Is Muscle Mass the Organ of Longevity?

Most people might associate longevity with heart health, cognitive function and cellular ageing but muscle mass is just as crucial for living a long and healthy life. Muscle Mass is not only important for aesthetic reasons or being strong, it goes a lot further into addressing overall health. It is essential for movement, balance and posture but with regard to longevity it is the code to healthy ageing. Muscle mass is highly metabolically active, meaning it burns calories even when at rest aiding in weight management. Insulin sensitivity, cardiovascular health and chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and even certain cancers are helped by muscle mass. 

From the age of 30 muscle mass starts to decline at a rate of 3-8% per decade, a process known as Sarcopenia that not only affects us physically but also increases disability, frailty and early death.

Muscle mass has been shown to also help with the body’s ability to respond and recover from stressors, not only physical injuries but illnesses and daily stress.

As muscle mass naturally declines as we age, we can help reverse this process by doing regular strength training activities. Lifting weights or performing resistance exercises stimulates muscle growth and quality helping with mobility and independence as we age. Strength training increases bone density reducing the risk of osteoporosis and therefore making it less likely to have fracture falls and hospitalisations resulting in a better quality of life overall in your latter years.

Muscle mass is the prime site for glucose disposal helping in regulating insulin sensitivity. As we age and lose muscle mass there is a higher risk of being insulin resistant, a condition that can lead to type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity. Reason why so many people nowadays resort to a GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) injectables such as Ozempic, which work by stimulating the pancreas to release more insulin in response to food, helping control blood sugar levels resulting in weight loss. 

Increasing muscle mass can therefore improve insulin sensitivity reducing inflammation in the body and promoting a healthier metabolism in a natural way.

Chronic inflammation is associated with ageing and is linked to all the age related diseases such as cancers, cognitive declines and heart disease. Muscle mass has anti-inflammatory properties called myokines that are proteins released during exercise. These myokines help improve immunity, enhance tissue repair and brain health preventing or delaying age related diseases caused by lower systemic inflammation. It is important to note that myokines also decrease as we age. That is why strength training to maintain or build muscle mass is so essential. 

Protein is essential for muscle maintenance because it provides the building blocks known as amino acids that are necessary for muscle growth and repair. As we age our bodies become less efficient at synthesising protein so it's important to have enough to preserve and build muscle. It is a good idea to focus on whole food sources such as lean meats, fish, eggs and legumes. The optimal amount of protein varies from individual but the general guideline is to aim to get at least 1g per kg of body weight. For example a person weighing 70 kgs should aim to hit a daily protein intake of 70g and closer to 2g per kg of bodyweight if they are trying to lose weight and increase muscle mass.

Muscle mass really is the code to longevity. Its benefits on inflammation, metabolism, mobility and overall physical and mental function are remarkable. It is vital as we age to maintain our muscle mass in order to extend our independence and quality of life. Strength training and including proper protein intake whilst staying physically active throughout life are essential for longevity. Muscle mass is not only about looking good or being strong which are merely the icing on the cake, muscle mass truly should be seen as the organ of longevity. It will be your ally in aging gracefully and enjoying a good quality of life and independence in the latter years of your life. Making sure to support muscle mass today will pay dividends tomorrow.