muscles

The key ingredient in meat that will keep you strong

For millions of seniors, getting older means getting weaker -- and getting weaker means turning frail and setting yourself up for falls, crippling injuries, and even death.

And as I told you yesterday, it can all be traced back to shrinking muscle.

But you can take action now to avoid it -- SAVE your muscles, STOP the wasting, and even REVERSE the damage -- and all you have to do is ignore everything the mainstream tells you about muscle protection.

If you haven't asked your own doc about this yet, I'll save you the copay and tell you exactly what he'll say: Eat a low-fat diet and get regular exercise. Join a gym, sweat to the oldies, Zumba the night away -- torture yourself in the name of "fitness," and all your muscles will magically grow back.

What a load of bunk!

All that exercise will do is wreck your joints and strain your heart -- because the REAL key to keeping your muscles strong isn't living with blood, strain, or tears. It's with the healthy everyday movements I mentioned yesterday and a diet rich in meat.

Along with essential proteins and healthy fats, meats (especially beef) contain an amino acid that's critical to muscle health. It's called creatine -- and if you're getting up there in years, you'll likely want even more than what you can get from diet alone.

You'll need a supplement, and this is where you have to be careful.

A lot of what's out there is aimed at preening bodybuilders with huge muscles and tiny brains. This stuff can contain far too much creatine per serving for seniors -- and that's not all.

They can also contain sugars or dangerous sugar substitutes, artificial flavors, and a whole bunch of other stuff you don't need. And many of them also contain ingredients aimed at boosting testosterone production.

Now, you know me. I'm all for boosting T levels -- but you have to do it the right way, or you could face some unintended consequences. The neckless mutants who take this stuff may have huge muscles... but they're positively tiny somewhere else.

How do you think they fit into those itty-bitty man-bikinis?

And of course, women definitely need to be careful with testosterone -- unless they want a gig as a bearded lady in the local circus.

So make sure you get your creatine. But get it from healthy meats and a sensible supplement that contains nutrients aimed at seniors and normal folks -- not gym rats with shrunken junk.

How healthy muscle can slash your fall risk

One spill and you're down for the count -- battling severe pain, a broken hip, or even a crippling permanent injury. It's a downward spiral that could end with the indignity of lost independence... and that's if you're lucky.

However, if your luck has run out that same fall could put you six feet under.

But that doesn't have to be your fate.

Seniors don't fall because they're old and dizzy. They fall because they're frail and weak. And while that's something that comes with aging, you CAN turn back the clock and slash your risk of falls and injuries.

And the key to beating Mother Time on this lies within your muscles -- or what's left of 'em, anyway.

Starting in your 40s, you lose about 1 percent of your muscle every year. That's so small you probably won't even notice it at first. Heck, even at 50, you can probably still punch someone's lights out just for looking at you funny.

But it's not so funny when you hit your 60s or 70s and can't even open a jar of jelly without begging for help.

If that's your story, you're not alone. By some estimates, half of all seniors suffer from degenerative muscle disease -- making missing muscle the leading cause of frailty.

That frailty leads to loss of balance, increasing your fall risk. And it leaves you so feeble that even a minor tumble could snap your bones like a twig, especially right at the hip.

That's why fall prevention starts with muscle protection -- and I don't mean running on a hamster wheel or lifting weights. Dangerous gym activities can actually INCREASE your risk of muscle damage -- not to mention a heart attack, too.

The best approach is natural daily movement -- a brisk walk, for example, or working on your golf swing out on the back nine. Even something as basic as gardening will do the trick.

Combine these everyday activities with some healthy nutrients, and you'll be stronger than ever -- and I'll have more on the second part of the equation tomorrow.

For now, I've got another major senior health issue. Keep reading!