Can age-related muscle loss be reversed?
July 6, 2009
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One aspect of aging is loss of strength and the amount of muscle that we have. In our late 20’s we start to lose muscle.
The age-related loss of muscle is called sarcopenia. This loss of muscle is slow at first, but then from the 40’, there is a more rapid loss of muscle. For more information see the post Dieters Lose Muscle If Not Exercising.
Sarcopenia can lead to problems for the elderly. Having weak muscles particularly in the legs can lead to a fall and that characteristic shuffling gait. With weak leg muscles, the feet are not lifted far enough off the ground. This increases the tendency to trip and fall since the feet can catch more easily. The fear of falling causes the gaze to be down, rather than ahead when walking, which besides reducing anticipation of problems ahead, makes you look old.
Exercising regularly will slow the loss of muscle and help maintain physical abilities much later in life.
Though exercising helps slow sarcopenia, it has been assumed that there is no way to reverse loss. Now there is research that suggests that there may be a way to, in part, reverse some of the loss.
The research looked at a growth factor called mechano growth factor, abbreviated to MGF. This growth factor is formed from the same gene as myotrophin, which has been investigated for use in increasing muscle mass, particularly in ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) with mixed results.
Mechano growth factor is made in muscle when they are stretched during exercise. It has been shown to cause satellite cells within the muscle (not fully developed “baby” muscle cells) to divide and fuse with muscle cells to repair them. It is the cycle of muscle damage and repair that results in increased muscle strength.
Now, it has been shown that elderly men who were given MGF, while in an exercise program had significantly increased muscle mass.
This suggests that there may be a way to partially reverse sarcopenia. If this turns out to be correct, there could be a huge impact on quality of life, with more confident walking and less falls. It could, also, result in reduced health care costs, both for hospitalization but also long term care.
Technorati Tags: sarcopenia, mechano growth factor, MGF, myotrophin, muscle, satellite cells
Are Sit-Ups Good For Abdominals and Spine?
June 17, 2009
Do you do abdominal exercises? If so, do you do crunches and pull in your abdominals? If so, perhaps this is not a good idea.
If you use a DVD or go to a class to do exercise that involves abdominals, usually you are told repeatedly the same thing. “Pull in your tummy. Try to flatten or hollow out your abs. Try to flatten your back against the floor. “
The idea behind keeping the abs flat and the back against the floor is to work the deep abdominals. The idea is to work the transversus abdominis, since many years ago some research suggested that this muscle did not work properly in those who had back pain. Therefore, it was suggested that if these muscles were strengthened then back pain would be lessened or cured.
Now some researchers are suggesting that the original research may be flawed, or at least not universally applicable for all back pain.
Further, now many think that perhaps it is not just the deep abdominals that need working. They are suggesting that you need to work all the muscles round the core including the surface (superficial) muscles.
Others suggest that the flat tummy, lower back on the floor is actually bad for your spine. That this goes against the natural curve of the lower back and the muscles that hold the curves of the back.
Further some researchers suggest that sit-ups (crunches) are bad for your spine and that other exercises should be done to strengthen the core. So whether you should have a flattened tummy, or not, is irrelevant. The theory behind crunches being bad for you is that the spine flexes back for each crunch and this squeezes your spine in a way that is bad for it, if it is done repeatedly.
The NYT* has an article about the different points of view. There is also a short video in which 4 exercises that work the core are demonstrated. These 4 exercises do not involve sit-ups and were developed to work all the core muscle groups. I think the video is very interesting so check it out.
I am going to try the new exercises – tomorrow.
*You need to register to look at much of the content on the NYT website, however there are no strings attached to registering.
Technorati Tags: abdominal exercises, sit-ups, crunches, flattened tummy, core, spine
Stress, And Ways To Lower It
June 3, 2009
Are you stressed out? Everybody feels some stress, but at times the stress can start to have a major impact on life.
The trouble is that after a period of stress, it sometimes almost becomes addictive. We get a stress response, which makes us more sensitive to stress. We then over-respond to new stress and so the whole thing snowballs. The more stressed we are, the more we get stressed.
