An essential protein guide for anyone over 40.

Strength Starts Within:

Written by Dr. John IvyRenowned protein expert & author of the bestselling book, Nutrient Timing: The Future of Sports Nutrition

1

HumanN.com

We want every human to reach their potential and live their best life possible. To push harder, achieve greater and finish stronger in whatever it is that matters most to you. Everything we do is to help you achieve that. Because that’s what matters most to us.

About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

A Personal Hello from Dr. Ivy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Seven Facts About Protein and Aging

Fact 1: Protein Builds Strength . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Fact 2: Protein Combats Muscle Loss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Fact 3: Protein Needs Increase As You Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Fact 4: Protein is Essential for Bone Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Fact 5: Protein Gaps You Can’t See . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Fact 6: Protein Timing Matters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Fact 7: Protein & Nitric Oxide Go Hand-in-Hand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

Dr. Ivy’s Top 3 Tips for Building Strength From the Inside Out . . . . . . . . . . . 20

3

With a PhD in Exercise Physiology, Dr. John Ivy is the renowned author of 185 scientific papers, and has served on the editorial boards of the American Journal of Physiology, the International Journal of Sports Nutrition, and Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. He is also the author of the bestselling book, Nutrient Timing: The Future of Sports Nutrition.

Dr. Ivy served on the faculty at the University of Texas for over 30 years, as Chair of the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education for almost half that time, and is currently the Teresa Lozano Long Endowed Chair Emeritus at the University of Texas at Austin.

He has worked with sports greats, including champion swimmer Michael Phelps during his preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympics, during which Phelps won eight gold medals.

Dr. Ivy’s contributions to sports nutrition and science are unparalleled and he maintains a keen focus on the role that properly formulated nutritional supplementation is essential to maintain ultimate physical health for every individual as they age.

In this guide, Dr. Ivy shares vital protein insights, especially if you’re over the age of 40, with must-know tips that you may never have heard before!

Meet Dr. John Ivy.

About the Author.

5

In this guide, I’m sharing highlights from what I know about muscle and bone health as you age, so you can thrive in the ways that are most meaningful in your life. Whether it’s spending time with those you love, or being active and taking trips around the world, protein is the first step to aging well.

Learn the facts and useful tips about how your protein needs change after the age of 40 to benefit your body now... and into the future.

With best regards,

Dr. John Ivy

Hello Reader,

I’m excited you’re here, because it means you believe your health is a priority, and you’re curious to learn how to live strong decade by decade.

Many people understand that protein is vital for building muscle after exercising, yet most people don’t know that protein is essential to your overall health — the amino acids in protein are critical building blocks to everything in your body.

In my 13 years as Chair of the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education at the University of Texas, we created one of the top three programs in the country. After decades of research, I saw firsthand how nutrition is vital for reducing the risks of complications associated with aging.

A Personal Hello from Dr. Ivy.

7

Most people think that our physical development stops by our early 20s, but our muscles, skeleton, and even our brain actually keep developing all the way up to age 30. That’s when things start to change... and unfortunately, for the worse.

From age 35 onward, our muscle mass and bone density naturally begin a slow, steady decline. With that decline comes a loss of strength and power. It’s this decline as we age that can impact overall fitness levels, as well as cardiovascular and immune health.

According to a landmark study that examined over 150,000 individuals in 17 countries at all income levels, regardless of your body composition and fat mass, strength was found to be a long-term predictor of your life expectancy!

That’s where protein comes in.

Getting enough protein helps you stay healthy at all stages of the aging process. Protein, especially when combined with nitric oxide, plays a vital role in limiting the decline of your muscle mass and bone health to maintain and enhance your strength.

Why strength starts within.Fact

Protein helps build strength in your muscles & bone – and strength is a long-term indicator of your life expectancy!

Protein Builds Strength.

9

You might think that if you remain physically active, you’ll stave off muscle and bone loss. That’s not true. While resistance training does indeed limit age-related muscle loss, there’s still a decrease in the interaction between muscles and the nervous system, which results in a loss of strength and power.

Sarcopenia usually begins during your 40s and 50s, continuing steadily from that point forward. This process impacts our mobility, and the loss of mobility and strength due to Sarcopenia impacts the quality of our life.

