Your muscles, at any age.
Over the years, muscles gradually waste away. This is called sarcopenia. Eating well and staying active help slow down this loss and keep your independence.
- 1 to 2%of muscle mass lost each year after 50
- 1 kgof leg muscle lost in 10 days of bed rest, in healthy older people
- 25 to 30 gof protein per meal to feed your muscles
A slow loss, then a faster one.
From your fifties
After 50, we lose 1 to 2% of our muscle mass every year, and more after 70.
What speeds it up
An illness, an operation or a few days in bed make you lose muscle very quickly. Getting it back then takes weeks.
What you notice
Getting up from a chair becomes difficult, walking slows down, stairs are tiring, you are afraid of falling.
Protein at every meal.
What matters is the amount of protein at each meal, not just over the whole day.
The right amount
To feed your muscles, a meal should provide about 25 to 30 g of protein. Below 20 g, an older person’s muscles respond very little.
Breakfast, often forgotten
In the morning, we often eat bread and jam, with almost no protein. Add a dairy product, an egg or some cheese.
Leucine
This amino acid gives the muscle the signal to rebuild. It is found in dairy products, meat, fish and eggs.
Move, even a little.
Muscles need effort
Protein is better used by a muscle that is working. Walking every day, getting up from a chair several times, climbing a few steps: it all counts.
With a physiotherapist
After a fall, a stay in hospital or if you feel weak, a physiotherapist can suggest suitable exercises.
When food is no longer enough.
A simple guide
On a scale of 0 to 10, are you eating as you used to? If your answer is 7 or less, talk to your doctor or pharmacist.
One bottle a day
One bottle of Delical Concentré provides 29 g of protein, 3 g of leucine and 452 kcal. The usual guide is one bottle a day, in addition to meals, to be reviewed with your doctor after two weeks.
See also.
Are you eating as you used to?
The one-minute test, to find out whether you should talk to your doctor.
Calculate your Delidose
Count the chevrons on your supplements. If you are malnourished, the basic guide is 3 chevrons a day.
Malnutrition and cancer
Keep up your strength during treatment, even when your appetite and sense of taste change.
Before and after an operation
Be in good shape for surgery and heal more easily, thanks to what you eat.
Pressure sores and wound healing
Dressings protect, nutrition repairs. A simple guide for each stage.
Living with your supplements
Taking them properly, storing them, not getting tired of them and travelling with them.
Drinking well when swallowing is hard
Drinking enough every day without drinks going down the wrong way, with a printable diary.
Helping a loved one to eat and drink
The right steps at mealtimes, with a reminder sheet to put up in the kitchen.
Need advice?
You don’t have to search alone. Talk to your doctor, your dietitian or your pharmacist. Our team is also happy to answer your questions about our products.
Sources
- von Haehling S, Morley JE, Anker SD. An overview of sarcopenia: facts and numbers on prevalence and clinical impact. J Cachexia Sarcopenia Muscle. 2010;1(2):129-133. doi:10.1007/s13539-010-0014-2
- Kortebein P, et al. Effect of 10 days of bed rest on skeletal muscle in healthy older adults. JAMA. 2007;297(16):1772-1774. doi:10.1001/jama.297.16.1772-b
- Bauer J, et al. Evidence-based recommendations for optimal dietary protein intake in older people: a position paper from the PROT-AGE Study Group. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2013;14(8):542-559. doi:10.1016/j.jamda.2013.05.021
- Paddon-Jones D, Rasmussen BB. Dietary protein recommendations and the prevention of sarcopenia. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2009;12(1):86-90. doi:10.1097/MCO.0b013e32831cef8b
- Cruz-Jentoft AJ, et al. Sarcopenia: revised European consensus on definition and diagnosis. Age Ageing. 2019;48(1):16-31. doi:10.1093/ageing/afy169
Updated: November 2026.
Reviewed by Steeve Roland, physiotherapist, over 20 years in clinical nutrition, founder of BSNUTRITION · Updated on
Publisher: BS NUTRITION SA, Rue de l’Industrie 20, 1400 Nivelles, Belgium. Legal notice