Latest / Fork U with Dr. Terry Simpson / Muscle, Mitochondria, and Healthspan

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Muscle, Mitochondria, and Healthspan · Fork U with Dr. Terry Simpson

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  >> Dr. Terry Simpson: When my son was three years old, we started him
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  skiing. He loved it. When he fell onto his behind,
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  onto his butt, he jumped back up and would ski
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  down the hill like nothing happened. Pure rubber.
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  Now I am 53 years his senior. That same year, his
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  mom watched me do an inadvertent 360 degree twirl
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  on the slopes. She asked me, if you broke a wrist,
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  when could you go back to work? I replied that I
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  could probably, uh, have some surgery and go back
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  to work if I didn't have a complex fracture in
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  about six weeks. The difference between a flexible
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  young body and an older body is key here. And yes,
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  I retired from skiing that year and now stay in
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  the lodge, write and make them great dinners. The
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  point is this, your older body needs more work to
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  keep flexible, strong and balanced as time goes
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  on. I've seen too many independent seniors lose
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  their independence after a fall in their own home.
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  Sometimes they never recover. They go from living
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  on their own to spending their last days in a care
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  center, sometimes never leaving bed. And that is
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  in health span. You want a fall to be like my
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  son's on your butt and back up. But too many fall
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  and can't get up. This isn't a commercial for that
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  pendant around your neck. This is a plea for you
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  to begin doing something with your muscles. We've
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  talked a lot about the microscopic world of
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  longevity. The tiny powerhouse of the
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  mitochondria, the caps on our DNA called
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  telomeres, and even those fascinating molecules
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  like NAD and urolithin A that keep our cells
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  humming. It's all highly technical and it's all
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  incredibly important. But today I want to get you
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  out of the lab and into the gym. Because there is
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  one single accessible and non prescription
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  activity that is arguably more potent than any
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  supplement on the shelf when it comes to living a
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  long healthy life. I'm talking about resistance
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  training, lifting heavy things, pushing against
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  something that pushes back, not just your
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  significant other. It is the single best defense
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  we have against frailty, metabolic disease, and
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  the inevitable slowing down that comes with the
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  decades. And that's exactly what we're going to
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  break down today. How, uh, muscle is your
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  metabolic savings account, how lifting weights
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  changes your bone structure and the absolute best
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  way to get started, regardless of your age. I am
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  your Chief Medical Explanationist, Dr. Terry
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  Simpson, and this is Fork U Fork University, where
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  we make sense of the madness, bust a few myths and
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  teach you a little bit about food and medicine.
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  When we talk about longevity, we focus on
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  cardiovascular health. A, uh, strong heart, clear
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  Arteries. And that's critical, no doubt. But the
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  single greatest threat to functional independence
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  as we age isn't heart disease. It's sarcopenia.
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  Now, that's a fancy medical term for age related
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  muscle loss. After about age 30, we start losing 3
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  to 8% of our muscle mass per decade. By the time
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  you hit 70, that loss accelerates dramatically.
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  This isn't just about looking less toned. It's
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  about losing the ability to stand up from a chair,
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  to carry groceries, to open a jar, or more
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  critically, to catch yourself when you trip. The
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  resulting falls are often catastrophic. So where
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  does the food and medicine part come in? It's all
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  about metabolism. Your muscle is your single
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  largest organ for glucose disposal. Think of it
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  this way. When you eat, your body releases glucose
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  or sugar into your bloodstream. You, your pancreas
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  releases insulin to, uh, usher the glucose out of
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  the blood and into your cells for energy. The vast
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  majority of that glucose is parked in your muscle
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  cells. More muscle means better insulin
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  sensitivity. It means your body is more efficient
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  at regulating sugar. This is the bedrock of
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  preventing and managing type 2 diabetes. This is
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  why resistance training is not just a gym
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  activity. It's a powerful pharmaceutical
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  intervention for metabolic health. But here's the
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  real kicker and the reason we connect the big,
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  heavy dumbbell to the tiny, microscopic cells.
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  Small things are benefited by big things. It turns
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  out that increasing muscle mass, resistance
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  training has a direct positive effect on two of
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  the biggest microscopic drivers of aging we've
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  discussed. Mitochondrial function and telomere
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  health. When you challenge your muscles, you
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  signal your cells that they need more energy. This
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  stimulates your mitochondria, those cellular
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  powerhouses, to become more numerous and to become
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  more efficient. Better mitochondrial function
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  equals more energy and less oxidative stress. Even
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  more fascinating, studies show that resistance
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  training actually increases the activity of the
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  enzyme telomerase. Telomerase is the same enzyme
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  responsible for maintaining those protective caps
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  on your DNA, the telomeres, so you don't have to
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  take a fancy expensive NAD or telomere boosting
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  supplements. Picking up a dumbbell costs less, but
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  yields more. You get your muscle strength, the
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  better metabolism, stronger bones, and the
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  cellular benefits all at once.
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  But let's talk about bone density, especially for
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  women, but really for everyone. We know calcium
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  and vitamin D are important, but they are only a
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  part of the equation. Bone is living tissue. It
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  responds to stress. When you lift a weight, say a
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  heavy kettlebell, or even your own body weight in
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  a squat, the mechanical force of that stress
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  signals your bones that they need to grow
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  stronger. This Process is called the mechanostat
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  or the mechanostat principle. Without that heavy,
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  high intensity mechanical load, the bone density
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  naturally declines, leading to osteopenia and
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  osteoporosis. If you're only doing low impact
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  cardio like swimming or walking, you're doing
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  great things for your heart, but you are not
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  sending the signal to maintain or increase bone
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  mineral density. To strengthen bone, you have to
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  load it. You have to lift heavy enough to make
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  your body say, whoa, I need to reinforce the
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  structure. But let's do some myth busting here, a
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  couple common myths, and let's dive into some
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  practical, actionable tips. Myth 1 I'm too old to
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  start lifting weights. This is patently false.
