Red meat helps improve older people’s mental and physical health, study shows
12/09/2014
Earlier this year, a team at Deakin University, near Melbourne, initially found that a programme of lean red meat and exercise helped reduce the impact of age-related muscle loss in older people, particularly in older women. It has since expanded its study to look at the impact on mental capacity of eating lean red meat and engaging in physical exercise.
it is more important than ever that we look at ways to maintain our physical and mental health for as long as possible.
"If the results of our new study are as positive as we hope, this protein/exercise combination could provide the greatest benefits in terms of ensuring that older adults can live independently and relatively disease and disability free into old age."
Deakin’s Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition Research conducted a four-month trial with 100 women aged between 60 and 90 to assess the effects of progressive resistance training (a form of strength training), combined with a protein-rich, lean red meat diet on muscle size, strength and function.
Compared to women who only took part in the resistance training, those on the lean red meat diet had an 18% increase in muscle strength and gained an additional 0.5 kilos of muscle mass. They were also found to have a 10% increase in a hormone central to muscle growth and a 16% reduction in a pro-inflammatory marker that has been linked to muscle loss and other chronic diseases.
On the subject of mental health, Deakin’s professor of exercise and ageing, Robin Daly, said: “We know from our study, and previous research, that protein stimulates the production of a hormone (serum IGF-1) central to muscle growth. This same hormone is also necessary for the growth and function of brain cells. It is therefore conceivable that lean red meat combined with strength training will not only have huge benefits on muscle function but also improve cognitive performance and neural health.”
Share this story:
