Strong muscles offer more than aesthetics and confidence, improving various aspects of your life.
They’re good for your heart, joints, and mind – and no, you don’t need hours of daily heavy lifting to achieve them.
Here are three simple techniques you can do everyday to keep your muscles strong.
Eat more pomegranates.
Overflowing with health benefits, pomegranates have been shown to preserve muscle loss.
The fruit is rich in a molecule called ellagic acid (raspberries are another good source). Ellagic acid is transformed by microbes into a substance called urolithin A; a study published in Nature Medicine in 2019 found that urolithin A enables muscle cells to protect themselves against the dysfunctional mitochondria associated with age.
Have protein at each meal.
Don’t cram your daily protein needs into a large dinnertime steak.
Balance your protein intake throughout the day. One University of Texas study published in 2014 in the Journal of Nutrition found a 25 percent increase in muscle protein synthesis when protein intake was divided evenly into 30-gram servings for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, compared to when it was doled out randomly with an 11-gram serving at breakfast, 16 grams at lunch, and 63 grams at dinner.
How much food equals 30 grams of protein? Think an omelette with feta cheese, for example, or a serving of meat or poultry that’s about the size of your smartphone.
Related: How to improve the body’s most important muscle
Catch some sun.
Extra sunshine is good for both your body and mind. Research shows that vitamin D – which we get an abundance of from sun exposure – can improve conditions like muscle weakness. Alternatively, studies have found that vitamin D deficiencies can lead to muscle wasting. Getting a little morning sun—no more than 15 minutes without sunscreen—can fire up the vitamin D-making machinery in your body.
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