Science

HMB supplements work at any age

There’s a line of reasoning among bodybuilders that goes like this: The older you get, the less muscle you can build, the more fat you gain, and the less effective supplements become at giving you mind-blowing results. While it’s clear that building muscle is harder as you age because of declining hormones, and that gaining fat is easier because of metabolic slowdown, it’s not so clear that supplements work less as you age. And when it comes to beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB), a new study challenges the conventional wisdom.

Researchers gave HMB to young, middle-aged and older bodybuilders and found that, regardless of age, HMB “may inhibit the ubiquitin-proteasome proteolytic pathway responsible for the specific degradation of intracellular proteins. HMB may also directly stimulate protein synthesis, through an mTOR dependent mechanism.”

FUSION FACT

Despite some of the conflicting evidence on HMB and the notion that supplements work less as you age, this study on HMB, at least, shows that there are always exceptions to the rule. HMB works for everyone – so take it! You can lose fat, gain muscle and get awesome results.

SOURCE

Wilson GJ, Wilson JM, Manninen AH. Effects of beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB) on exercise performance and body composition across varying levels of age, sex, and training experience: A review.Nutr Metab (Lond). 2008 Jan 3;5:1.

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