According to Healthline.com Sarcopenia is the loss of muscle tissue due to aging. A further refinement of the definition is found in ScienceDirect in which the refined definition says that the person is no longer able to lift or perform everyday life functions due to lack of strength. OK, this looks like a normal part of the aging process, but another article in the same publication tells us that there is primary and secondary Sarcopenia. Secondary Sarcopenia or acute sarcopenia has been defined as muscle loss due to hospitalization, inflammation, muscle disuse, and malnutrition.

Doctor Lee Goldman proposes that a treatment may include the introduction of easily digested protein into the diet. This sounds like an oxymoron. Protein in not easily digested. I then think back to a conversation that I had with my doctor when we developed my morning coffee drink. We included whey in the drink because she said that she was not sure that I was able to digest complex protein. So, I need to make sure that I continue to drink my super coffee in the morning and an additional cup after I exercise in the evening as I also learn that taking in protein after exercise may help me build muscle.

The main focus in most articles was on the need to remain active and to develop an exercise routine that you keep with a great deal of regularity. The thirty minutes a day of aerobic activity that the CDC recommends should be accompanied by 2 or more days of strength training. This is the scientifically based recommendation by the CDC.

So, if you have a chronic disease like COPD, you will need to be sure to keep to at least the minimum CDC requirements so that the loss of muscle mass is not accelerated. We just have to “Keep on keepin on.” 

Coffee drink 1 heaping teaspoonful of powdered Ensure, 1 heaping teaspoonful of unsweetened cocoa, 1 scoop of whey. Add coffe slowly while stirring vigorously.