Protein Punch!

Dr Siddhant Bhargava, Co-Founder, Fitness & Nutritional Scientist, Food Darzee, on the renewed push for protein in men and women.

As one starts aging, there are certain physiological changes that start taking place. The degenerative process increases with age and it is extremely important to make sure that it is put on hold as early as possible. It’s an established fact that as one ages, there are hormonal changes that occur and they are primarily responsible for most of the collateral changes that occur.

For a male, after the age of 35, the amount of testosterone in the blood starts dipping and for a female, after her menopause, her estrogen and progesterone levels start falling.

Along with these sex hormonal changes, even the amount of growth hormone starts dipping with age. This reduction in hormones causes various problems like lowered muscle mass, slower metabolism, weaker bones and ligaments, susceptibility to fractures, dry skin, hair loss, brittle nails, fatigue, sluggishness and just a generalized lowering of mood and libido. But these symptoms can definitely be safeguarded and reversed with a few effective steps. One common entity that is to be blamed for a couple of these is a lack in daily protein intake.

Let’s start at the beginning. There are two main factors that determine your basal metabolic rate (the capacity of your body to burn calories and produce energy).

1. Hormones – cortisol, epinephrine and thyroid hormones.