Can Eating This Help You Maintain Muscle as You Age?
While getting older is a privilege, some of the changes that come with it? Not so much. Muscle mass and strength naturally begin to decline as early as your 30s—and the process tends to accelerate after 50. Meanwhile, social media is brimming with “longevity hacks” promising to preserve your body composition and keep you strong for decades to come. But what picture-perfect social media posts often leave out is a less glamorous reality of healthy aging: maintaining muscle power and muscle strength to prevent falls. This matters because the risk of falls increases with age—about 1 in 4 American adults age 65 and older fall each year.
Traditionally, a nutritious diet and regular strength training have been considered key strategies for reducing age-related declines, including fall risk. However, new research suggests that a simple daily habit—incorporating peanut butter into your diet—may also play a role in maintaining muscle strength and power.
Excerpted from Eating Well