Our muscles are made up of two basic muscle fiber (cell) types: slow twitch fibers and fast twitch fibers. The slow twitch fibers are smaller and less powerful than the fast twitch fibers, but have a higher endurance capacity. They are used for low to moderate intensity exercise such as walking, distance running, and biking.

The fast twitch fibers are more involved when the exercise intensity is high or when very fast and powerful movements are required, such as when sprinting or lifting a heavy object.

With aging, there is a select reduction in fast twitch fibers due to the loss of nerve innervation in this fiber type. Why the fast twitch fibers lose this nervous system innervation with age isn’t known, but it may be due in part to the lack of their continuous use, since the need for fast powerful movements tends to decline with age.

As we age, there’s also a decline in the level of anabolic hormones, which influences the rate of muscle protein synthesis, tissue repair, and creation of new mitochondria.

Even if you’re active, you might be losing muscle.Fact

Protein is essential to fighting Sarcopenia (loss of muscle mass with age), which can occur in people who are physically active as well as people who aren’t!

Protein Combats Muscle Loss.

11

Most people don’t know that you need twice as much protein as you’re likely getting once you’re over the age of 40. Or, that muscle plays a central role in creating a primary reservoir for amino acids that your body continually draws on for the health of vital tissues and organs.

It’s been estimated that about 35% of older men and women ingest less than the minimum recommended daily protein allowance (RDA) of 0.36g per pound of body weight. However, by middle age, one’s daily protein requirements double, and should actually make up a greater percentage of one’s daily calories (about 30-35% of the total calories consumed per day).

Signs that you’re not getting enough protein include:

• Craving sweets and snacks• Inability to recover from injuries as quickly as you used to• Feeling weak or low energy

When you don’t get enough protein for healthy muscles, you may be putting your body’s entire recovery process at risk, especially if you were to suffer from an unexpected illness or trauma, since maintaining muscle strength and function is central to your body’s recovery process. Loss of muscle is also associated with impaired glucose tolerance.

Over 40? You need twice as much protein each day than normally recommended.

Fact

You need twice as much protein as you age to simply maintain your existing muscle mass.

Protein Needs Increase as You Age.

112.2g

Age 25, 165 lb Age 55, 165 lb

59.4g*

112.2g*

PROTEIN NEEDS AS WE AGE

* Recommended Daily Protein Intake.

13

Most people know that you need calcium to maintain healthy bones, but they don’t know that bone is made up of both calcium and the protein, collagen! So, if you’re not getting enough protein, your bone health is at risk.

We all know that healthy bones are vital for orthopedic health. A strong skeletal system is essential to support the body appropriately, and to help avoid orthopedic and nerve related problems. Bone is made mostly of calcium and collagen, a protein that is woven into a flexible framework. This combination of calcium and collagen gives the bone its strength and flexibility you need. Adequate dietary protein supports the protein needs of bone while leads to a healthy muscle mass, which also plays a crucial role in promoting strong bones.

When you don’t get enough protein in your daily diet, the dire effects could take years to surface. Amino acids from protein are the building blocks your body uses to build all cellular structures, and an adequate amount of protein each day is required to support their maintenance and repair. Without adequate protein in one’s diet, not only does muscle and bone start to weaken, but the whole body slowly breaks down.

If you consume too little protein, your body will start tearing down some of its existing structures to get the amino acids it needs. More importantly, when forced to make a choice, your body will take amino acids from your skeletal muscle in order to supply your heart and other vital organs.

Eating adequate protein gives your body the amino acids it needs, which can slow age-related cellular breakdown.

Without protein, your bones lose their basic structure. Fact

If you’re not getting enough protein, the entire structural framework of your body is compromised.

Protein is Essential for Bone Health.

15

The initial decline that happens in muscle mass may go almost unnoticed, about 3-4% per decade. Yet, once you reach age 50, the process starts to accelerate until you’re potentially losing 25-30% of your muscle mass per decade by age 70 and beyond.

From the walls of your heart to the muscles that move your body, dietary protein is the first step your body needs to support and maintain its various cellular structures. If you consume too little protein, your body will begin tearing down existing structures in order to get the amino acids it needs.

Aside from the loss in muscle mass and strength, you’ll also start to experience reductions in the density of mitochondria and capillaries surrounding the muscle fibers. This impacts the transfer of oxygen and nutrients from your circulatory system into the muscle fibers and reduces the energy-producing capability of the muscle. A loss of capillarity also lowers the efficiency of eliminating metabolic waste products.

