Sports seniors have almost the same muscle metabolism as young people

Scientists from Maastricht University and UMC Amsterdam have found in a joint study on muscle tissue aging that the energy balance in the muscles of older and younger exercisers is almost the same.

They discovered this by comparing muscle biopsies from subjects of different age groups and physical conditions. One substance – NAD+ – was found to be present to a lesser extent in older muscles. This substance plays an important role in the energy factories of our cells. Animal studies have already shown that there is a link between NAD+ and longevity. So now we also know that it plays a role in human muscle aging.

But the researchers saw something else: very athletic older people were found to have as much of this substance as younger people. This suggests that people may be able to reverse or prevent muscle aging through an active lifestyle.

Couldn’t you just take a pill to increase your NAD+ level? They think about it, but until such a pill exists (and even if it really exists), the following applies: with exercise you keep your muscles young, even when you are old.

Read more: Healthy aging and muscle function are positively associated with NAD+ abundance in humans†