First of all, thank you for your mission to help practicing physicians better understand both nutrition and the need for strength training. I am very grateful that my son sent me a link to Dr. Baraki’s sarcopenia lecture which was my gateway into all of Barbell Medicine’s resources!
I am particularly grateful in contrast to my experience the past few days caring for a relative with a new cardiomyopathy & A-Fib dx probably caused by mitral regurgitation. Prior to this, a few years ago, she had developed muscle damage as a result of a switch from a longterm statin she had been on to Crestor. Then she decided to lose weight while not doing any movement and with less than optimal protein intake. Not surprisingly, muscle weakness was worse last time she was tested. So sarcopenia was already in play before the recent hospitalization and current status.
While she was in the hospital I was not there but suggested to the person with her to ask for increased protein in meals and that was not accomodated. This time, I was able to accompany her to a physician’s appointment and while there asked about lifestyle changes that could help her feel better. The doctor simply replied “Low sodium” and when I asked about protein said we’d talk about diet and rehab in a couple weeks, which I accepted since the patient is fearful and can get cantankerous in medical settings.
So part of my post is the contrast between your mission to educate the medical community and “low sodium” as the total recommendation .(Relative said in response at home. “It’s not a problem. I don’t salt my food” with no clue about all the salt in the premade stuff she’s not salting. I would have appreciated another sentence or two from the doctor: how much sodium and where you have to be careful.) The contrast made me want to say thank you for what you provide here and for your larger mission to the medical community.
I do have a few questions and I hope that if I ask generally, it will be okay for you to answer.
With regard to protein:
- Is there any contraindication to increasing protein for someone with cardiomyopathy? (I did try to research this and couldn’t find anything one way or the other.)
- Patient is weak and only gets out of bed to go to the bathroom or the kitchen or to let the dog out of a small living space, so not much movement and that exhausts her Given the very significant muscle loss before this, I am worried about accelerating sarcopenia. I was not able to see the references on the video of Dr. Baraki’s sarcopenia lecture. Do you have one or two about the need for protein while being essentially bedridden? What is the grams per pound for an elderlly person with necessarily very low levels of activity?
Also do you have any resources on why whole grains are helpful to the heart? I know they are recommended by all reputable sources, but the patient is very influenced by an anti-grain relative. I can find sources on why whole grains are better than refined grains but haven’t been able to find resources on why whole grains are better than no grains.