Sports nutrition for seniors -
Carbohydrate and glycogen functionality is similar in older athletes compared to young athletes. Glycogen uptake and storage, and usage of insulin may be affected by medical conditions such as diabetes, in older populations, but generally, the carbohydrate recommendations for training and performance are the same for all athletes.
Meeting these targets however, needs to be managed within a lower energy budget; therefore careful meal planning is essential. The use of high-quality, high fiber carbohydrates is optimal for digestive health and weight management.
Including foods such as oats, legumes, wholemeal pasta, brown rice, grain breads along with plentiful fruits and vegetables will assist with meeting these needs. Fats in the diet are essential for the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, and a focus on healthier fats unsaturated and omega-3 are also beneficial for improved cardiovascular health.
Using more fatty fish, like salmon, tuna and mackerel, replacing butter with plant-based oil, and incorporating avocado, nuts and seeds will help improve the profile of fats in the diet. Older athletes will utilize fats similarly to younger athletes.
Fats won't directly impact athletic performance, but ideally reduced amounts pre-exercise will help gastric emptying for stomach comfort during the more physical types of exercise.
Deficiencies of micronutrients in older athletes are possible due to changes in requirements, reduction in the ability to metabolize and absorb them, plus the possible presence of chronic disease states or injuries accompanied by increased medication use.
Regularly eating nutrient-rich colorful foods will increase the likelihood of maximizing micronutrient intake, which in turn helps avoid any deficiencies as well as reduceinflammation.
Older athletes are more susceptible to dehydration than younger athletes, due to some age-related changes that occur. The thirst mechanism becomes less sensitive and athletes tend to not feel thirsty when they need fluids.
Kidney function becomes less efficient, meaning greater urinary water losses, plus changes in sweat responses along with poorer thermoregulation due to inferior blood vessel dilation. All of these aspects may lead to dehydration during activity because of potential decreased fluid intake along with increased requirements.
All is not hopeless though; creating a disciplined hydration plan before, during, and after exercise will help improve hydration status to alleviate performance decrements.
Recovery goals are very similar for all athletes. See some more detailed information about recovery here. As an older athlete, repair and recovery could take slightly longer to achieve, so following these guidelines more closely will help you recover more quickly and reduce fatigue in the latter days.
Age-related decreases in flexibility will also put extra importance on stretching after exercise. Many older athletes are dealing with long-term injuries, perhaps having recovered from a major injury and getting back into sport, or other medical conditions that may require medication.
Individual athletes need to be aware of possible medication side effects, and drug-nutrient interactions, and hence ways it may impact training and competition conditions.
Some medications are also banned from sport by sporting authorities, so please check all medications with a sports physician who understands the system. An application for a Therapeutic Use Exemption may be required to continue with the use of certain necessary medications.
Further research is required to elucidate the mechanisms by which these nutrients may induce favourable changes in skeletal muscle and to determine the appropriate dosing and timing of nutrient intakes to support active aging.
Keywords: Carbohydrate periodization; Creatine; Protein; Skeletal muscle; n-3PUFA. Abstract Skeletal muscle mass losses with age are associated with negative health consequences, including an increased risk of developing metabolic disease and the loss of independence.
Having multiple doses throughout the day at regular time intervals is the best method of feeding and maintaining your muscle mass. You also want to make sure you place your protein at appropriate times to ensure adequate recovery from exercise bouts.
If you are an older adult who is engaging in regular exercise, supplements like protein powder might be common place in your dietary plan. One other supplement that has been shown to have some benefits for older adults is creatine.
First we must understand that the muscle stores phosphocreatine and it is a substrate that can quickly and easily be used to provide energy for activity lasting only seconds.
The second is that it is an anabolic stimulant, meaning the higher storage of creatine results in increased muscle protein synthesis and growth.
The theory is that the more creatine in the muscle, the harder you can train, thus getting a better workout while getting a larger response of muscle strength and growth. Proper dosing is needed to elicit results, and there are a few contraindications for using such a supplement.
Independent assessment for this supplementation is needed. As we age, nutrition has an essential role to play in our health and wellbeing. Food can help fuel our bodies, keep our muscles strong, maintain our functionality, decrease our risk of chronic medical conditions, and overall help us age gracefully.
For more information about how you can keep your body healthy as you age, speak with a registered dietitian. Stephanie is our Registered Dietitian and sport nutritionist. She graduated with Honours from the University of Guelph with a Bachelors of Applied Science specializing in Applied Human Nutrition.
She then pursued her passion for sport performance nutrition by completing her Masters of Science degree specializing in Exercise, Nutrition and Metabolism at the University of Guelph.
Here she was involved in studies investigating the nutritional adequacy of young hockey players and hydration habits of amateur, varsity and elite athletes to name a few. She then completed her internship at London Health Sciences Centre and is currently working there on the Medicine unit.
She also has experience working with mental health and eating disorders. She also working towards being a Certified Specialist in Sport Dietetics.
Stephanie spent most of her childhood in the rink as a competitive figure skater, and later was involved in volleyball, track and cross country. During her university years she was drawn to lifting and has continued with this ever since.
She is currently enjoying learning the art of Olympic weightlifting. Stephanie believes that every food fits in moderation and truly believes that nutrition has a huge impact on our sport performance and health.
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Skeletal muscle mass losses with age are Renewable energy projects with negative health consequences, including an increased risk senoirs developing metabolic nutritiin and the loss Glucose utilization efficiency independence. Athletes adopt numerous nutritional strategies to Energy boosting recipes nutriiton benefits of exercise training and enhance Spots in pursuit of improving skeletal Sports nutrition for seniors quality, mass, or function. Importantly, many of the principles applied to enhance skeletal muscle health in athletes may be applicable to support active aging and prevent sarcopenia in the healthy non-clinical aging population. Here, we discuss the anabolic properties of protein supplementation in addition to ingredients that may enhance the anabolic effects of protein e. omega 3 s, creatine, inorganic nitrate in older persons. We conclude that nutritional strategies used in pursuit of performance enhancement in athletes are often applicable to improve skeletal muscle health in the healthy older population when implemented as part of a healthy active lifestyle.
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