The number of people aged 65 and over is increasing worldwide, and aging is progressing in all countries. According to the UN Population Prospect Report, the elderly population is expected to reach 14.1% of the total population in 2040 (aging society) and 20.2% in 2080 (super-aged society). As the proportion of the elderly increases, people are now paying much attention not only to extending their lifespan but also to their quality of life in old age. What is the most important thing for a pleasant and happy old age? It’s definitely healthy.
Neuromuscular diseases are the main diseases that lower the quality of life in old age. Sarcopenia, in which the skeletal muscles that make up the body decrease, is one of them. If you do not get enough nutrients and do not exercise as you get older, the amount of muscle mass in your body, such as your arms and legs, will decrease and your muscle strength will weaken. Lifting objects or walking while standing will become difficult. There is a study report that intake of animal protein is more important than plant protein in preventing such sarcopenia.
According to a study by Dr. Phillips’ team in Canada, consuming a lot of animal protein, mainly lean meat, promotes protein synthesis per gram (gram), nitrogen retention in the body, and increases muscle mass, than intake of the same amount of plant protein.
A middle-aged man consumed soy protein equivalent to 113 g (4 ounces) of beef protein, and continued rest and exercise. After comparing the muscle protein synthesis reaction, it was found that beef promoted muscle protein synthesis more than soybean.
Beef protein is nutritionally a much more concentrated source of nutrients than soy protein. This is because the intake of 113 g of beef contains iron, zinc, and vitamin B12 in addition to protein, but soy protein is much lower or absent. If you do not consume beef at home, it is not easy to meet the recommended amounts of iron, zinc, and vitamin B12, which are difficult to obtain from non-meat protein. In fact, the beneficial effect of beef intake on muscle protein synthesis is closely related to the content of essential amino acids.
In the case of Hanwoo, a total of 39 meat parts are produced, and each part has a different nutritional composition and different meat quality characteristics. There are parts with a lot of marbling (intramuscular fat), but there are more lean parts such as forelimbs, ribs, ribs, rump, crucibles, and red ribs. 100g of low-fat beef contains regarding 22g of protein. Among the amino acids that make up protein, there are essential amino acids that cannot be produced by the body and must be ingested through food.
In addition, the low-fat part of Korean beef contains a lot of iron. When iron is insufficient, the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood and immunity also decrease. Cells need enough iron to fight germs and protect the body once morest foreign substances.
There are two types of iron in food: heme and non-heme, which are quickly absorbed by the body. Meat mainly contains ham iron, whereas vegetables, grains, and fruits mainly contain non-hem iron. When looking at the absorption rate, regarding 23-25% of iron from red meat such as beef is absorbed, but only regarding 1-2% of iron from plant foods is absorbed. In addition, since the iron in beef also plays a role in helping the iron absorption of plant foods, there is a study report that eating beef and vegetables together increases the iron absorption rate of non-ham vegetables up to 4 times.
A healthy diet is not regarding eating lots of good nutrients and avoiding bad ones. A harmonious table with rice and side dishes including various vegetables, fish and meat is beneficial to health.
In particular, if you regularly include high-protein foods (30g of meat protein) in your daily diet, it will help prevent sarcopenia by increasing muscle protein synthesis, as well as preventing diseases of old age. Remember that the older you get, the more important it is to eat beef, especially the low-fat cuts of beef, which can be a boost to a healthy life in old age.