Greater mitochondrial and capillary density of muscle enables more efficiency in generating the energy required for muscle contraction, cardiovascular efficiency, muscle endurance, stamina, and vitality.

Every 10 years brings a new protein challenge.Fact

You’re genetically pre-programmed to lose muscle & bone – up to 15% per decade, starting when you’re 35 – and it may take years before the effects of inadequate protein intake shows up.

Protein Gaps You Can’t See.

Age 40

MUSCLE LOSS BY DECADE

50 7060 80

17

Most people skip breakfast and consume a large portion of their daily protein intake during dinner. Unfortunately, that creates numerous protein gaps throughout the day that increasingly impact your muscle and bone health.

Ideally, you should be spreading out your protein intake into comparable amounts throughout the day, because your body can only synthesize protein for the first few hours after a meal. The amount of protein at each meal is also important, as an inadequate amount of dietary protein will not promote protein synthesis. For middle-aged and older individuals, each meal should contain between 30 to 40 grams of protein.

Spreading out your protein intake encourages a 24-hour muscle protein synthesis cycle to further boost the development of muscle, bone, and other tissues of the body.

Many people aren’t aware that an optimal time for protein consumption is right before bed to combat muscle loss, because your body actually breaks down muscle during the evening repair process. During the middle of the night, the hormone cortisol rises in your body in response to a drop in blood glucose levels as the liver starts to run out of its store of carbohydrate. The cortisol breaks down muscle, releasing amino acids that are converted by the liver to glucose and used to maintain a normal blood glucose level. Ultimately, there’s a net loss of total body protein during sleep.

Supplementing with a long-acting protein supplement prior to bed provides the amino acids necessary for muscle and tissue development, blood glucose maintenance, and dampens the cortisol response — this creates a net muscle gain rather than a net loss during sleep!

Just getting protein when you eat isn’t enough.Fact

Protein consumed at meals should be spread out evenly to ensure your body gets what it needs throughout the day & night.

Protein Timing Matters.

RATE OF PROTEIN SYNTHESIS

Sustained Protein Level

Protein Powder Drink Mix

Whey Calcium Caseinate Micellar Casein

Meal with Sufficient Protein

Time (hours) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 70 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19

Getting the right amounts of nitric oxide is not only essential for the efficient functioning of skeletal muscle, but it can also help improve muscle function and size. N-O elevates muscle blood flow and helps to increase the development of new mitochondria (an integral part of cells that are responsible for creating 90% of the energy needed to sustain life and support organ function), as well as to stimulate muscle protein synthesis.

Nitric oxide synthase is located on scaffolding proteins in muscle with a similar function to the scaffolds at a construction site. When muscle fibers contract, the movement of these scaffolding proteins activates nitric oxide synthase, which results in the production of nitric oxide — this in turn activates satellite cells.

These satellite cells are the precursors to skeletal muscle cells or fibers and, when activated, can repair damaged muscle and increase the size of the muscle fiber.

To increase muscle mass, there must be an increase in its blood supply, although because of aging, muscle has reduced blood supply due to reduced capillarity. Maintaining a healthy nitric oxide system can help preserve muscle capillarity, and support delivery of oxygen and nutrients to muscle, which will help to maintain muscle mass and its functionality as you age.

The “Miracle Molecule” nitric oxide boosts muscle & bone health. Fact

Nitric Oxide is necessary for muscle & bone growth and function – and boosts protein consumption.

Protein & Nitric Oxide Go Hand-in-Hand.

SATELLITE CELL ACTIVATION

MuscleRepair

MuscleGrowth

ProteinPlus

Carbohydrate

Blood Insulin

NOSActivity

Satellite CellActivation

NitricOxide

L-Arginine

L-Citrulline

21

By choosing proper supplementation, you can take the right steps now to maintain and enhance muscle mass and bone density for the future. If you are able to get the precise amounts of fast- and slow-digesting proteins to ensure protein synthesis throughout the day, you’re able to give your body the amino acids necessary maintain muscle, bone and vital organs, as well as to make appropriate enzymes, hormones, neurotransmitters, and antibodies.

Remember, getting the right amount of protein in your diet is also essential to creating the building blocks for repair and growth of all the tissues in your body.

