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Protein powders are helpful supplements that are extremely beneficial for people of all ages and exercise levels. Individuals ranging from young athletes to older seniors can benefit from using protein powder to increase their protein intake to stimulate muscle growth, boost skeletal muscle mass, improve collagen production, prevent injuries, facilitate recovery, and increase amino acid production.

Protein powders are essential for long-term health and a very convenient way to meet your protein goals without consuming too many calories. Powders as a post-exercise recovery method and mid-day snack can often curb a sweet craving without giving in to snacks containing added sugars and harmful ingredients.

Protein powder contains numerous benefits that people don’t often think of, making it one of the most valuable supplements that you can add to your daily diet. Keep reading to find out more!

What Are the Benefits of Protein Powder?

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High-Quality Protein

Unlike other foods that can be sources of protein but often contain excess calories, additives, or unhealthy types of protein, protein powders are usually high quality and contain essential amino acids. Protein powders are also more easily absorbed by the stomach than foods containing the same protein content, making them more digestible.

Muscle Growth

Arguably, the biggest reason that people use protein powder in smoothies, shakes, baked goods, desserts, or yogurt toppings is to build muscle. More protein means it will be easier to maintain muscle mass, keep a lean body mass, and maintain a high level of sports performance. As we age, our muscle mass declines — but combatting the typical aging process by consuming more protein is a helpful way to reduce fat gain, prevent chronic disease, and look/feel better.

Specific protein powder, like whey protein isolate, also contains leucine, which offers the additional benefit of promoting branched-chain amino acids. This specific protein helps prevent age-related muscle mass decline, boosts full-body strength, and facilitates quicker muscle growth than soy or casein protein.

Lowers Blood Pressure

Protein powders have the potential to lower blood pressure for those who could be at risk of heart disease due to unhealthy eating habits or genetic predispositions. High blood pressure is a huge risk factor for a pulmonary event — but consuming dairy products, especially those with angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitors — can significantly reduce the risk of high blood pressure.

Many protein powders contain ACE inhibitors that balance blood pressure and can lower the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Reduced Inflammation

After a big gym session or a really hard soccer game, your muscles might feel especially sore. Or, maybe you experienced an injury during a sport or while you were working out. No matter the reason, inflammation can occur and linger in the injured area. Inflammation is your body’s way of telling you that something is wrong. However, long-term inflammation can lead to issues all on its own.

Consuming protein from protein powders can reduce reactive proteins that can build up and cause long-term inflammation and bloating within the body.

Is Protein Powder Good For Anti-Aging?

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Protein powder can be a great addition for older individuals to incorporate into their daily eating plan, as it helps with muscle mass maintenance, collagen production, immunity, and strength.

Protein powder helps older adults build and maintain muscle mass, which in turn reduces the risk of falling, injuries, and long-term mobility concerns. Building muscle makes it easier to move, adds stability, and boosts core strength for functional daily exercises.

Protein powder also helps with collagen production, which can lead to firmer skin, a more youthful-looking appearance, and increased self-confidence.

Furthermore, consuming enough protein from whole foods and protein powder can lead to higher immunity, helping combat seasonal illnesses and contagions, along with increasing full-body strength, even in hair, skin elasticity, muscles, and bones.

How Can Protein Powder Impact Aging Muscles?

Protein powder helps seniors and older individuals boost muscle mass by facilitating protein synthesis. This process stimulates muscle protein synthesis, leading to an increase in mass, functionality, and strength.

Older individuals with aging muscles can also focus on consuming more food sources of protein to supplement the powders they may have for post-exercise meals or snacks. Some of the best whole-food sources of protein include lean meats like beef and chicken, fatty fish like salmon, or dairy like cottage cheese and Greek yogurt.

Consuming at least 1-1.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight is essential to reduce the risk of falls, hospitalizations, and deaths in older individuals who are more prone to accidents as a result of lack of proprioception and losing balance.

What is the Best Protein For Seniors to Build Muscle?

