How can you preserve muscle as you age?
We have all seen frail, elderly people who have seemed to have lost a lot of muscle. But did you know that you start losing muscle long before you become elderly? Studies have found that after the age of 30, yes 30, you begin to lose about 3-8% of your muscle mass per decade. This loss accelerates after the age of 60. Environmental Nutrition (April 2024) has a great article, “Preserving Muscle is a Key Part of Healthy Aging”. But this information isn’t just for the elderly but for anyone who wants to preserve muscle mass. What is sarcopenia? Sarcopenia is a fancy name for losing muscle and muscle strength as we age. Building muscle requires your body to make muscle protein. Unfortunately, our body’s ability to make muscle protein declines as we age. Sarcopenia is more common in people over 60 and it affects both men and women. Studies estimate about 5-13% of people over 60 have sarcopenia and up to “50% of 75 year olds have sarcopenia”. Losing muscl