Dr. Conway McLean

Wellness is an interesting term, thrown about carelessly in the media. But it should carry significance for most adults. It incorporates physical, mental, and social factors, and will aid in providing a sense of well-being. Achieving this state should be the goal of everyone. Ignore at your own risk.

Attaining wellness is challenging but it can help to focus on perhaps the most important component, muscle. Hopefully this statement doesn’t lead you to immediately imagine a gym rat, proudly flexing his biceps. But muscle health and mass is essential in any effort toward wellness. Unfortunately few Americans and even fewer seniors focus on the overall health of their muscle tissue. It turns out they should; muscle fitness is probably the surest path to wellness, benefiting metabolic health, stronger bones, cardiovascular fitness, and so much more.

Surprising to many, muscle tissue is found throughout the body and not just the arms, legs and back. There are many types of muscle found in the human body. The usual example is skeletal, the kind allowing you to pick up your coffee cup or walk to the kitchen to fill it. Skeletal muscle is the largest organ in the body by mass, composing typically about a third, even up to half, of our total mass. How much depends on such varied factors as age, sex, and fitness level.

Every artery in the body has muscle cells in the walls of these ubiquitous vessels, as do our veins, although far less. As most people know, the heart is mostly muscle, albeit one vital to life. We even have a type of muscle cell at the base of most hair follicles. Smooth muscle is part of every organ in our abdomen, especially the intestines which contract to push food through the tract.

Human beings possess their peak muscle mass sometime between their 20’s and 40’s. But most of us begin losing mass, a process called sarcopenia, thereafter as muscle tissue progressively atrophies (i.e. thinning and weakening), 1-2% per year in our 50’s and roughly 3% after 60. But our nutrition and activity levels can have a profound effect on this process.

The reasons for maintaining our muscle health are many. Research has continued to demonstrate the unique and protective benefits of muscle mass, meaning it needs to be maintained for optimal health. Numerous functions of the body work better when sustained with enhanced muscle fitness. For example, the effects on the cardiovascular system are well documented.

Muscle tissue is a vital endocrine organ with wide-ranging effects on the human body, important in the regulation of certain hormones. And enhanced muscle fitness and mass is associated with a reduced risk of certain cancers. Very different but certainly beneficial is the reduction in falls in seniors when muscle tone is improved.

One of the most important roles for muscle tissue is in glucose metabolism. Skeletal muscle regulates the removal of the majority of the glucose from our bloodstream. This, in turn, helps to reduce the risks for metabolic diseases like diabetes. Conversely, the muscle loss experienced by aging leads to an increased risk for developing these metabolic disorders.

One well-recognized attribute of muscle fitness is reflected in bone health. A lack of physical stress on bone tissue results in thinning and weakening. Resistance training will increase bone density and this can reduce the risk of fractures. Bone adapts to the load it bears, meaning increased stress (from weight lifting, as an example) will result in stronger bone. Conversely, when people are inactive and don’t get any resistance exercise, they are more likely to suffer a broken bone resulting from the thinning..

The American public knows very well the importance of exercise, at least in a general sense. But few physicians, 17% according to recent studies, recommend exercise as a therapy. The reason may surprise you: most primary care providers feel inadequately trained to offer such a prescription. The conclusion is that the education of physicians is inadequate. Because exercise is one of the pillars of health, healthcare providers need to be taught how to address this issue with patients.

As we age, preserving strength and power has been shown to reduce the risk of death from any and all causes, especially cardiovascular. Muscle mass has a protective function in aging and in disease prevention, irrespective of one’s body composition, whether obese or underweight. But fewer than a quarter of Americans get the recommended two strength-training sessions per week.

Aerobic exercises like jogging certainly have benefits and these have been well researched. But we know enough about muscle health to recommend resistance training to every American. The benefits to various organ systems are numerous. And muscle health is clearly a key to healthy longevity. Find some form that works for you: go to the gym and move some metal. You’ll not only get stronger; you will also get healthier.