According to the Ministry of Health''s "Guidelines for the Intervention of Elderly Falls", falls are the number one cause of injury and death in the elderly in my country. In 2006, the data of the cause of death of the National Disease Surveillance System showed that the mortality rate of falls for elderly people over 65 years old in my country was 49.56 per 100,000 men and 52.80 per 100,000 women.

　　my country has entered an aging society, and the number of elderly people aged 65 and above has reached 150 million. According to a 30% fall rate (statistics in the United States and no statistics in China), more than 40 million elderly people will fall at least once a year. Falling seriously threatens the physical and mental health, daily activities and independent living capacity of the elderly, and also increases the burden on the family and society.

　　 Elderly people are prone to fall for many reasons. Decreased sensory system and balance ability, degeneration of central nervous system function, abnormal or degraded bone and muscle structure, chronic diseases or the influence of drugs, and even psychological factors are related to falls. One of the most important factors is the aging of the skeletal muscle system.

　　 It’s very reasonable to say, “People get old first”. In the past, it was believed that the elderly''s impaired exercise capacity was mainly caused by bone problems (such as arthritis, osteoporosis, and bone hyperplasia). But it is now known that muscle loss in the elderly is the most fundamental cause.

　　Lower limb muscle loss or weakening not only damages the health of joints and bones, but also directly reduces the stability of gait. In order to compensate for the decrease in muscle strength and mobility of the lower limbs, the elderly may take more cautious steps to walk slowly, resulting in shorter strides, discontinuous walking, and the feet cannot be raised to a suitable height, causing an increased risk of falling. The study found that the association between weakened quadriceps strength and falls in the elderly is significant.

　　In short, the elderly are prone to fall for many reasons, but muscle loss and lack of strength may be the main reasons for intervention. So, what measures should the elderly take to maintain the quantity and strength of muscles?

　　 1. Resistance training is an effective way to increase muscles and their strength. Resistance training refers to the need for exertion during activities, such as weightlifting (upper limbs), climbing or stairs (lower limbs), fitness pulling equipment, and also includes daily activities such as weight-bearing, squatting, walking with sandbags.

　　 2. Intake sufficient protein

　　Studies have shown that the elderly need less protein than young adults, as long as kidney function allows, the elderly must at least reach daily per kilogram Weight 1.2 grams of protein, protein accounts for 15-20% of total energy. Taking a person weighing 60 kg as an example, about 75 grams of protein should be ingested daily, which helps reduce muscle (the main component of which is protein) attenuation. And further research has found that high-quality protein from foods such as milk, eggs, lean meat, poultry, fish, shrimp and soy products is particularly important for maintaining muscle mass and strength. Therefore, the recipes for the elderly should not be too light. You should eat an appropriate amount of fish, meat, eggs, milk, and soy products evenly in three meals, so as to maximize the stimulation of muscle protein synthesis, increase and maintain muscle mass.

　　By the way (this conclusion is quoted from the report of Gu Jingfan, Gu Lao, a senior in domestic nutrition science at the 13th National Clinical Nutrition Conference), high-protein diet does not damage calcium retention in the body (it will not cause bone Mass loss), will not cause cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases (excluding the adverse effects of fat), will not damage kidney function, will not cause high blood pressure, and has nothing to do with the incidence of tumors... In a word, a high-protein diet is safe.

　　 3. Increase the intake of antioxidant nutrients, such as vitamin C, vitamin E, carotenoids, selenium, polyphenols, flavonoids, etc.

　　 These ingredients are mainly derived from vegetable foods such as vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts, whole grains (except for selenium). Their main role is to relieve oxidative stress, reduce muscle attenuation, and improve immune function.

　　 4. Increase the supply of vitamin D

　　Vitamin D is mainly synthesized by the skin under sunlight. It has long been known that it promotes calcium absorption and is therefore essential for bone health. It is now clear that vitamin D also has an important effect on muscle structure and function. Type Ⅱ muscle fibers have vitamin D receptors, and the number of receptors decreases with age, so increasing the vitamin D supply in the elderly can directly inhibit muscle fiber attenuation.

　　The way to increase the supply of vitamin D is to get more sun or take vitamin AD preparation (cod liver oil). New research shows that it is safe for adults to consume 50 micrograms (2000IU) per day.

　　——About the "muscle failure" of the elderly (sarcopenia) ''S research is an important development in nutrition in recent years. This article is just for the needs of science popularization, a brief (not complete) explanation, not academic literature. For netizens who are interested in this topic and want to discuss it in depth, please refer to relevant academic literature.