Sarcopenia
Protein intake and physical activity are important stimuli for muscle protein synthesis. A number of expert groups have proposed an increase in dietary protein recommendations for older age groups to 1.0-1.2 g/kg body weight per day.
Key nutrient supplementation in older adults is of interest in the prevention of sarcopenia and frailty, since it is a simple, low-cost treatment approach without major side effects.
Vitamin E
The U.S. Institute of Medicine (renamed National Academy of Medicine in 2015) updated Estimated Average Requirements (EARs) and Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) for vitamin E in 2000. The EAR for vitamin E for women and men ages 14 and up is 12 mg/day. The RDA is 15 mg/day. RDAs are higher than EARs so as to identify amounts that will cover people with higher than average requirements. For infants up to 12 months the Adequate Intake (AI) is 4–5 mg/day. As for safety, Tolerable upper intake levels (ULs) are set for vitamins and minerals when evidence is sufficient. Hemorrhagic effects in rats were selected as the critical endpoint to calculate the UL via starting with the lowest-observed-adverse-effect-level (LOAEL) and processing that through an uncertainty factor calculation. The end result was a UL set at 1000 mg/day. Collectively the EARs, RDAs, AIs and ULs are referred to as Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs).