Posted on 03/02/2006 12:37:41 PM PST by Brilliant
The popular saying goes that 70 is the new 60 and 60 is the new 50, unfortunately for much of New Zealand's aging population declining muscle function means it simply isn't true.
New research however from The University of Auckland's Faculty of Science aims to develop a non-pharmaceutical means to maintain muscle function and quality of life in older individuals. The good news is the answer could be as simple as taking a stroll followed by a glass of chocolate milk.
Senior lecturer at the Department of Sport and Exercise Science, Dr Benjamin Miller, says the goal of his research is not to make athletes out of the elderly, but to increase our lifespan and quality of life in old age.
"The ability of people to create energy and perform work stems from structures that exist inside our cells called mitochondria. As we grow older the amount of mitochondria we have decreases and with it our respiratory capacity.
"This decline is determined by the turnover of proteins in the mitochondria. We hope to highlight an effective and easy way to maintain the protein content in muscles or at least replace old and damaged proteins with new ones."
With funding assistance from the New Zealand Health Research Council, Dr Miller and PhD student Cheryl Murphy, asked a group of elderly kiwis to perform two identical sessions of aerobic exercise on a stationary bike. After one session the participants were asked to drink a mixture of protein and carbohydrate (e.g. sweetened milk) and after the other just carbohydrates.
It is well known that consuming proteins and sugars after resistance training increases the synthesis of proteins used for force i.e. it builds muscles. Dr Miller's research will tell us whether doing the same after aerobic exercise can also increase the synthesis of mitochondrial proteins which affect our ability to make energy and play a large role in our mortality.
"We know of course that exercise has a wide variety of health benefits, but our research specifically targets mitochondria since they are a cause of age-related decreases in muscle function.
"If successful, we could prove that our non-pharmaceutical means to increase muscle quality could mean that a practice as simple as drinking a Milo after exercise may help reduce our morbidity and prolong mortality."
How about just chocolate?
Ovaltine. MMMmmm.
I can live with that!
There are worse things than that, bet Nestle stocks jump on this announcement.
I have a strong belief that everything that is natural has some health benefits. I believe chocolate in small quantities is good for you. When I eat it it makes me cheer up. Legend has it chocolate makes you randy(Austin Powers voice)
"How do you make chocolate? You take dark chocolate, you mix it with white milk, and it becomes a delicious drink. That is the chocolate I am talking about," he (Nagin) said. "New Orleans was a chocolate city before Katrina. It is going to be a chocolate city after. How is that divisive? It is white and black working together, coming together and making something special."
I have read a lot on this subject. Most of the research shows that chocolate is very beneficial to heart and blood pressure issues. But milk chocolate is not on the list. Dark, bitter chocolate is. Blecck.
And I thought those guys at Gold's Gym were just wasting their money on post-exercise protein smoothies.
I've heard there's a shirt being sold at Mardi Gras that says, "Keep drinking until Nagin makes sense."
So Quai Gon Jin was right?
Nothing like a little refined sucrose to add to your health. (I don't buy it).
My wife was an earth sign and I was a water sign...together we made mud...-Rodney Dangerfield
Her drink of choice, of course, is Hershey's syrup in milk (she tried to convince me, of course, that the ideal formula was five parts syrup to one part milk... but Mom had the final say...). Who'd a thunk, Chocolate is a powerfood!?
LOL
The absolutely Best Tasting Chocolate Milk around is Midnight Chocolate from Promised Land Dairy in Floresville, TX.
In the beginning.........
there were 200 acres of raw mesquite covered land, plentiful dreams of a Jersey herd with rich and flavorful milk, and a few beehives scattered around the rolling hills
A land of milk and honey ...... from Deuteronomy 26:9, "He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey."
More Ovaltine, Please!!!
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