Protein-rich Diet and Exercise Help Seniors Live longer: Study

No one can defy death. All that one can do is add some more years to one’s lifespan. If you really want to live longer and stay healthier then you can start with exercise and the right diet, suggests a new study.

Conducted by researchers at the Manchester Metropolitan University, the new study, has found that exercise, low to moderate workouts, and a diet containing proteins and carbohydrates can help old people live longer and stay healthier.

In their research, lead researcher Dr Gladys Pearson, from Manchester Metropolitan University, and colleagues found that secret to a longer and healthier life lies in the consumption of a glass of sugary drink, like orange juice, light exercise, say gardening, and a protein-rich diet everyday.

Dr Pearson’s team presented their findings on Thursday at a session on the closing day of the annual British Association Festival of Science in Liverpool.

The researchers reached their findings after a three-month-long experiment involving 78 men and women aged between 65 and 92. In the experiment, the researchers compared the effects of no exercise, and mild or heavy exercise with or without the addition of a high-carbohydrate glucose drink and an over-the-counter "bulking up" product.

"Our aim was to study how to use nutrition and exercise in older people to try and reverse some of the negative aspects of ageing," Dr Pearson said. "We were trying to look at the type of exercise and the intensity of the exercise and at the social aspects of the routine to assess how likely they were to participate in the experience."

The researchers divided the participants, who were all healthy, into five groups with activities including involvement in low, medium and high levels of exercise.

The study subjects did weights at the gym, stood on one leg with their eyes closed to improve balance and went for short walks. Some subjects exercised more furiously than others and some took Lucozade (a sweet beverage) before and during exercising and a protein supplement drink within 30 minutes after finishing.

After three months, Dr Pearson’s team found that all groups were healthy, but those who did best were the ones who had done low to moderate exercise and had taken the carbohydrates and protein supplementation.

Men and women in this group did better than those who did the exercise but did not take the supplements. Participants in this group had shed more weight and showed improvements in skeletal muscle and were more flexible than any of the other groups, including those who had undertaken the heavy exercise while supplementing their diet.

"Our advice is to have a glass of orange juice before doing the gardening, and half an hour afterwards a steak or some other kind of protein-rich meal. Because this is the time when the body is ready and raring to take up protein," Dr Pearson suggested.