#73 - Protein and muscle adaptations to loading and unloading with Professor Luc van Loon

Dr Glenn McConell chats with Professor Luc van Loon from Maastricht University, The Netherlands. He is an expert with a wealth of knowledge on the role of physical activity/exercise and nutrition on muscle adaptation. A lot of his research focuses on protein and protein synthesis. He applies these studies to young healthy individuals, the aged and also has conducted important experiments on people in ICU. He makes it clear that most people, especially athletes, get enough protein in their diet so do not need to take supplements. Are there really non responders to exercise training? Anabolic resistance with aging is due to inactivity. Lots more. A very interesting chat. 0:00. Introduction 2:09. How Luc got into exercise research 6:30. Moving into protein metabolism 8:05. Using tracers to determine exercise metabolism 11:40. How much protein do we need? 16:35. Protein rich foods after exercise 17:00. Generally don’t need supplements. 18:20. Food vs supplements 19:35. Effects of lower protein intakes 23:50. Protein turnover in some organs higher than muscle 28:00. Optimal protein intake/additional protein 31:00. Athletes eat more so likely don’t need extra protein 34:00. Exercise increases protein uptake for up to 48hr 38:40. Increased protein synthesis doesn’t necessarily mean increased muscle mass 42:37. Protein needs of strength vs endurance athletes 44:45. “Protein supplementation” just means above normal diet 49:30. Misunderstanding of research findings re translation 50:43. Need consistent exercise to adapt 56:43. Plant vs animal proteins: not a big issue 1:03:40. We are recycling a lot of protein each day 1:05:33. Exercise stimulus and individual variations of adaptations 1:07:50. Are there really non responders to exercise training? 1:11:09. Re-sensitizing muscle by changing the stimulus 1:12:42. Anabolic resistance with age (due to inactivity?) 1:16:50. Muscle loss with aging largely episodes of bed rest etc 1:20:17. Electrical stimulation prevents muscle loss in ICU 1:25:06. Normal response to resistance training with aging 1:34:22. Protein use during exercise 1:36:16. Protein synthesis occurs during exercise 1:40:00. Protein requirements when injuries/in bed 1:41:40. Does collagen supplementation have benefits? 1:45:20. What further studies would Luc like to do? 1:46:10. Personalized diet and exercise prescription 1:47:09. Sex differences, men and women studies etc 1:49:22. Takeaway messages 1:50:28. What’s most important, diet or physical activity? 1:51:55. Outro Inside Exercise brings to you the who's who of research in exercise metabolism, exercise physiology and exercise’s effects on health. With scientific rigor, these researchers discuss popular exercise topics while providing practical strategies for all. The interviewer, Emeritus Professor Glenn McConell, has an international research profile following 30 years of Exercise Metabolism research experience while at The University of Melbourne, Ball State University, Monash University, the University of Copenhagen and Victoria University. He has published over 120 peer reviewed journal articles and recently edited an Exercise Metabolism eBook written by world experts on 17 different topics (https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-94305-9). Connect with Inside Exercise and Glenn McConell at: Twitter: @Inside_exercise and @GlennMcConell1 Instagram: insideexercise Facebook: Glenn McConell LinkedIn: Glenn McConell https://www.linkedin.com/in/glenn-mcconell-83475460 ResearchGate: Glenn McConell Email: glenn.mcconell@gmail.com Subscribe to Inside exercise: Spotify: shorturl.at/tyGHL Apple Podcasts: shorturl.at/oFQRU YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@insideexercise Anchor: https://anchor.fm/insideexercise Google Podcasts: shorturl.at/bfhHI Anchor: https://anchor.fm/insideexercise Podcast Addict: https://podcastaddict.com/podcast/4025218 Not medical advice