Reversing Muscle Loss With Exercise Training and Daily Consumption of Pomegranate Juice
Condition: Sarcopenia; Cardiovascular Risk Factor
MeSH terms: Sarcopenia
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      A research study regarding the body's response to several weeks of training using short
      sprints and pomegranate juice supplementation
    

Detailed description: 
      The investigators have shown that chronic pomegranate juice consumption in both young
      untrained and weight-trained men partially protects muscles against the damage done from
      performing high intensity eccentric contractions and that it accelerates recovery of
      function. Clearly, skeletal muscle is a target for some of the healthful molecules in
      pomegranate juice. However, the most widespread and serious ailment to strike skeletal muscle
      is sarcopenia (e.g.; loss of muscle mass and becoming 'frail') with age due predominantly to
      a loss of 'fast-twitch' muscle fibers. Since adults rarely sprint or exert maximal force or
      power, they rarely use their fast-twitch muscle fibers, which thus degenerate greatly with
      age. Usually, about one-half of a person's muscle fibers are fast-twitch. It is the
      investigators' hypothesis that the combination of power exercise training and pomegranate
      juice supplementation (POM) over 10 weeks, will elicit greater improvements in maximal
      muscular power and functional physical abilities compared to power training with a placebo.
      The investigators also will identify changes in size and composition of leg muscles (MRI) and
      of the whole body (DEXA). The investigators simple logic is that muscles deteriorate with age
      because they are 'turned-off' and that exercise training can turn them 'back-on', but in
      order for the muscle fibers to fully repair when turned 'back-on' with exercise, they might
      benefit from agents known to foster repair, such as the natural polyphenols in pomegranate
      juice. It has recently been found that polyphenols are metabolized into urolithins which
      improve muscle cell function due to increased mitophagy. The investigators aim to determine
      if power training and pomegranate juice have additive effects in promoting improvements of
      muscle function and mass in men and women age 50-70 y.

      A second purpose is to include a cardio-metabolic exercise training stimulus into the workout
      without compromising the efficacy of the power training. One feature of cardio-metabolic
      training is an increase in muscle mitochondria and oxygen utilization which might improve
      muscle fiber repair. The 'power training' will consist of maximal effort 4 sec sprints on a
      cycle ergometer with no added resistance with the only load being that of the inertia of the
      flywheel as the subject accelerates from 0 to their maximal RPM's while cycling (100-150
      RPM)('inertial load ergometer'; ILE). The power training will be accomplished by having the
      subject complete 15-30 sprints in a 15 min period. During the training bouts, initially the
      subjects will rest 56 s between sprints (week 1- complete 15 sprints in each15 min bout), and
      then 41 s between sprints (weeks 2-5 and complete 20 sprints) and finally 26 s between
      sprints (weeks 6-10 and complete 30 sprints). The shorter rest periods (41 s and 26 s) will
      result in incomplete recovery of the cardio-respiratory system and thus the oxygen
      consumption and heart rate will average 50-70% of maximal values, which is a similar
      intensity as jogging, but without the jarring of foot strike.
    

Intervention name(s): Inertial Load Cycling Training; Pomegranate Juice; Placebo
Intervention type(s): Other; Dietary Supplement; Dietary Supplement
Intervention description(s): Each session of training will require a total of 15 min with the total time actually exercising of only 60-120 sec. The first week will consist of performing 15 'sprints' on the ILE, beginning each sprint with 56 sec of rest. During week 2-5, subjects will rest 41 sec between sprints, completing 20 bouts. Finally, during weeks 6-10, subjects will take 26 s rest between sprints and complete 30 bouts).; Subjects will consume 8oz of pomegranate juice daily for duration of study.; Subjects will consume 8oz of pomegranate juice daily, that has had the polyphenols removed.
Other intervention name(s): High intensity interval training
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Double (Participant, Investigator)
Primary purpose: Prevention
Keywords: Pomegranate Juice; Functional Tasks of Living