Live Strong to Live Long—How Muscle Health Affects Longevity

What do you do to look and feel younger? You might have a strict cosmetics routine, take a daily walk or do sudoku puzzles. While these activities may give you a little rejuvenation bump, new research suggests that the key to staying young and living longer is building muscle.

We know what you’re thinking: “Oh, great. Another article telling me to go to the gym. I GET IT ALREADY!” We won’t lie—we are going to recommend going to the gym (among some other great tips to stay young), but building healthy muscles is about more than just pumping iron. Taking care of your muscles, even with light exercise and nutrition, can improve your life drastically by keeping you young and illness-free. In fact, muscle mass correlates with a decreased risk for all natural causes of death [1]. That’s huge—like Arnold-Schwarzenegger’s-forearm huge. 

You don’t have to be a bodybuilder to improve your well-being and your life expectancy. It’s more important to understand how your muscles affect your full-body health. Then, you can take control of your muscle health by making small changes to keep you feeling younger and fitter.

Muscle—More Powerful than You Think

Many see muscles as tissue that simply helps you move, carry things and do the occasional sit-up. But muscle is much more important than that. Muscles are metabolically active tissue, which means they play a major role in burning calories and fueling your bodily functions. Muscles are sometimes described as the engines of your metabolism—they are the energy centers of your body. 

Greater muscle mass means a healthier metabolism. In other words, you’re able to process nutrition more effectively, burn more fat and empower every part of your body to do its job well from the cells on up. That’s why muscle health is associated with whole-body homeostasis—another word for balance [2].

Remember, muscles are not just the body’s workhorses—they are organs of the musculoskeletal system, and they play a vital role in keeping the lights on in your body from head to toe. Now, we know that muscles may be the most important organs when it comes to keeping those lights shining for longer. 

Muscle Health and Longevity

Muscle has been called the organ of longevity because of the positive impact it has on so many signs of aging and chronic illnesses. Just how important is muscle mass to your long-term health? 

First of all, building more muscle combats the deadliest chronic diseases affecting Americans, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease and liver disease. This is because muscle reduces toxic visceral fat and improves your body’s ability to manage blood sugar levels [3]. Building muscle also combats obesity, which reduces the risk of many chronic issues and slows signs of aging [4]. 

Aside from the obvious fat-burning benefits, increased muscle strengthens the immune system. This can have a major impact on longevity in the case of chronic disease. When your body gets sick over a long period, your immune system can get worn out, leaving you with low defenses. Research has found that muscles may support the immune system during this time, kind of like giving Pop-eye a can of spinach [5].

As you age, mobility issues and falls can speed up aging and decrease longevity. For example, 1 in 3 adults who suffer a hip fracture after age 50 die within a year of the incident [6]. Building muscle supports balance and protects your bones as you get older (weight-bearing exercise helps maintain and even build bone mineral density as compared to most aerobic activities do not). Even in those with reduced mobility, building more muscle mass reduced the risk of becoming disabled by 20% [7].

How about stress, the silent killer? Building muscle boosts mood-enhancing endorphins and increases energy levels. This helps you maintain a better mood and a clearer head even during tough situations [8]. Increased muscle mass also correlates with lower inflammation body-wide [9]. Chronic inflammation is another silent killer thought to be responsible for many deadly illnesses and signs of aging [10].

So, yeah, your muscles are no less than extremely important for leading a long and happy life. However, it gets harder to maintain muscle mass and build new muscle as you get older [11]. How can you support your muscle health so your muscles can continue to fire on all cylinders? 

Tips for Long-Term Muscle Health

Keeping your muscles in good shape requires regular working out. After all, you have a lot of muscles to take care of, and the bigger they are, the more fuel they need. But don’t worry, you don’t have to go full Schwarzenegger to keep fit. Try some of these tips to build more lean muscle and boost longevity.

Exercise Regularly

Surprise, surprise—exercise is good for your muscles! We won’t linger too long on this tip because you already know that regular exercise is the key to maintaining and growing muscle. But you may not know how easy it is to do. You don’t have to lift super heavy weights at the gym to build muscle. In fact, it may be better to do more repetitions with lighter weights. This type of strength training can quickly build muscle and strength [12]. 

And don’t forget about cardio—it’s just as important for overall health. Again, you don’t have to sprint on the treadmill to get a good workout. Just get your heart rate to the point where you’re breathing heavily but can still hold a conversation—a light jog is fine. This type of cardio will improve cellular metabolism, which delivers more oxygen to your muscles [13]. 

Eat More Protein

Protein is the most important ingredient for muscle growth. When you exercise, you put a lot of stress on your muscles. In fact, you actually micro-tear your muscles when you push them to their limits, which is why working out can be painful. After a workout, your body responds to those tears by growing them back and making your muscles bigger and stronger. To do that, it needs protein. When you’re young, your body can build muscle with protein effectively all day. But as you get older, it’s important to eat protein soon after your workout to build more muscle [14].

So, what should you eat? Try to stick with lean protein like chicken, fish, legumes and tofu. Avoid fatty proteins like red meat—especially pork—and processed meats. Try to eat about 30g of protein within an hour of your workout. If you can’t manage to scarf down a meal, add a protein shake to your routine. If you’re vegan, there are many options today which offer high quality proteins, or you can combine foods, like beans and rice, to make a high-quality protein source. 

Prioritize Nutrition

Protein isn’t the only important part of your diet for muscle growth. Muscles need the full spectrum of vitamins and minerals to empower your metabolism and keep you feeling youthful. When it comes to vitamins for muscle growth, vitamin D packs the biggest punch. Vitamin D helps your body synthesize protein so your muscles can grow bigger [15]. Vitamin D deficiency is directly linked to reduced muscle mass and mobility issues. But luckily, evidence shows that taking a vitamin D supplement may reverse the damage and help build muscle back [16]. 

Additional vitamins and minerals that muscles need to perform include vitamins A, B complex, C and E along with essential minerals like calcium and magnesium. Remember, you need to get enough of these nutrients every day to keep your muscles fit. If you don’t consume a lot of fruit, veggies and protein daily, consider taking a multivitamin to provide your muscles with a foundation of nutritional support. 

Be Strong, Live Long

Building lean muscle isn’t just about looking good on the beach. It’s essential for holistic health. Your muscles affect everything from your breathing to your heart (a muscle!) to your mood. That’s why showing your muscles a little love—even just for one hour a week—can improve so many aspects of your health. This is especially important as you get older. Elderly bodies are less efficient at processing vitamin D and building muscle yet more prone to chronic illness and age-related degeneration. Muscle health—and nutrition—are absolutely critical for blocking disease and feeling spry long into those golden years.

But whether you’re old or young, caring for your muscles with moderate exercise and a healthy diet will yield at least one similar result: you’ll feel fantastic. Because in the end, it’s not just about living long—it’s about living well. And when your body’s metabolic engines are running smoothly, your life follows suit.