There are a few different protein powder choices for older individuals that can meet their unique dietary and caloric needs. The best protein powder will depend on an individual’s current health, allergies, and doctor’s recommendations. Typically, the best protein powders have enough protein per serving to build muscle mass without any extra additives.

Whey protein powder, like ioWhey Protein offers a high level of bioavailability and clean protein for seniors. In addition, vegans or those who want to stay dairy-free can try plant-based protein powders like ioPea Protein.

Other types of protein powders or protein drinks that are helpful for seniors to stay healthy include pre-made drinks, like Ensure Complete (affiliate link), Boost High Protein Nutritional Drink (affiliate link), Fairlife Core Power Elite (affiliate link), and Premier Protein supplements (affiliate link).

How Often Should Older Adults Consume Protein Powder?

The maximum that an individual should consume protein power would ideally be 2x per day. It is recommended to be used after exercise to help with muscle repair and for a snack in between meals. Consuming around 30g of protein after exercise, especially resistance exercises, can help facilitate muscle growth, lead to quicker recovery, and prevent injuries.

In addition, having protein powder for a snack during the day can help individuals meet their protein goals without replacing any whole foods or meals.

Tips For Sneaking Protein Powder Into Your Diet

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Make a Breakfast Smoothie

One of the easiest ways to add protein powder to combat low protein intake is to make a breakfast smoothie or shake every morning. Protein powders come in various flavors, so you can choose whatever will complement your typical morning meal. Add chocolate protein powder to a strawberry and banana smoothie, or try adding vanilla protein powder with milk, berries, greens, and peanut butter.

Oatmeal or Yogurt

Adding a scoop of protein powder to your oatmeal or yogurt is an easy way to boost the protein content of your breakfast or snack without adding a lot of excess calories. Choose a flavor of protein powder that goes well with the oatmeal or yogurt, like adding chocolate protein powder to vanilla Greek yogurt for a healthy midday snack.

Use for Baking

It is so easy and fast to add protein powder to any baking recipe! Adding protein powder to muffins, cakes, breads, or cookies is a healthy way to increase your optimal dietary protein intake without adding excess sugar or additives.

We recommend adding chocolate protein powder to chocolate banana muffins for a healthy on-the-go breakfast. You can even make healthy protein powder cookies that curb any sweet cravings while providing a well-balanced dessert option. Just use protein powder, peanut butter, chocolate chips, eggs, and a brown sugar substitute for a post-dinner treat.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, protein powder is not only good for athletes, bodybuilders, and gym-goers but also ‘regular’ people who want a convenient way to boost their daily protein intake. More protein means more muscle mass and protein synthesis, which leads to enhanced muscle growth, stimulated collagen production, and increased nutrient intake.

Protein consumption for athletes facilitates quicker recovery from intense exercise sessions, whereas protein for older individuals can help prevent a loss of muscle mass that can lead to falls, balance issues, and hospitalizations.

No matter how old or active you are, protein is a critical nutrient that should be a part of every snack and meal.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should a 50-year-old man take protein powder?

There is no age limit to having protein powder. In fact, as you get older, consuming more protein is often a beneficial idea to fight off low bone density, reduced muscle mass, chronic illness, and recurring injuries. A 50-year-old man should take protein powder as a snack or post-workout meal to boost his muscle mass and recover quicker after resistance training.

Does protein powder help with muscle atrophy?

Consuming enough protein helps with muscle atrophy by minimizing muscle loss with age, facilitating regrowth of muscle loss after surgery, or preventing muscle loss that can come from specific disorders or illnesses. Although protein powders are not necessary for helping with atrophy, having an easily digestible whey protein supplementation is often convenient for those who might have trouble digesting solid foods.

Does protein powder help wrinkles?

Protein powder stimulates collagen production, which is a key factor in hair and skin health. Consuming whey protein helps with hair strength and density, preventing hair loss and boosting the durability and shine factor of each strand. In addition, protein can help fight off wrinkles by boosting skin elasticity.

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The information provided in this article is for educational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the guidance of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read in this article.