Essay On Muscle Mass And Health

Words: 1027
Pages: 5

It is evident that muscle mass is important to health. There are three ways to maintain, increase muscle mass and function, they are hormonal therapy, exercise and nutrition. As shown above in elderly men taking supplemental testosterone, hormones can replace deficiencies or increase hormonal bioavailability by increasing blood levels above normal values. Drugs can also be given to block hormones to accomplish the same thing, for instance, estrogen blockers in older men. Balancing hormones is shown to maintain or increase muscle mass and muscle strength. Hormone therapy is often used on people who are sick/ill in order to boost immunity, maintain or increase muscle mass and overall function. The synthetic steroid oxandrolone has been shown to stimulate muscle growth without the androgenizing effects of testosterone. At the same time, hormonal augmentation can be dangerous and result in unwanted side effects and health issues (Ferrando, Sheffield-Moore, and Yeckel 2002). …show more content…
The amino acids, absorbed through the digestive system, stimulate the creation of muscle (Biolo, Tipton, Klein, Wolfe 1997). The more protein consumed, the higher the level of available amino acids. It is well known that children who consume high protein diets grow faster and have higher levels of muscle mass than children with lower protein diets (Biolo, Tipton, Klein, Wolfe 1997). The anabolic benefits of exercise is also increased by amino acid and protein intake (Nissen and Sharp 2002). Physicians should recommend protein intake above the currently recommended levels to increase strength. A theory a researcher said is protein is converted to amino acids that cause muscle tissue to replace older tissue (Castellino 1997). Muscle mass and strength are proven to increase with the bioavailability of amino acid supplementation, even in the absence of physical activity (Nissen and Sharp