Aging is a natural part of life, but you do have the ability to slow the process down. In addition to not smoking, not being stressed and doing regular physical exercise, you should also be getting enough protein in your diet.
Protein is what supports muscle mass, something that decreases with age. In fact, loss of muscle mass starts to happen sometime in your 30s – YIKES! The phenomenon is called sarcopenia, and if you’re physically inactive, you can expect to lose up to 5% of your muscle mass every 10 years once you reach 30 years old. Exercise can help reduce the amount of loss you experience, but not eliminate the risk entirely. When you reach your 60s and 70s, you’ll lose even more.
Muscle mass is important for our general health because it keeps us able bodied, reducing our risk of falling. Falling is one of the most common ways elderly adults get injured.
Protein is also important for healthy skin. Why, you ask? Because collagen, a building block of skin, is actually a type of protein! Collagen makes up about 30% of your body’s protein, and it’s what gives your skin its shape and texture. Decreased levels of collagen leads to wrinkles and other signs of aging.
What foods have protein
- meat
- fish
- eggs
- dairy
- soy
- pulses
- beans
Aim to get about 0.8 grams of protein for every kilogram of your body weight.