Feeding Muscle Simply: Nutrition & Supplements for Longevity
GETTING STRONG TO SAVE YOUR LIFE, PART TWO
Feeding Muscle, Simply
In Part One we covered hormones, the foundation for building muscle. Now let's talk about the raw materials. After fifteen years in nutrition science, I've watched an astonishing number of diets come and go, and I've seen the same thing Lacy Puttuck, the dietitian behind the series that inspired this one, tells her athletes before anything else: keep it simple.
We get tangled up in fads, in unattainable rules, in plans that are frankly unhealthy. Building and keeping muscle as we age doesn't require any of that. It requires enough of the right things, consistently.
Protein: the building block we've undervalued
Protein has spent decades being downplayed, especially for women and older adults. It shouldn't be. Muscle is built from amino acids, and so are bones (which are about 50 percent protein by structure), tendons, enzymes, immune cells, and much more. Higher protein intake is associated with better bone density and lower fracture risk, which puts to rest the old worry that animal protein was bad for bone.
The simple target I use with clients is about one gram of protein per pound of ideal body weight per day. For a woman whose ideal weight is 140 pounds, that's around 140 grams. As we age this number matters more, not less, because the body becomes less efficient at turning protein into muscle and breaks tissue down faster. Older adults need more protein, not the smaller portions we tend to drift toward.
You may have heard the body can only absorb 25 or 30 grams at a time and anything more is wasted. The first half is roughly true; the second half isn't. Your body will use most of what you eat eventually, and protein has many jobs beyond muscle. That said, one enormous protein meal a day is not the strategy. Spread it across three or four meals so each one can do its work.
Carbohydrates and fat are not the enemy
If one word in nutrition gets unfair blame, it's carbs. But protein needs carbohydrates to build muscle efficiently, and muscle building takes a great deal of energy that your body makes mostly from carbohydrates. Carbs replace the glycogen your muscles burn during a workout and are essential to recovery. Cut them too far and you simply don't have the fuel to build or repair.
The distinction that matters is complex versus simple. Complex carbohydrates, the starch and fiber in vegetables, fruit, beans, and whole grains, digest slowly and release glucose gradually. Simple carbohydrates in large loads, the high-fructose corn syrup and table sugar in processed foods, spike blood sugar and insulin. Choose the first; limit the second.
Healthy fats matter too. Olive oil, avocado, nuts, and fatty fish fuel muscle once carbohydrate runs low, especially in longer sessions, and support the hormonal signaling, including growth hormone, that builds tissue. Cutting out an entire macronutrient to lose weight is not just ineffective for healthy longevity; it works against the very muscle you're trying to protect.
For ratios, a simple guide: aim for roughly 1:1 carbs to protein if you're maintaining or leaning out, and closer to 2:1 during a muscle-building phase. Individual tolerance varies. If you have a family history of diabetes or your A1C is creeping up, we'll watch carbohydrates more closely; if you're an endurance athlete, you may handle and need more.
Timing, and a word about fasting
Intermittent fasting has had its moment, and it does have merit; fasting triggers autophagy, the cellular cleanup process that supports healthy aging. But long fasts are hard on muscle, and muscle is what we're here to protect. There are other ways to encourage autophagy that don't cost you strength.
What I encourage instead is eating in support of training. Within 30 to 45 minutes after a workout, get a solid serving of protein and carbohydrate; that's when your muscles are most ready to use them. Before a workout it is more individual. Some people do well starting fasted, but if you're heading into a hard session and you're not sure, eat something first. Food should give you energy. If you feel sluggish after a meal, you ate too much, or the wrong thing.
Real food first
We're living in the wild west of food choices, with lab-created products and "healthy" rankings that somehow put sugary cereal above chicken breast. My filter is simple: real food is always best. Meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruit, roots, nuts. If a "meat" product needs a paragraph of ingredients to exist, it's not simplifying anything.
A note for plant-based eaters: it's absolutely possible to be healthy, but building muscle gets harder. Some nutrients in animal protein don't come from plants, and plant proteins tend to be lower in essential amino acids like methionine and leucine, which are exactly the ones muscle needs. That's one of the places supplementation earns its place.
Alcohol deserves an honest word, too. It offers nothing for strength or longevity. It's a large dose of simple carbohydrate, it occupies your liver so fat processing waits, and the supposed benefits of "a little red wine" have not held up. I'm not here to police anyone's glass, but I want you to make the choice with clear eyes.
The tools I reach for again and again
Even a clean diet leaves gaps, and a few well-chosen supplements make a real difference in building and keeping muscle. These are the ones I use myself and recommend most often. (I have a select relationships with several of these companies; I only recommend what I trust and use personally)
Creatine. The most well-studied sports supplement we have, and one of the safest. Three to five grams of creatine monohydrate daily supports strength, muscle mass, and recovery, and newer research points to real benefits for brain health and cognition as we age. I prefer to dose creatine at 5 grams twice daily; for me, this has been the sweet spot. The body makes a little on its own and the rest comes from red meat, poultry, fish, and wild game, so most people are running below what a strong body wants. This is the first thing I add for nearly everyone. I use Designs for Health's Creatine Monohydrate Powder, which delivers 5 grams of micronized creatine per scoop or single-serving stick pack, mixed into 8 to 10 ounces of water (CREATINE TECH SHEET). Creatine purchase link: Click here. For days on the go, their Creatine Whey Boost bar pairs 15 grams of whey protein with 2 grams of creatine and under a gram of sugar, sweetened with allulose so it's gentle on blood sugar (BAR SHEET)
Kion Aminos. Essential amino acids in the precise ratio muscle needs to trigger protein synthesis, with almost no calories, and formulated at 40 percent leucine, the amino acid that does the most to switch muscle building on. Because free-form aminos don't need to be digested, they raise blood amino acid levels quickly and give muscle that signal even when you can't face a full meal. That's why I lean on them for the people who need protein most and want it least: anyone on a GLP-1 with a suppressed appetite, older adults with smaller appetites and anabolic resistance, people recovering from illness or surgery, and plant-based eaters. I also use them around training and on days when protein simply falls short. Kion has a clear, practical piece on exactly this problem: How to Keep Muscle When Appetite Is Low. Use code MISHELL at Kion for an added discount.