A friend of mine, at work, is a prime example of somebody who has a really strong stress response. She certainly has some reasons to be stressed. Her father has dementia and is hard to look after. However, she will get worked up about everything. We will have a department meeting about something trivial that does not affect her. But she will nearly always find something to get upset and stressed about during the meeting. I can usually expect her to visit my office afterwards, and stress about something that nobody else care about. Her levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, must be through the roof.
Short term stress is very useful to us, but if it persists then it is bad for us. It can make us irritable, make us tense muscles, make it harder to concentrate, give us insomnia, headaches, increase heart rate, upset our digestive system, and often make us make bad food and drink choices.
How can you reduce stress? Of course, there are a number of drugs out there, but what can you do without drugs?
Exercise is a great stress reducer. Part of stress responses are based on the fight or flight response. Consequently, we are primed by stress for activity. Once we manage to get moving, it will help reduce stress. The hardest part is getting going. Get out and go for a walk.
Something that you have to concentrate on, is good too. Doing yoga is an example. In yoga moving through and holding poses with the correct alignment takes concentration. When you are concentrating on your body, you are letting go of what is stressing you.
Yoga and most forms of meditation are also useful in that you have control and slow your breathing. In addition to the concentration required, the slow breathing has a calming effect. Meditation reduces heart rate, blood pressure and drops the level of cortisol. Meditation is now starting to be used in medical settings for treatment of stress, insomnia and pain management.
Get away from the stress-causing situations. Take a break and go somewhere else. Go to a concert, visit a local attraction, go camping, get a pedicure, or whatever takes your fancy.
Rule your stress. Don’t let it rule your life.
Technorati Tags: stress, yoga, meditation, cortisol, breathing, concentrate, insomnia, exercise
Energy Drinks, Spit Don’t Swallow?
April 16, 2009
Want a boost? Have an energy drink. But, did you know that if you just swill one round your mouth and spit not swallow, that you get that boost in energy.
Energy drinks are everywhere. The supermarket has a big selection. Most of the energy drinks consumed contain some form of sugar and “energy ingredients” mainly caffeine.
There have been a number of well publicized studies that have shown that the some brands have little, to no, caffeine. However, since consumers seem to find all brands give them energy, it has been suggested that it is often the sugars that are responsible for the energy response.
Recently, it has also been shown that rinsing out your mouth with an energy drink and then spitting it out, not swallowing any, has the some effect as drinking the drink!
Why should just having the drink in your mouth have an effect? Previously it had been suggested that it was the rapid rush of calories that resulted in the energy effect.
However, recently it has been shown that just having calories in your mouth activates your brain! This activation can lead to improved athletic performance.
In a new study athletes were give one of three drinks. One contained glucose, one contained maltodextrin, a carbohydrate that we cannot taste, and the last one no carbohydrate, water. The taste of all three was adjusted with artificial sweetener so that they all tasted the same.
The athletes that were given drinks with carbohydrate, either glucose or maltodextrin, performed better than those given the water. Since the maltodextrin also had the effect, there must be carbohydrate receptors in our mouths that sense carbohydrate in addition to those sensing sweet.
MRI studies of brains showed that the glucose and maltodextrin triggered responses in the same part of the brain, but that there was not a similar response to artificial sweetener alone. This is good evidence that there are major effects are directly from the mouth to the brain. The drinks do not have to go into the tummy!
So, if you rinse, spit and don’t swallow energy drinks, you can get the benefits without the calories.
Technorati Tags: energy drink, spit, swallow, carbohydrate, maltodextrin, glucose, brain
How Helpful Is Exercise? Part 2
October 1, 2008
If exercise is perhaps not as good at stopping diseases like heart disease as first thought, should you bother much with exercise? Is exercise helpful in any major way?
One benefit of exercise is for aging. As we age physical activity becomes more important.
Have you heard of sarcopenia?
Sarcopenia is the loss muscle mass, strength and function that occurs with aging.
Generally the time of peak muscle mass in the mid 20’s. After this time there are changes in muscle. These changes are slow until about the mid 40’s when they increase, and there is a further increase at around 65 to 70 years.
The changes in muscle include loss of muscle fibers and changes that make muscle contract more slowly; there is a loss of strength and also the ability to move the muscles as precisely.
Sarcopenia leads to less strength, slower reaction times, increased risk of injury, reduced ability to do fine movements, an increased risk of injury and falls.
