The supplements are fruit flavoured drinks approximately the size of a small apple juice carton (200 ml).
They are produced by a Norwegian company called Smartfish and incorporate a food ingredient produced by the Irish company Glanbia.Nutritionals. I think they taste great!
The drinks are not commercially available and were custom-made for the NUTRIMAL project. Each participant will be randomly allocated to receive one of the following supplements for the 6 month period:
Supplement 1
Supplement 1 contains milk protein (whey). Evidence from previous research studies suggests that whey protein from milk is especially effective for increasing the rate of muscle building in older adults. In addition, this supplement has added leucine. Leucine is one of building blocks that makes up protein in foods and is known to have a special role as a ‘trigger’ for muscle building.
There is also some carbohydrate (from fruit sugars) and fat (from sunflower oil) in this supplement.
There are 200 calories per drink.
Supplement 2
Supplement 2 contains milk protein with added leucine (just like supplement 1) but it also contains omega 3 fatty acids from fish oil. A previous study found that older adults supplemented with fish oil for 6 months had an increase in muscle mass and strength. However, no studies have examined if a combination of whey protein, added leucine and fish oil can lead to an even greater improvement in muscle mass and strength than whey protein and added leucine alone…and that is what we want to find out in the NUTRIMAL study.
There is also some carbohydrate (from fruit sugars) in this supplement.
There are 200 calories per drink.
Supplement 3
Supplement 3 placebo (contains no milk protein or fish oil). This supplement contains fat (from sunflower oil) and carbohydrate from fruit sugars as well as added sugars (~ 3 tsp added sugar per drink).
There are 200 calories per drink.
The NUTRIMAL PROJECT 