.

If you find it hard to eat first thing in the morning, or need something on the go, a protein shake is a great option.If you have been exercising, aim to get that extra 20-30g of protein soon afterwards. Again, a protein shake is often the easiest way to do this.

What are the best sources of protein for people over 50?

To age well, you need to choose the right sources of protein. It’s not just a matter of eating more sausages, bacon or a bigger steak. To help manage risk factors for heart disease such as cholesterol, it is important to have most of your protein from foods that are low in saturated fats.

This means focusing on plant protein and lean animal sources, including lean meat, chicken, fish, legumes (dried and tinned beans, lentils), plant protein powders, tofu, nuts and seeds, reduced fat dairy, and eggs.

What’s the best protein powder for people over 50?

Look for a protein powder that is low in sugar and has added vitamins and minerals, because, as you get older, you need to make every mouthful count. It’s also a better bang for your buck.

On my checklist are vitamin B12, vitamin D, calcium, folate and magnesium. These essential nutrients also support healthy ageing by helping to maintain muscle, bone, and heart health, as well as fight fatigue.

Tip: To avoid that bloated feeling you can sometimes get after drinking a protein shake, choose a protein powder that is lactose-free. Some people find blends with prebiotic fibres and digestive enzymes also help.

Why is eating more protein important if you’re dieting?

When you lose weight, you also generally lose some muscle mass as well. And the greater the rate of weight loss, the greater the loss of lean muscle.

Maintaining protein intakes and resistance training, while trying to lose weight, is important to keep your strength, but not all weight loss methods make it easy to get enough protein.

Intermittent fasting often involves people regularly skipping a meal. If poorly planned, this can lead to a shortfall in protein intake. With the increase in use of GLP-1 agonist drugs, such as Ozempic or Wegovy, for weight loss, we’re also starting to see nutritionists suggest that people prioritise protein intake to reduce the risk of sarcopenia, severe muscle and strength loss.

Using a protein shake that is low in sugar and contains additional vitamins and minerals is a convenient way to get the nutrients you need and minimise muscle loss.

Louise Fisher is a highly qualified nutrition scientist with more than 10 years of experience as a clinical dietitian. Her key areas of expertise are healthy aging, diet, and exercise.

Image credits: Supplied