Sarcopenia is a natural aging process so for everybody there is going to be some loss of function. However, an exercise program can have significant effects on sarcopenia.
The less physical activity, the faster the progression of sarcopenia.
Though all exercise is beneficial, progressive resistance training is the most important for slowing and even reversing some of the functional effects of sarcopenia.
Progressive resistance training is the use of some form of resistance (weights, rubber tubing, own body weight, etc.) when contracting muscles. The aim is to have sufficient resistance, so that somewhere between 8 and 15 repetitions the movement will become hard to do. As muscles get stronger the amount of resistance is increased.
So the answer to the question, how helpful is exercise? The answer is – it might not prevent some diseases but it is essential for slowing the effects of aging on muscle. It is important for keeping us mobile, injury free and able to have the lifestyle that we want.
For How helpful is exercise? Part 1
photo credit: happysnappr
Technorati Tags: muscle, sarcopenia, muscle loss, progressive resistance training
Older Dieters Lose Muscle If Not Exercising
September 22, 2008
When dieting the loss of muscle as well as fat certainly occurs in all age groups, but as we age muscle loss will have more and more of a negative impact. Why?
After about 25 years of age, we all start to lose muscle mass, strength and get reduced muscle function. Then from about age 40 there is a more rapid loss. This loss of muscle mass and strength is known as sarcopenia.
The loss of muscle strength and function due to sarcopenia, leads to decreased ability to lift things, less injury, finding it harder to balance and more likely to fall. Generally life gets a bit more difficult.
Sarcopenia is a natural part of the aging process. However, the rate at which it occurs and the impact sarcopenia has on the quality of life can be moderated by exercising.
A new study looked at weight loss in an older study population. The main finding was that those who did not combine exercising with eating less, lost muscle as well as fat.
The loss of muscle due to dieting in an individual who already has a significant level of sarcopenia can have major consequences. If you already don’t have a lot of muscle, loss of more muscle is going to have a very negative impact on life.
The study showed that those who exercised lost fat rather than muscle. Additionally, by the end of the study, those that exercised had the benefit of better muscle function too.
So as we age exercise has even more benefit, not only for cardiovascular health, but also for weight loss and general quality of life. Slow down sarcopenia!
Technorati Tags: older dieters, lose muscle, exercising, muscle strength, muscle function, sarcopenia
Need To Exercise? Take A Pill?
August 4, 2008
The pill that mimics exercise seems to have been all over the media in the last few days. Sounds too good to be true. How to get trim and buff with an exercise pill or two.
Guess there are 2 types of pills, one where you need to exercise and one that you don’t. I looked at the website of the journal where the research is being published but it was not up yet (the press gets the info ahead of the public). So I am relying mainly on the NYT for the basic info.
One drug (GW1516) makes mice that are exercising have a rapid increase in endurance. The mice on the drug for 4 weeks had 77% more endurance than mice that were not taking the drug.
Treatment with the second drug (AICAR) increased the endurance of mice that were not exercising by 44%. So even with no exercise there was an improvement in muscle structure.
Theoretically, you could take the second drug and sit at home and get more endurance as if you were exercising. It is unknown whether actually doing the exercise has all the major benefits that the pills would not have. Plus one of the drugs need exercise to be effective.
Of course if these drugs are found to consistently build muscle, and not have any serious short or long term side effects, would be very useful for degenerative diseases, after injury and in aging.
In aging it could help build up muscle in those who are frail. A strong musculature not only makes it easier opening jars, picking up groceries, and other things, but also lessens the number of falls and helps protect against injury when a fall occurs.
Even if these drugs can only be used for a short time, the hardest part of any exercise program is the first part, when very out of shape and weak. These exercise pills may provide a good way to get started and see quick results.
photo credit: Brooks Elliott
Technorati Tags: pill, exercise, aicar, endurance, aging
Low Intensity Exercise May Relieve Feelings of Fatigue
March 2, 2008
At the moment I am feeling relatively energized. I have a number of new projects, and spring, my favorite season, actually looks like it might be coming. In the late fall, my least favorite season, it was not the same story. I felt like I had no energy. In the evenings I would get home from work and become a vegetable. I am sure that I will hit another lull next fall. When you descend into that tiredness pit, it seems like too much effort to get out.
