Calorie Restriction and Anabolic Resistence by Jerry Brainum 7/20

 

 

Anabolic Resistance is a term pertaining to the inability to boost either muscle mass or muscle protein synthesis. It's problematic because the failure to efficiently utilize amino acids in muscle, which is a hallmark of anabolic resistance (AR) can lead to muscle atrophy and eventual loss of muscle. AR is more commonly seen in those over age 40, and the reasons for that relate mostly to long-term inactivity. Many people fail to realize that the body is a biological machine, and the engines that move that machine are muscle. Just as a car would rust and start to fall apart if left in a garage and not started or driven for years, so does the human body start to rust and wear out in a different way. When people are inactive for an extended time, a type of insulin resistance ensues that has nothing to do with the more common causes of insulin resistance that heralds type-2 diabetes. What happens in older people is that the lack of increased blood circulation to muscles causes small blood vessels in the muscles to close down. When that happens, muscle stem cells called satellite cells that are required to maintain and repair muscle become inactive, leading to a loss of muscle mass. Along with that, the decreased blood circulation to the muscle that results from extended inactivity hampers the ability of insulin to promote the entry of amino acids consumed in foods into muscle, which is a type of insulin resistance. Studies of older people have shown that if provided with insulin following a high-protein meal, the muscle resistance to amino acid uptake is relieved. But a far easier method is simply to get moving and exercise.

Recent studies show that just engaging in regular resistance training is enough to relieve and dissipate the anabolic resistance of aging. Doing so will prevent the primary cause of frailty with aging, sarcopenia, which refers to a loss of lean mass with age. Indeed, the most common reason why people are placed in nursing homes is not because of cognitive or brain problems, such as Alzheimer's disease, but rather because they are too frail to take care of themselves any longer. They cannot even eat or dress, that is the extent of their significant muscle loss. It's the price paid for years of avoiding exercise, particularly resistance exercise such as weight training. This is why a form of weight training should be mandatory for everyone, as it will likely circumvent the primary causes of frailty, such as sarcopenia.

This is not to say that some degree of sarcopenia isn't inevitable in everyone, even those who habitually lift weights or engage in some other form of resistance training. Even lifetime bodybuilders such as Arnold Schwarzenegger experience a degree of sarcopenia. At 72, Arnold shows clear signs of sarcopenia, despite his regular weight workouts. This is most evident in his . . .