Lori Brizee finds it’s common for people over 70 to go on the “tea and toast diet.” That’s where you have a cup of tea or coffee and white toast for breakfast.

For someone who’s no longer as active as they once were, it might fill them up. But Brizee, a registered dietitian and the owner of Central Oregon Nutrition Consultants, would much prefer to see older adults eat some protein for breakfast, such as yogurt or eggs.

“The big thing that I see missing in older adults’ diets is protein,” she said. “I’m like a broken record at work telling people they need to add protein, especially at breakfast. Because you’ve got to get it throughout the day.”

Brizee and other dietitians say they’re worried that the coming wave of sarcopenia, natural muscle loss as people age, could take a major toll on baby boomers’ health if they don’t boost their protein intakes. Severe muscle loss increases a person’s frailty, decreases their ability to function independently and increases the risk of falls.

Although dietitians tend to favor real food over supplements, they found hope in a new study out of McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, that found subjects over 70 built strength and lean muscle mass using whey protein both before and after muscle-building resistance exercise.

“This is definitely the key,” said Kim Larson, a spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. “It works in the elderly population just as well as it works in 25- and 35-year-olds. I think it’s fantastic.”

The authors of the study, published last month in the journal PLOS ONE, used existing research to formulate what they thought would be the most effective supplement possible: 30 grams of whey protein, 2.5 grams of the organic acid creatine, calcium, vitamin D and omega 3 fatty acids. Half of the subjects consumed two doses of the supplement per day; the other half received a control drink made mostly of maltodextrin.

After six weeks without exercising, the supplement group saw an increase in isotonic muscle strength and lean body mass, while the control group did not. Following 12 weeks of resistance training and cardio, both groups saw significant gains in muscle strength but no further increase in lean body mass.

Stuart Phillips, a lead author on the study and kinesiology professor at McMaster University, said it was important to use whey protein over plant-based proteins like pea or soy because it’s high in a muscle building amino acid called leucine.

“It’s kind of like flipping the light switch on the process of making new muscle proteins,” Phillips said.

Phillips receives funding from the U.S. National Dairy Council, but said no one else on the research team did and the money did not impact their results. He said the team chose whey because of research showing it is the best for building muscle.

Larson, a registered dietitian in Seattle, agrees the results would not have been as strong if the team had used a different form of protein. She has her clients consume whey protein, too, except through dairy products instead of supplements. That said, Larson said she’s not opposed to older adults getting whey protein using a supplement.

Both Larson and Brizee said they were encouraged by the fact that the study subjects saw gains even without exercising. That shows that whey protein might be good in boosting the nutrition of older adults who can’t exercise because they’re hospitalized or recovering from a major surgery like a hip replacement. Brizee said she often recommends protein supplements for people who are getting ready for a surgery. Being well nourished going into the procedure makes them more likely to have better outcomes, she said.

In the study, subjects in both groups were assigned to exercises that included raising themselves up from a chair, leg presses and extensions, chest and shoulder presses, horizontal rows, walking and stationary bicycling. Phillips, who also directs McMaster’s Physical Activity Centre of Excellence, said as people age, resistance training becomes increasingly important for building strength and maintaining muscle. Cardiovascular exercise is important, too, but it doesn’t make people stronger, he said.

“Strength, I think, for older people becomes as powerful as cardiovascular or heart and lung fitness as we age,” Phillips said.

The U.S. government’s Recommended Dietary Allowance, the average daily level of intake necessary to meet the nutritional requirements of most healthy people, recommends 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. For a 150-pound person, that would be about 54 grams of protein per day.

Phillips, by contrast, said he thinks those recommendations are dated. He believes older adults need almost double that: at least 1.2 grams and as much as 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight daily. For her part, Brizee recommends her older patients consume 1.2 grams of protein per kilogram — roughly 82 grams daily for a 150-pound person. Larson says between 1.2 and 1.4 grams for patients over 50, but cautioned that recommendations vary based on factors like height, body composition and activity level.

The study has important caveats. It was small — only 22 people received the supplement and 24 received the placebo — and only included men. Phillips said he hopes to eventually develop a supplement — likely a variation of the one in this study — that will be sold commercially and marketed toward older adults. Products like Boost and Ensure are already designed for that purpose, but he said they don’t contain enough protein and have too much fat and sugar.

Indeed, an 8-ounce bottle of chocolate Ensure contains 9 grams of protein, 15 grams of sugar and 9 grams of fat. A bottle of chocolate Boost contains 10 grams of protein, 15 grams of sugar and 4 grams of fat.

When people think of whey protein supplements, they tend to think of bodybuilders, Phillips said. But in many cases, a bodybuilder has already reached the maximum amount of muscle they can have, so more protein won’t benefit them.

“Whereas older people who have muscle mass on the decline can actually turn around and mitigate some of their muscle loss more with exercise than with protein, though protein would surely be the fuel for that,” he said. “Whey protein would be, in my estimation, more beneficial for an older person than it would be for a body builder.”

— Reporter: 541-383-0304,

tbannow@bendbulletin.com