05/28/2025
Not something I’m using personally or in my practice (yet) but this is looking like something I’d like to implement.
🧬 HMB & Aging Muscle: New Evidence Supporting Its Role in Sarcopenia Prevention
We talk a lot about anabolic resistance and catabolic signaling as hallmarks of aging muscle — and two recent meta-analyses offer promising evidence for a tool we’ve had in our toolbox for years: β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate (HMB).
A 2025 meta-analysis (PMID: 40248035), along with a sarcopenia-specific analysis (PMID: 39999663), reviewed HMB supplementation in adults 50+ — including healthy older adults and those with sarcopenia or malnutrition.
🔍 The highlights?
• +1.56 kg appendicular skeletal muscle mass
• +0.28 kg total lean mass
• +0.54 kg improvement in handgrip strength
• Small (but measurable) gains in gait speed
Dosing mattered. Most benefits appeared with 3g/day for at least 12 weeks — and most trials used the calcium salt form (Ca-HMB).
Mechanistically, HMB supports muscle protein synthesis via mTOR activation, while reducing breakdown through the ubiquitin–proteasome pathway. It may also improve satellite cell activity, calcium handling, and oxygen utilization — all crucial in aging tissue.
🧠 What’s the clinical takeaway?
While functional outcomes (like walking distance) were modest, these findings support HMB as a safe, evidence-based option for supporting muscle mass and strength — especially in older adults at risk for decline.
Still needed: higher-quality RCTs, especially in the 50–65 range, to explore early-intervention potential.
This is a space I’ll be watching closely. If you’re supporting aging adults (or aging yourself — as we all are), this is one to keep on the radar.
