Muscle Strength And Aging

As a culture, it seems we are always looking for the fountain of youth. Aging is a four-letter word in the West and anti-aging is a booming industry. Not a day goes by when you don’t hear about a new supplement, treatment, cream or gadget designed to keep you looking and feeling younger. 

The truth is that we are all going to age and eventually die, but we can do so with health and vitality along the way. While there likely isn’t one magic pill or secret that will slow or delay the body’s aging, it doesn’t need to be overly complicated. Some of the simplest strategies are often the most profound. 

Preserving and building muscle strength is an undervalued tool in our anti-aging toolkit and is also incredibly simple and effective. Cardio or endurance exercise is often glorified, but muscle strength is likely even more important! Some may even consider muscle strength as a vital sign for health, just like pulse rate or blood pressure. 

Although this may seem simple, our culture isn’t designed around activities that promote and maintain muscle mass like our hunter-gatherer ancestors. And, our diets aren’t always set up to support muscle health either. So it can take some dedicated habit change to put the pieces in place. 

Today’s article will dive into:

  • Muscle health and physiology
  • What declining muscle mass means for aging and health
  • Two simple strategies you can begin to implement to support your muscles

Let’s get started right away!

Muscles And How They Work

Your muscles are dense and contribute to about 50 percent of your body weight. This is why you can gain strength, lose fat and not see a change or even see an increase in the number on the scale. A weight measurement alone does not take into account body composition. 

There are three types of muscle in the body:

  • Smooth muscles that line blood vessels and the GI tract, for example 
  • Cardiac muscles that contract the heart and pump blood throughout the body
  • Skeletal muscles that make up the lean body mass we are discussing today

Muscle tissues are rich in protein and the amino acid building blocks found in dietary protein are the building materials for your muscles. 

Muscle contractions require stimulation from the nervous system along with ATP, which is the energy currency your body makes from the food you eat. ATP is made in the mitochondria of the muscle cells. Muscles contain more mitochondria than most other cell types because movement requires a lot of the body’s energy. 

Lean Body Mass And Aging

The term sarcopenia refers to the gradual loss of strength and muscle mass associated with aging that leads to a loss in physical function. Sarcopenia is associated with poor health outcomes including frailty, hospitalization and mortality. 

Why do we lose muscle mass as we age? It may have to do with lower levels of proteins and nutrients like vitamin D in the diet, as well as increased inflammation and oxidative stress. 

Grip strength is easy to measure and is used to quantify overall muscle strength in the body. It’s helpful to assess lean body mass and strength over time as both are important for healthy aging.  

Muscle Mass, Strength And Health

Loss of muscle mass and strength affect overall health and specifically:

  • Insulin sensitivity. When you have more lean body mass, and strength, you have better glucose control and a lower risk of metabolic health conditions. The loss of lean body mass is associated with increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes, which is also associated with increasing age.
  • Cardiovascular health. Remember that your heart is a muscle, and a powerful one at that. Higher fat mass in the body, which is often associated with a lower lean body mass, may increase the risk of an adverse cardiovascular event such as a heart attack or stroke. 
  • Hormone balance. All hormonal systems are connected. We already mentioned the increased risk for insulin resistance with age, and this is especially true as a woman’s hormone levels decrease with menopause. Estrogen is anabolic, meaning it helps to build muscle and as estrogen decreases lean body mass might as well. Less lean body mass also means a slower metabolism. 

Thyroid hormone is another hormone that may be affected by muscle mass. We see the association in those who take thyroid hormone replacement: lean body mass predicts the thyroid medication dosage. As body composition changes, medication dosage may need to be adjusted. 

  • Bone density. Both bones and muscles are a part of the musculoskeletal system. They work together and communicate. Lean body mass is the main determinant of bone strength. While fat mass helps with the weight bearing required for bone strength, it does not add strength in non-weight bearing locations like muscle mass does. 
  • Mitochondrial health. A decline in lean body mass may lead to a decline in both the amount of mitochondria and mitochondrial function. This decline is influenced by the amount of physical activity meaning that exercise and movement help to preserve mitochondrial health. 

Now that we see how important lean body mass and muscle strength is for our health, especially as we age, let’s talk about how to preserve muscle mass. Both nutrition and exercise are important. 

Spotlight On Leafy Greens

Meeting protein requirements and following an anti-inflammatory diet such as the Paleo diet are certainly helpful dietary approaches for improving muscle strength. Beyond that, however, consider increasing greens to help with muscle strength. 

You might be surprised that dark green leafy vegetables are essential for muscle strength, making them a simple superfood to this end. It just goes to show that health doesn’t need to be complicated or expensive. 

A recent study in the Journal of Nutrition found that those consuming a nitrate-rich diet, mainly from vegetables, had better muscle function.

Those with the highest nitrate consumption had 11 percent more strength in their lower limbs and an increased walking speed. This correlation is independent of physical activity and obtained by eating as little as one cup of dark leafy green veggies per day. 

Dark leafy greens include:

  • Arugula
  • Basil
  • Bok choy
  • Cilantro
  • Collard greens
  • Chard
  • Dandelion greens
  • Kale
  • Mizuna
  • Mustard greens
  • Romaine lettuce
  • Tat soy
  • Spinach
  • Watercress

When it comes to greens, more is better, so start with 1 cup per day and increase until you are including some with each meal.

Tips for increasing greens in your diet:

  • Make a dairy free pesto. A pesto is a great way to concentrate a large amount of raw leafy greens down into a flavorful sauce. Pesto doesn’t need to be with basil if it isn’t available, it can be made with any leafy green, leafy green herb or combination. Start with 4 cups of greens, add ¼ cup of nuts or seeds, a clove of garlic, a squeeze of lemon and a pinch of salt. Combine in a food processor or blender while adding as much olive oil as you need to reach your preferred consistency. Spread on everything from baked chicken to roasted veggies. 
  • Green your smoothie. A handful (or two!) of greens can easily be added to any smoothie recipe for added nutrition. If you haven’t done this before, start with a mild green such as spinach and work your way toward the more bitter ones. 
  • Try a greens powder. Every Life Well Exceed Greens + Reds is a great way to boost the organic greens and veggies in your diet. This isn’t meant to replace eating vegetables, simply enhance what you are already getting through food. Add to a smoothie, meatballs or even Paleo baked goods. 

Spotlight On Strength Training

Strength training becomes more important as we age. It helps to preserve and build lean body mass which keeps metabolism, hormone balance and overall health in check. While all movement and exercise is important, strength training deserves some extra attention. 

Strength training doesn’t need to be complicated or even involve a gym membership. In fact, it will likely be more effective if you find something you love to do and feels good in your body because you’ll make it a consistent practice. 

Here are some options to consider:

  • Body weight exercises 
  • Pilates
  • Yoga
  • Weight lifting 
  • Barre 
  • Aquatic exercise
  • Bootcamps or group fitness classes
  • Rock climbing 
  • Walking (yes! Even something as simple as walking)
  • Running errands and carrying the bag (instead of using a cart)

Lean body mass is a biomarker of health. How will you improve and maintain yours? 

First, glamorize the simplicity of real food and especially those dark leafy greens in your diet that have so many benefits including muscle strength.

The second action item is to celebrate your strength by engaging in fun ways of strength training activities. This is one area of Functional Medicine where getting back to the simple basics is incredibly effective and also absolutely essential for healthy aging. You can Get Better With Age!

References

  1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6950468/
  2. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30889410/ 
  3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7334003/ 
  4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6763326/ 
  5. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6699335/ 
  6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4600532/ 
  7. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6008243/ 
  8. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12663127/
  9. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33760920/ 
  10. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27914601/