Protein/vitamin product helps seniors in these two vital ways

A multivitamin supplement with protein helped seniors increase their strength and improve their mobility, lending credence to the notion that proper nutrition for the elderly can increase the healthy portion of a person’s lifespan. 

The new research was published in the journal BMC Geriatrics. It was the work of researchers associated with universities in Sri Lanka and Australia. 

Doubts about multivitamins 

Multivitamins recently came under fire because of a JAMA study that concluded that multivitamin products do not extend lifespans. 

Industry stakeholders responded that what the study didn’t capture was how those products might help people stay healthier longer, even if they might not live longer overall.  After all, having a vibrant life for as long as possible is the goal, rather than extending a life that might include more years of infirmity. 

The research was conducted with elderly subjects 60 years of age and older in Sri Lanka, a country where the usual problems of aging – general frailty, slow walking speed and sarcopenia – can be exacerbated by malnutrition. The researchers used a dietary supplement branded as Entrasol aimed at older consumers that is manufactured by Kalbe Pvt. Ltd. Kalbe is a multinational OTC drug and supplement manufacturer with operations in many countries in the ASEAN region. 

The company funded the research, but the research team maintained it had no input into the study design, data collection or conclusions. 

Entrasol is a powder product that delivers a suite of vitamins and minerals at a mid-level dose (40% to 60% of Daily Value) as well as 12 grams of whey protein and dietary fiber from the prebiotic inulin. 

The researchers recruited 52 subjects living in care homes for their randomized study. The subjects, who were divided into two like-sized groups, all scored as mildly malnourished. 

The subjects in the intervention group ingested 57 grams of Entrasol dissolved in water daily for 12 weeks, while maintaining their regular diets and activity levels in the meantime. Subjects in the control group were given a glass of water instead. 

The subjects’ hand grip strength (HGS) and knee extension strength (KES) were assessed at baseline, at four weeks and again at 12 weeks.   

The subjects’ walking speed was assessed at baseline and again at the conclusion of the study. 

The researchers saw significant improvements in all measurements in the intervention group as compared to their peers who only received water. They noted that the seniors in the intervention group were significantly more active than their peers by the end of the study. 

“A 12-week supplementation with ONS (oral nutritional supplement) leads to significant improvements in KES, HGS, and gait speed among malnourished older adults when compared to controls. . . . Therefore, supplementation with ONS as a bedtime drink was found to be effective in improving the physical activity level and functional status of malnourished older adults,” they concluded. 

The limitations of the study, beyond the fact that it was not blinded and had no placebo arm, lie in the ambiguity of how the ONS exerted its effects. 

“It is important to acknowledge that while our study demonstrated significant improvements in physical functioning parameters, including HGS and KES, as well as increased physical activity levels, we did not directly investigate the underlying mechanisms. Future research may benefit from exploring these mechanisms in greater detail, especially in the context of ageing and malnutrition, to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the factors influencing dietary behaviour [sic] and nutritional outcomes,” the researchers wrote. 

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