Our society's obsession with getting rid of fat has led many people to unhealthy eating patterns and aerobic-centered exercise (or no exercise) at the expense of strength training. Skeletal muscle makes up about 40% of your mass. Muscle receives a lot of attention due to the erroneous view that the only purpose of muscle is appearance and mobility. Skeletal muscle is actually very important for overall health.

Within 2 weeks of increasing muscle health through exercise and nutrition, there is better blood sugar regulation, hunger control, and increased mobility. Long term benefits include more body and bone strength, lowered triglycerides, metabolism protection, increased survivability against most diseases, and improved mood.

Here's a surprising fact that shows how much healthy muscle can do for your health: You can restore metabolic function (reverse type 2 diabetes) by in part growing and maintaining muscle. This is due in part to the fact that skeletal muscle insulin resistance is one of the main defects in type 2 diabetes, and muscle training decreases insulin resistance. Also, contracting muscle pulls glucose from the blood independently of insulin. This is also due in part to the fact that skeletal muscle releases myokines when it contracts, which leads to the uptake of glucose by cells elsewhere in the body and better overall health due to myokines' anti-inflammatory effects. Type 2 diabetes is most effectively reversed when prioritizing dietary protein and minimizing carbohydrates.

Healthy muscle also leads to better survivability from illness or injury. When things go wrong with illness and injury, the body pulls amino acids from muscle to repair itself. The healthier the muscle, the much better the survivability. For example, the cachexia (muscle wasting) of cancer is much better survived by those with higher skeletal muscle mass. Cachexia is the immediate cause of death in 22% of cancer patients worldwide. Eating enough protein and engaging in resistance training helps prevent cancer cachexia. For seniors, those with cancer cachexia, and others with low muscle mass, it's never too late to increase your muscle health. You will enjoy the immediate and long term benefits mentioned above.

Sarcopenia is the age-related decline in muscle mass that results in decreased muscle functioning. This can begin in your thirties, just like dementia and heart disease. Strength training and eating sufficient protein shifts the body into anabolism (building muscle) as opposed to catabolism (breaking down muscle). Sarcopenia is prevented in large part by resistance exercise and adequate protein in your diet.

So what specifically should you do to build healthy muscle? Here are some tips:

• Your first and last meals of the day should contain at least 30 g of protein.
• You should aim for at least 1 g of protein per kg of body weight per day.
• Balancing protein across meals (approx. same amount of protein in each meal) is best for muscle protein synthesis.
• Get 150 minutes per week of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise. 2 days should be full-body strength training.

I hope you found this post to be interesting and informative, and that it encourages you to build and maintain healthy muscle.