DeepSummary
Dr. Gabrielle Lyon interviews Dr. Donald Layman, an emeritus professor of nutrition at the University of Illinois, about the importance of protein distribution and timing for maintaining muscle mass and healthy aging. They discuss research showing that consuming enough protein, especially leucine, at each meal is crucial for stimulating muscle protein synthesis, particularly in older adults. Dr. Layman explains how the leucine threshold and nutrient timing impact muscle health.
They review a study comparing a high-protein, low-carb diet to a standard diet, finding that the high-protein diet with exercise preserved lean body mass better during weight loss. Dr. Layman emphasizes the role of resistance training and provides practical meal timing and protein amount recommendations for preserving muscle as we age.
Looking ahead, Dr. Layman suggests moving away from generically referring to "protein" and instead focusing on specific amino acid profiles and bioavailability, especially for plant-based diets. His top tips for healthy aging are controlling calories through a lower-carb, higher-protein diet while incorporating resistance exercise.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Consuming enough high-quality protein, especially leucine, at each meal is crucial for stimulating muscle protein synthesis and preventing age-related muscle loss.
- A threshold of around 30g protein, with 2.5-3g leucine, is needed to maximally stimulate muscle protein synthesis in older adults.
- The first meal of the day and timing of protein intake are important for taking advantage of nutritional periods that maximize muscle anabolism.
- A higher-protein, lower-carb diet combined with resistance exercise is most effective for preserving lean body mass during weight loss and healthy aging.
- Plant-based diets need to carefully balance the specific amino acid profile to ensure bioavailability and achieve the leucine threshold required for muscle synthesis.
- Moving forward, nutritional guidance should focus more on individual amino acids as nutrients rather than just total protein amounts.
- Fasting periods over 48 hours may promote excessive muscle loss in older adults and should be avoided for healthy aging.
- Total daily protein needs increase with age, but uneven meal distribution with pulses around 30-50g protein may be more optimal than smaller, evenly spread amounts.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “We know that the synthesis tends to be higher right after meals when we have amino acids coming in, and breakdown tends to be higher during more fasting or post absorptive period.“ by Donald Lehman
- “Why do we talk about protein on the food label? Why don't we talk about amino acids?“ by Donald Lehman
- “We know that in older adults, adults over 40, and a lot of the research has been done with adults over 60, it takes more than 30 grams to actually stimulate protein synthesis. And it turns out that the real key to that is leucine.“ by Donald Lehman
- “I think the future is that we need to recognize lysine and leucine and methionine and threonine as individual nutrients.“ by Donald Lehman
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Episode Information
The Dr. Gabrielle Lyon Show
Dr. Gabrielle Lyon
3/19/24
Dr. Donald Layman is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Food Science & Human Nutrition at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Layman served on the faculty at the University of Illinois from 1977 – 2012. Dr. Layman has been a leader in research about protein, nutrition for athletic performance, obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular health. Dr. Layman has over 100 peer-reviewed publications. He has received numerous awards for his research from the American Society for Nutrition and the National Institutes for Health and for his nutrition teaching. Dr. Layman served as Associate Editor of The Journal of Nutrition and the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior and on the editorial boards of Nutrition & Metabolism and Nutrition Research and Practice. Dr. Layman earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees in chemistry and biochemistry at Illinois State University and his doctorate in human nutrition and biochemistry at the University of Minnesota.
In this episode we discuss:
- Does protein timing and distribution matter?
- How does your body respond to fasting?
- Why the quality of protein matters.
- How to use exercise to slow muscle loss.
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