Eggs are the best source of protein but they are inadequate to maintain or build muscle mass in older muscles.
As you age this ratio of protein intake to body weight needs to be increased. The older your body, the more protein is required to maintain muscle mass. It is now commonly recognised that people over 70 need closer to 2 grams of protein a day per kilo of body weight.
And because older bodies have a protein response ceiling, they do need the protein intake spaced over the day – .4 grams of protein per meal per kilo of body weight, 30 grams of protein per meal, rather than loaded at one meal.
Inside our muscle cells the signal to grow new muscle is controlled by what scientists have labeled mTORC1 (mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1). If switched off, no new muscle tissue is built from the available protein. When switched on, the body grows new muscle.
As we age the same amount of protein does not produce the same muscle building response it did in our youth. The switch is not inactive, it just takes more protein the activate the switch. Specifically the amino acid Leucine.
In our youth, only 1.7 grams of Leucine was needed to flip the mTORC1 switch to ON. After age 70, 2.8 to 3 grams of Leucine per meal is required to flip the switch.
To flip that switch and counter anabolic resistance we need more leucine than is available from a regular serving of two or three eggs for breakfast. We need to supplement with 35-40 grams of whey protein or with 3 grams of the specific amino acid Leucine.
The optimum window for protein ingestion after resistance training narrows as we age. To realise maximum benefit from protein post resistance exercise, have it within 30 minutes of your workout.
Vitamin D upregulates protein synthesis pathways and supports satellite cell proliferation, new muscle fiber creation and regeneration. 70% of people tested have less than the optimal blood level of Vitamin D (75-125 nmol/L). This helps explain why two people with the same diet and exercise will experience vastly different muscle mass gains.