Today I read about a study (Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics 77:167-174, 2008) that has just been published looking at the effects of exercise on general fatigue. At first the results sound counter intuitive. Feeling tired, the last thing you want to do is some exercise and get even more tired. However, the study demonstrated that both low and moderate intensity exercise reduced the feeling of fatigue and the subjects felt more energetic. Low intensity exercise was as effective as moderate intensity exercise. Interestingly, this increased feeling of energy was not due to an increase in aerobic capacity.
So what did this study class as low intensity exercise? It was an easy walk, a leisurely bike ride or some yoga. Here in the evenings, it is still getting dark way too early, and it gets cold pretty quickly, so for the time being perhaps yoga is a better option. I have a couple of DVDs from Gaiam that I think would work well. I like AM/PM Yoga For Beginners and Stress Relief Yoga For Beginners. (Checking out the Gaiam website to get the links; I see that they have Free Shipping – no minimum order. Use coupon EASTER. Expires 3/31/08).
So next time when in that fatigue pit all that is needed is to actually muster enough energy to get off the couch and get the DVD into the player.
photo credit: SuperFantastic
Technorati Tags: exercise, intensity, fatigue, walking, yoga, energy
The Pedometer Challenge
February 23, 2008
For Christmas I gave pedometers, as part of their presents, to four people at work. Included were some inspiring articles about walking, and some challenges with “really bad” prizes. The challenges were, 1) who could do the most steps in one week, 2) who could do the most steps in one week, and 3) who had the greatest percentage improvement. I thought if I set up a friendly competition, it would be encouraging.
All four of the recipients are carrying more weight than they are happy with, and two have recently been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Three are women and one is a guy, who has one of the recent diagnoses for diabetes. The group opened the presents at the same time in the department office.
The guy said, “S***, now Vera [wife] is going to make me go walking and do something about the diabetes”. My immediate thought was, “Well the next present I give you is going to be donuts”.
The three “girls” really got into it, after they had put in the batteries and set up the calibration. Of course nobody read the instructions, so it took a while to set them up. At one point, Carol wailed, “I’m too tall”. She was trying to enter her height as the stride length. The pedometers do not go up to a 5 ft 10 inch stride! When the pedometers were set, the girls were doing as many errands as they could think of, and comparing numbers of steps. They were all over the department.
As you might anticipate, the initial enthusiasm wore off. However, the girls are still using the pedometers some of the time, and one of them was inspired to join the gym. We never did bother with the challenges.
I got one for myself, but unfortunately lost mine yesterday, while walking the dog. I was in a park with narrow paths between chest high sagebrush and it must have got snagged. Now it is snowing so even if I find it, I think it may be ruined. The pedometers I gave were Omron HJ-112 Digital Premium Pedometers.
Technorati Tags: pedometer, steps
Weight Training Revs Up The Body Metabolism
February 9, 2008
When weight training there is an increase in the proportion of type II fibers. A recent study showed that when there was a boost in the numbers of type II fibers in mice, that they had higher metabolic rate. The interesting thing about the finding is that the metabolic rate was not just increased in the muscles used in the weight training, but in other tissues in the body. The metabolism of fat cells and the liver was revved up too, and insulin resistance was improved in obese mice that had become diabetic.
This finding suggests that weight training will be of great benefit for anyone trying to lose weight. One of the problems for people on a diet is that the metabolism slows down, and remains at a lower level for quite a long time even after the goal weight has been achieved. It is likely with a restricted food intake that the body goes into starvation/survival mode and lowers the metabolic rate to conserve energy. Adding regular weight training sessions may well be the way to boost the metabolism at least back to the pre-diet level, if not higher. Therefore, weight training should both help with weight loss, and then maintaining the weight loss.
So yesterday, I decided to start weight (resistance) training. Today my triceps and abs, in particular, are sore. It was pretty pathetic how little weight I could lift and how few reps of the abs exercises I managed to do. I wonder if I will be inspired to keep it up this time. The book I used for the exercises (from a previous burst of enthusiasm) was Strength Training for Women by Joan Pagano.
For more information about the study, Weight Training Reduces Fat and Improves Metabolism in Mice, see Science Daily.
Technorati Tags: muscle fiber, weight training, metabolism
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