Frailty is a common clinical syndrome in older adults that increases the risk for poor health outcomes including falls, disability, hospitalization, and mortality. Previous research showed increased protein needs and reduced anabolic response to meals in older adults, indicating the need for proteins with a high anabolic capacity to prevent and attenuate physical and cognitive health decline throughout the frailty cycle. Recently, more people have chosen to eliminate animal (i.e., beef) products from their diets which is concerning because of beef's anabolic properties due to high essential amino acid (EAA) levels and many other positive health effects. The Researchers' recently developed stable isotope amino acid pulse method enables measurement of the true intracellular anabolic response to a meal and bioavailability of food-derived amino acids. The research objective is to examine differences in the anabolic response and bioavailability of individual EAA and non-essential amino acids (NEAA) in beef as compared to plant protein in older adults with and without (pre-)frailty.
Age 65-95 years old
Ability to walk, sit down, and stand up (independently or with walking assistance device)
No recent use (< 4 weeks prior to start of the study) of dietary supplements and medication influencing protein and amino acid metabolism (e.g., antibiotics, oral corticosteroids)
Willingness to lay supine in bed for up to 6 hours
Presence of malnutrition (BMI < 17 kg/m2), 2). BMI >35 kg/m2 to avoid weight-related metabolic disturbances,
Established diagnosis and active treatment of chronic disease: Insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, active malignancy, heart disease, kidney disease, liver disease, HIV/AIDS, Asthma (moderate to severe), Hep (A, B, or C)
History of untreated metabolic disease including hepatic or renal disorder
Presence of fever within the last 3 days