Collagen Peptide Supplementation: Are They Beneficial For Elderly men?
Recently I posted a study that explained that Collagen Peptides as a protein supplement for muscle recovery, growth and strength has no real benefit for post exercise MyoPS (myofibril protein synthesis) due to the low amounts of EAA’s and Leucine.
I thought I would follow that study up with one that did show some conceivable positive results for an elderly population of men that had begun to show signs of sarcopenia. Sarcopenia by definition is when an individual starts to show an age-related decline in muscle mass and/or demonstrates motor control functional deficits or inabilities.
Here is a summary of the meta-analysis study:
The test had elderly men either take collagen supplementation after resistance training exercise or a placebo (fake collagen), as it was a blinded and controlled study of 53 male subjects for 12-weeks.
They all took part in resistance training, supplementation, and were tested on fat free mass, fat mass, bone mass using dual-energy
x-ray. They also were tested on
individual strength-based measurements and sensory motor controls.
Following the program all participants showed significant higher results of Fat Free Mass, Body Mass, Quadricep Strength, Strength Motor Controls, and Lower Fat Mass.
The Collagen Peptide subjects showed further improved body composition (FFM), muscle strength and loss of Fat Mass (FM).
The Flaw In the Science:
Collagen's amino acid profile lacks Leucine and has very low biological values in many other critical amino acids that help with Muscle Protein Synthesis. Nevertheless, it does seem to have benefits for elderly men who lack activity and calorie surplus. Elderly men typically have low protein diets and collagen adds amino acids to the body).
Any additional substrates (which has shown to benefit older adults in terms of energy), in this case Collagen, would increase additional calories associated with supplementation. Increasing energy consumption combined with performing resistance training would generally demonstrate a conceivable positive outcome that might look like collagen was the reason for the growth/strength.
The mechanism isn't collagen building muscle. Collagen will not improve connective tissue markers. It is the resistance training and additional substrates for elderly men who typically don't meet intake requirements, which includes water, protein, calories, etc..
IMHO (in my humbled opinion):
The results of this study do show promising results for elderly men who resistance train and supplement any form of amino acid/protein regularly, which in this case was a Collagen Peptide.
Resistance training in sedentary individuals has been shown to increase Fat Free Mass, Fat Mass, Body Composition, and Strength along Type I, Type II fibers despite age due to myonuclear memory (which wasn’t taken into account with the test subjects).
Any aging population with extra protein, amino acids of any form would conceivably
improve energy consumption and possibly performance for someone who typically
does not or has not been partaking in a resistance type exercise routine with
dietary markers attached to it. As additional protein helps any trained muscle with room to gain, aka, especially sarcoplasmic or aging men.
Note to young resistance trainers--collagen does nothing for your muscles if you are eating enough protein.
BOTTOM LINE ABOUT COLLAGEN:
The literature for collagen for muscle has been blunt for years. Collagen is a poor muscle protein, yet it is sold on the same shelves as Protein.
Collagen does not build muscle or improve performance. It is sold for the whole body by influencers, health stores, and medical professionals, but it scores "0" on protein quality and cannot trigger MPS.
Resistance training along with whey, whole foods, or vegan protein are still a superior
resource for individuals who are attempting to improve strength, recovery, and
growth of their muscles at any age due to the higher contents of Leucine compared to a Collagen Peptide which has inferior leucine content.
A blend of collagen and whey protein has shown to increase connective protein thesis. This shows that collagen is not a stand-alone building signal and needs a complete protein alongside of it to contribute to improving connective tissue around the muscles.
Collagen has shown positive outcomes for tendons along with strength training and helps increase tendon size and the rate at which force develops.
After a month of daily use for skin/joints, elasticity/hydration, and pain/stiffness fall for Osteoarthritis the effect might be moderate rather than dramatic as it is usally symptom relief, not Cartledge regrowth.
FINAL THOUGHT:
If you are taking Collagen and counting towards the protein you eat to build or hold muscle, stop counting it, as trials have always come back with the same answer, "zero benefit."
If you are taking it for tendons and producing force fast, there is a slight enhancement, but you are better off holding isometric holds, plyometric training, or heavy resistance training as these will maximize threshold of force a tendon can respond to at the joint, tendon, muscle, and overall leg/vertical stiffness.
If you are going to buy collagen, do it for the second reason or not at all and always buy your protein separately.
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This blog is being sponsored by Profast, Inc. Just like collagen we help fasten material to structures so it will last a lifetime.Disclaimer: Sharing a study in NOT an endorsement. You should read the orginal research yourself and be critical.