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  Studies, including those focused on people in
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  their 80s and 90s, consistently show that body
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  retains the remarkable ability to build muscle and
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  increase strength. Even well into advanced age.
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  You have nowhere to go but up. I need to work out
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  every day. In fact, you absolutely need to do not
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  rest is where the magic happens. Two to three
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  times a week is often sufficient, provided those
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  sessions are challenging enough. Here's a
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  practical Focus on compound movements. Don't waste
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  your precious time on isolation exercises like
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  bicep curls. Focus on compound movements that
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  involve multiple joints and multiple large muscle
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  groups simultaneously. Think squats, deadlifts,
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  overhead presses, rows and lunges. These movements
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  mimic daily life and train your body as a unit,
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  which is key for fall prevention. Speaking of
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  which, comprehensive tips beyond the barbell.
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  While pure resistance is key, true independence
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  hinges on mobility and balance. This is where
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  functional training, including yoga, plays a huge
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  role. My favorite yoga classes are a combination
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  of bodyweight resistance and cardiovascular
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  movement. I look for the physics, the movement,
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  the resistance and the balance. And I try to keep
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  the woo of yoga out of it. And a yoga mat isn't
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  nearly as expensive as some supplement, but it
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  will make a fall easier to recover from. Now, if
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  you're getting started, get help. Having a great
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  gym coach to help with form is paramount. Shout
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  out to my friends Jeremy, the Hulk and the Ziggler
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  Monster. But it's equally important to enlist a
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  private yoga instructor to ensure you are not
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  misaligned and that they know what you are looking
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  for. Now a shout out to my yoga instructor, Swan.
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  And yes, Swan, I'll be doing more classes this
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  year. Practical tip number three Master
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  progressive overload and protein. Your body adapts
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  quickly, so you must continually increase in
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  demand. Remember, resistance training is the
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  stimulus, but protein is the building material.
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  Aim for a protein intake of around 0.5 to 0.7
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  grams per pound of body weight per day. And let's
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  not forget that smoothie with a protein to
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  facilitate things right after the workout. The
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  reason we train is not just to be strong. It's so
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  that if you fall when you're 65 or 75 or 80, you
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  have enough strength, stability and awareness to
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  get yourself back up. That's the true mark of
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  functional longevity. Now let me give you two
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  examples of why this ability matters. A fellow was
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  admitted to a facility after he broke a hip before
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  he fell. He lived on his own, was a local champion
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  bowler and enjoyed life and community. He simply
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  slipped on a rug and fell and was found a day
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  later brought to the hospital and had his hip
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  expertly fixed. He spent the next year of his life
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  mostly in bed, getting up a few times to try
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  rehab, but ultimately died of COVID 19, in a long
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  term care facility. One fall that he couldn't get
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  up changed his life, his outlook, and sadly, it
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  was not a fun year for him. I want to contrast
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  that with my own dad. He took a fall at age 96
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  trying to trim a tree. Yes, trimming a tree at age
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  96. It took a bit of effort and he received a
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  stern warning from his son, me, a neighbor and a
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  few EMTs who came along when the neighbor saw him
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  take the spill. But he got up. Uh, he lived
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  independently until age 98, except thankfully, he
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  couldn't cook a lick and he stopped driving at age
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  96, for which the state of Oregon thank Tim. But
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  this kind of preparation matters because the
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  statistics are sobering. For people over 65, falls
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  are the leading cause of injury death. Breaking a
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  hip especially, is a life changing event.
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  Tragically, studies show that up to 30% of seniors
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  who fracture a hip lose their independence
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  entirely and about 20% die within a year. Training
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  for strength, balance and fall recovery isn't just
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  wellness, it's literally life assurance. It
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  literally is healthspan. We're even taking this
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  training on the road this year with our
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  Mediterranean cruise, which we hope to have in
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  August of 2026, where we will have an instructor
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  to help you with some simple movements. Not just
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  to get big biceps, but things so that if you fall,
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  you can get up by yourself. Not this year, but
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  maybe in 10 years or 20 years. You want to start
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  building muscle now. Resistance training combined
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  with functional movement is the macroscopic lever
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  that pulls those microscopic switches. It's the
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  closest thing to the fountain of youth and it
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  doesn't require a prescription, it just requires
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  effort.
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  Thanks for listening. Please check out my
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  blog@yourdoctorsorders.com or forkdue.com for full
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  reference to and more information about the topic.
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  This was written and researched by me, Dr. Terry
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  Simpson. And while I am a board certified
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  physician, I am not your physician. Before making
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  any changes to your diet, supplements or physical
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  activity routine, please check with your board
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  certified doctor and registered dietitian. Not a
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  chiropractor, some functional holistic salesperson
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  of supplements and scams. All things audio were
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  done by my friends at Simpler media and the pod
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  God, Mr. Mr. Evo. Tara producer girl Productions
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  made me more interesting than I really am in real
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  life. Have a good week everybody. Hey Evo. I'm
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  thinking about those compound movements. What's
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  heavier? A squat rack full of plates or the weight
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  of a producer's deadline? Yeah, there's so many
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  places I thought you were going to take that. Uh,
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  uh, I'm happy with that. Right there. Hey man.
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  Resistance training for the wind. In fact. Shit.
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  I've got about 45 minutes before he gets here.
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  Damn.