It’s easy to get more vital protein into your diet with the right functional foods!

Dr. Ivy’s Top 3 Tips for Building Strength From the Inside Out.

231. Get your protein from Whey & Casein, and be sure your Nitric Oxide levels are sufficient.

The single best source of protein to stimulate muscle protein synthesis within your body is Whey. Whey makes up about 20% of all the protein in milk, while Casein makes up 80% of milk protein. Whey is digested faster than Casein and activates protein synthesis within 30 minutes of consumption. The protein synthesis response to Casein is longer, so combining the two can allow for 7 hours of sustained protein synthesis.

Our bodies need 20 amino acids for healthy functioning, 9 of which are considered “essential,” because our bodies cannot generate or produce them, so they must come from diet alone. Be sure that when you’re seeking a supplement, the protein sources are considered “complete” by providing these 9 essential amino acids.

What’s more, adding a Nitric Oxide verified supplement enhances overall protein synthesis in your body and is an essential molecule your body needs to thrive.

2. Increase your daily protein intake to 0.55g to 0.58g of protein per pound of body weight.

As you approach 45-50 years of age and beyond, your daily dietary requirements for protein actually doubles. For both men and women, getting more protein into your diet has been found to increase skeletal muscle mass and strength, reduce muscle loss, maintain healthy bone, and create the building blocks for repair and growth of all the tissues in your body.

3. Make sure you’re timing your protein consumption correctly by spreading it out evenly over 3 basic meals.

Research indicates that the consumption of a sufficient amount of protein at each meal (about 30 to 40 grams), makes it possible to create protein synthesis throughout the day and have a greater impact on the develop-ment of muscle, bone, and other tissues of the body.

It’s not commonly known that getting protein before bedtime is extremely beneficial to diminish the loss of muscle that inevitably happens when you’re sleeping, due to the cortisol that your body produces, which starts to break down muscle. Supplementing with a long-acting protein before bed provides the amino acids for muscle and tissue development, and dampens the effect of cortisol on the muscle. Consuming a protein snack or supplement with 20-25g of complete protein 30-45 minutes before bedtime will help.

Start a resistance exercise program and be sure to consume protein within the first hour after exercise too, when your body is highly sensitive to certain nutrients. After exercising, muscle is better able to take up amino acids from the blood due to an increase in amino acid transporters on the outer membrane of the muscle. By getting more amino acids, particularly L-leucine, you’ll trigger greater activation of muscle protein synthesis and see a faster training adaptation.

25REFERENCES

Gale, CR et al. Grip strength, body composition, and mortality. International Journal of Epidemiology 36:228-235, 2007

Holloszy JO, & Carlson BM. Factors influencing the repair and adaptation of muscles in aged individuals: satellite cells and innervation. The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, 50(Special Issue), 96-100, 1995.

Franch, H. Etiology of the Protein-Energy Wasting Syndrome in Chronic Kidney Disease: A Consensus Statement From the International Society of Renal Nutrition and Metabolism (ISRNM), Journal of Renal Nutrition, Volume 23, Issue 2, 77–90, 2013.

Evans WJ, & Lexell, J. Human aging, muscle mass, and fiber type composition. The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, 50(Special Issue), 11-16, 1995.

Frontera WR, et al. A cross-sectional study of muscle strength and mass in 45-to 78-yr-old men and women. Journal of Applied Physiology, 71(2), 644-650, 1991.

Groen, Bart BL, et al. Intragastric protein administration stimulates overnight muscle protein synthesis in elderly men. American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism 302: E52-E60, 2012.

Res PT, et al. Protein ingestion before sleep improves postexercise overnight recovery. Medicine and Science in Sports Exercise 44:1560-9. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0b013e31824cc363, 2012.

Snijders T. et al. Protein ingestion before sleep increases muscle mass and strength gains during prolonged resistance-type exercise training in healthy young men. The Journal of Nutrition doi: 10.3945/jn.114.208371, 2015.

Takahashi Y, et al. Growth hormone secretion during sleep. Journal of Clinical Investigation 47:2079-2090, 1968. doi:10.1172 JCI105893, 1968.

Michel T, & Feron O. Nitric oxide synthases: which, where, how, and why?. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 100:2146-2154, 1997.

Be You. To the Power of N.