Many seniors have insufficient exercise and protein in their daily diet. Our specialist from Singapore General Hospital (SGH) offers an easy solution that tackles both in one go.
A sedentary lifestyle and poor diet are key contributors to age-related loss in muscle mass, strength and function, also known as
sarcopenia. This in turn increases the risk of falls in seniors.
Every year in Singapore, 1 in 5 older adults (aged 65 years and older) experiences a fall, resulting in injury and disability.
Why exercising first then eating after is beneficial
To tackle this problem of insufficient exercise and a lack of protein in diet,
Dr Ng Lee Beng, Senior Consultant from the
Department of Family Medicine Continuing Care at
Singapore General Hospital (SGH), a member of the
SingHealth group, shares a useful habit to cultivate:
-
Do some exercise before each meal. Start with an easy 10mins each time.
This may make it easier for you to hit the recommended 150mins of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week (30mins per day for 5 days). If you’ve never or hardly exercised before, start slow with 10 minutes of these
7 easy exercises.
However, if you’re afraid that exercising on an empty stomach may leave you feeling sluggish or lightheaded during exercise, eat something light an hour before exercising. You can snack on a banana, slice of whole-grain bread or small tub of yogurt. -
After exercise, be sure to include protein in your meal.
Consuming protein after exercise helps with muscle regrowth and repair. Doing so
for every meal will ensure that you have an adequate amount of protein throughout the day.
|
Daily recommended amount of protein
How much protein a person should consume daily is dependent on age.
Health Promotion Board (HPB) recommends:
For younger adults
under 50 years of age, aim for
60g of protein daily (about 20g per meal)
For older adults aged
50 years and over, aim for
75g of protein daily (about 25g per meal).
Dr Ng adds, “Muscle synthesis is higher when you spread protein intake evenly among three or more meals, rather than having most of it in a single meal. This optimises amino acid levels in the blood and promotes muscle repair and growth."
Ways to include protein in your day
When consuming protein, choose from high-quality sources.
For
1 serving of protein, which is equivalent to 20-30g of protein, you can include either of these food items in your meal:
Small bowl of edamame (200g) |
1 cup (250ml) of mixed nuts trail (150g) |
4 pieces of tempeh or ¾ small bowl of chopped tempeh
|
1 palm-sized piece of meat, fish or poultry (90g) |
 5 medium prawns (90g)
|
3 eggs (150g) |
Two glasses of low-fat or soy milk (500ml)
|
¾ cups of cooked pulses (peas, beans, lentils)
(120g)
|
2 small blocks of soft bean curd
(170g)
|
Canned sardine (100g)
|
Table courtesy of
Health Hub.
When cooking meals at home
For meals prepared at home, here are examples of how to add protein.
When eating out
When eating out, here are ways to incorporate protein for each meal.
When having a snack
If you are unable to meet the daily recommended amount of protein from your main meals, you can supplement with high-protein snacks between meals.
Handful of mixed nuts
and seeds
≅ 4g of protein | 
1 bowl of bean curd (unsweetened)
≅ 4g of protein
| 
1 cup of soya milk
(unsweetened)
≅ 7g of protein
|
 1 slice of
whole grain bread
≅ 4g of protein
|  1 cup of guava (unsweetened)
≅ 4.2g of protein
|  1 cup of non-fat yogurt
≅ 8g of protein
|
≅ means approximately equals to
Is animal protein better than plant protein or vice versa?
This is a question that Dr Ng frequently gets from her patients. Animal protein may contain a greater amount and more complete set of essential amino acids for muscle formation; however it usually comes packaged with saturated fat and cholesterol.
"Different plant proteins contain varying amounts and types of amino acids, including the essential ones. Hence previously it was thought that for protein synthesis, one must eat plant proteins in certain combinations at the same meal, for example, combining rice with legumes in order to ensure that one has taken the complete set of amino acids needed for protein synthesis," Dr Ng said.
"However, this has been debunked. It is now known that the human body can store the different amino acids. If one eats a variety of plant proteins regularly to replenish these stores, all the amino acids are available for protein synthesis at any time. There is no need to eat food in certain combinations in any one meal," she added.
Of the amino acids, the one in shortest supply in a plant-based diet is lysine. It is beneficial therefore to recommend taking more of the lysine-rich plant proteins. These also happen to be the ones we are most commonly recommending already, such as soy-based products (tofu, edamame, tempeh, soy milk), legumes (like beans, lentils, dried peas, peanuts), nuts and seeds (almonds, pistachios, walnuts, pumpkin).
Plant proteins also come packaged with other beneficial components such as fibre, antioxidants, minerals, vitamins, phytochemicals and water.
Thus, taking plant-based proteins reduces blood vessel inflammation, oxidative stress, heart disease and cancer risk and improves the body’s insulin sensitivity and ability to handle sugar.
Examples of grains, nuts and seeds, and legumes include:
Grains
Barley
Buckwheat
Cornmeal
Oats
Rice
Rye
Wheat
Nuts and Seeds
Pumpkin
Sesame
Sunflower |
Legumes
Beans
Chickpeas
Lentils
Peas
Peanuts
Soybeans
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As you can see, there clearly are benefits to making time to squeeze in some exercise before each meal. But equally important of cultivating the habit of doing regular exercise, is the importance of proper nutrition during meals – which includes having a portion of protein for each meal to maintain muscle mass.
Ref: G25
Check out more articles on exercise tips:
Top Exercises for a Healthy Heart
Exercises to Lower Bad Cholesterol (LDL), Blood Pressure, Blood Sugar and Beat Obesity
Exercises for Strong Bones
Top Exercises for Seniors