MYOS MD Fortetropin. Fortetropin is made from raw, fertile chicken egg yolk, and it has been the subject of six published clinical studies showing it increases muscle growth, enhances muscle protein synthesis, and lowers circulating myostatin. Myostatin is the body's built-in brake on muscle: it tells your system to limit how much muscle you build, and it climbs with age, with disuse, and notably with the weight-loss medications so many people are on now. What makes Fortetropin different from simply eating more protein is that it acts as a signal rather than a building block. As we age we develop "anabolic resistance," meaning muscle responds less to the amino acids we feed it, and in one study using a precise tracer method, Fortetropin raised muscle protein synthesis by about 18 percent in older adults over three weeks, even with adequate protein intake and no structured exercise. That matters enormously for anyone losing weight: in older adults with obesity, up to 40 to 50 percent of the weight lost through calorie restriction can be lean mass, and GLP-1 medications intensify that risk by suppressing appetite. I find Fortetropin especially useful for clients over 50, anyone on a GLP-1, and anyone recovering from injury or surgery. MYOS MD has an excellent piece on this: Fortetropin: Rethinking Muscle Preservation in Aging and Weight Loss. To order, go to myosmd.com, click For Patients, then Purchase with Code, choose the Muscle Formula (original or vanilla), and enter authorization code MGALLIO.
Peptistrong which is a patented ingredient found in Performance Peptides. Peptistrong is a peptide network derived from fava beans, clinically shown to stimulate muscle protein synthesis, reduce muscle protein breakdown, and protect against muscle loss during periods of low activity, with research also showing faster recovery and less post-exercise soreness. It's a great fit for people who prefer plant-based options and for anyone who wants an extra building signal on top of adequate protein. Performance Peptides Tech Sheet. Use Performance Peptides
Fortetropin or Peptistrong? Think brake and gas pedal. People ask me about these two together, and they do overlap in purpose: both are aimed at more muscle mass. But they get there through different pathways. Fortetropin works mainly by releasing the brake, lowering the myostatin that holds muscle growth back. Peptistrong works mainly by pressing the gas, switching on the signaling that drives muscle protein synthesis and turning down breakdown. Because they act on different parts of the system, they aren't redundant. For someone whose main problem is age- or medication-related muscle loss, I usually start with Fortetropin. For someone who trains consistently, eats enough protein, and wants more out of that effort, or who is plant-based, Peptistrong is often the better first choice. Some clients use both, particularly around surgery and recovery. We decide together based on your goals and your labs.
Whey protein, if you need help reaching your number. Choose a grass-fed product and check the label for gums and fillers, which usually signal lower quality. My go-to is Designs for Health Whey Cool which is a high-protein whey protein powder made from grass-fed milk. Each serving provides 20 to 22 g of complete protein, meaning it contains all nine essential amino acids the body cannot make on its own. Whey is especially rich in branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), including leucine. Leucine helps activate the process the body uses to build new muscle via muscle protein synthesis. . Whey also provides cysteine, an amino acid the body uses to make glutathione, one of the body’s primary antioxidants. Whey naturally contains other beneficial proteins, including lactoferrin, which plays a role in healthy immune function and iron balance [WHEY TECH SHEET). Purchase link
Magnesium and vitamins D3/K2. Most of us are short on magnesium, which supports sleep, muscle function, and stress. D3 with K2 supports the bone side of the muscle-bone partnership. I source these, along with whey and most everyday supplements, through Designs for Health, a practitioner-grade line I trust for purity and testing.
Ordering details for MYOS MD, Kion, and Designs for Health are all gathered on the Recommended Resources tab of my website, so you don't have to hunt for codes or links if you are interested in reading more about these valuable tools.
The simple list
Muscle looks good, feels good, and is vital to longevity. The people who arrive at 70 strong are the ones who built the account in their 40s, 50s, and 60s. Here's the whole strategy on one card:
Eat real food: meats, roots, fruits
Aim for about 1 gram of protein per pound of ideal body weight, spread across the day
Aim for 1:1 carbs to protein for maintenance, 2:1 when building
Eat protein and carbs within 30 to 45 minutes after training
Limit big loads of simple carbs, including alcohol
Add creatine, magnesium, and D3/K2 daily; consider aminos, Fortetropin, and Peptistrong to support building
Not sure where your nutrient status actually stands? That's what functional lab work is for. Book a consult with Vigeo Health, and we'll build a plan that fits you.
Next in Part Three: what to do when injury happens, and how to recover stronger than you started.
Inspired by "Getting Strong to Save Your Life" by Dr. Elizabeth Yurth and Lacy Puttuck, Boulder Longevity Institute. This article is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Discuss supplements with your provider, especially if you take prescription medications or have a medical condition. Some links are affiliate links.
