Muscle loss

What is muscle loss?

Muscle loss, known medically as muscle atrophy, occurs when muscle fibers shrink and lose strength over time. This leads to reduced muscle mass and has negative effects on health.

There are two main causes of muscle loss:

• Age-related muscle loss (sarcopenia): As we get older, muscle fibers deteriorate. This process speeds up after age 30.


• Disuse muscle atrophy: Not using muscles regularly also causes them to waste away. Injury, illness, and sedentary lifestyle can trigger disuse atrophy.

What Are The Effects of Muscle Loss?

Muscle loss leads to many adverse effects:

• Loss of strength and mobility: With less muscular power, daily tasks become difficult. Standing up, climbing stairs, household chores all become challenging.


• Increased fall and fracture risk: Weak muscles mean less stability and more prone to falls and broken bones.


• Weight gain: Muscle is metabolically active and burns calories. Less muscle mass slows metabolism, making weight gain likelier.


• Greater risk of death: Low muscle mass correlates to higher mortality rates in studies.

How To Minimize Muscle Loss

While some muscle loss is inevitable with aging, we can take steps to reduce, stop, or even reverse the effects:

• Exercise regularly: Both resistance and cardio exercise help maintain muscle. A mix of weight/resistance training plus aerobic exercise works best.


• Eat more protein: Consuming protein helps supply amino acids to repair and build muscle tissue.


• Get enough Vitamin D and calcium for hormonal support of muscles.


• Consider muscle-building supplements like creatine or amino acid supplements. Hormone Health Clinic has an entire line of science-backed muscle supplements to stop atrophy.


• Hormone therapy: Low testosterone contributes greatly to sarcopenia in men over 50. Hormone Health Clinic offers comprehensive care including bioidentical testosterone therapy to halt and reverse muscle loss.

I hope this overview on muscle loss gives you key information on what causes it and how to fight against it. Don't accept muscle atrophy as inevitable. With proper nutrition, exercise, hormones and Hormone Health Clinic supplements, you can maintain your strength, health and independence. Let me know if you have any other questions!