6. Muscle Health 101: Why Muscle is the True Fountain of Youth

🎙️ Episode 6: Muscle Health 101 — Why Muscle is the True Fountain of Youth

Welcome back to the MD Longevity Lab Podcast — where science meets real life. In today’s episode, we’re digging into one of the most overlooked yet critical drivers of healthspan: skeletal muscle. Drs. Nisha and Vikas Patel break down the science of muscle health and explain why preserving and building muscle is about so much more than aesthetics. Whether you're in your 30s or your 70s, muscle mass is one of the best predictors of how well you’ll move, think, and thrive in the decades to come.

🔍 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Why Muscle Matters Understand the role of skeletal muscle in metabolic health, hormone regulation, insulin sensitivity, and immune function.
• Muscle Mass vs. Muscle Strength Learn why both quantity and quality of muscle matter — and how they're not always the same.
• Sarcopenia and Aging What happens to our muscles as we age — and why the decline starts earlier than you think.
• Muscle as an Endocrine Organ Discover how your muscles release "myokines" that reduce inflammation and promote whole-body health.
• Muscle & Longevity Explore the link between lean mass and all-cause mortality, cognitive resilience, and even cancer risk.
• Assessing Your Muscle Health Tools we use at MD Longevity Lab like DEXA scans and grip strength tests — and why scale weight is not enough.
• Optimal Muscle Targets What the research says about ideal appendicular lean mass and strength benchmarks based on age and gender.
• How to Build and Preserve Muscle From resistance training to protein timing to sleep and hormones — we give you the game plan for building lifelong strength.

🧠 Key Takeaway: Muscle isn't just for athletes. It's a critical organ of longevity that affects everything from metabolism to mental sharpness to fall prevention. Start building your muscle health bank today.

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