The silent factor that causes muscle weakness and reduced functional capacity after age 45
The natural remedy for men to train better, gain muscle and lose weight after age 40 Poor physical function, such as slower walking speed, leads to a poorer quality of life, institutionalization, incident disability, high health costs and high mortality in older adults. However, the underlying mechanisms that contribute to this worsening of functional capacity and potential motor disability are not well understood. In this regard, science speculates that a possible cause is the direct inflammatory effects on muscles and other tissues, which lead to wear and tear, triggering processes that contribute to muscle breakdown, fatty inflammation and fibrosis, which can cause muscle weakness and disability. A recent study published in the Journal of the American Geriatric Society has attempted to shed some light on the matter and concludes that high inflammation in middle age is associated with a clinically significant decrease in walking speed, an indicator of mobility, 20 years later. In the study, which involved 4,758 adults over 45 years of age, the relationship between high inflammation and slower walking speed at the end of life was especially strong in people with persistent inflammation over more than 20 years of follow-up. The relationship was evident even among the healthiest adults who had never suffered from other common conditions such as obesity, hypertension or diabetes. “These findings suggest that controlling inflammation has the potential to be important for health in the last stage of life, similar to controlling routine health measurements such as blood pressure and glucose,” concludes B. Gwen Windham, one of the authors of the study. What is inflammation When we talk about inflammation we usually refer to a defense mechanism of our body that the immune system puts in motion to act against a certain threat that can be generated, among other causes, by different microorganisms, such as viruses or bacteria, by physical trauma, such as a blow or sprain, or injuries to the skin and other body tissues, such as a burn. It is therefore a basic process for our survival and as such we must value it. In this sense, acute inflammations, which are those mentioned above and constitute physiological responses that have a certain duration in time, do not pose a risk to health. Chronic inflammation These are the chronic types with which we must be especially careful since, when the inflammation does not end up resolving itself once activated to solve the problem in question and continues over time, it can generate significant problems. For example, inflammation resulting from chronic stress, obesity or an autoimmune disorder can trigger diseases such as arthritis, heart disease or cancer and even if they occur in the brain it can lead to cognitive impairment. Not in vain, some research estimates that 50% of deaths in the world are already attributable to diseases related to chronic inflammation. But chronic inflammation can also occur because we are constantly exposed to inflammatory stimuli derived from smoking, pollution, poor sleep hygiene, a poor diet or a sedentary lifestyle. Hence, trying to intervene on those modifiable factors associated with a healthy lifestyle, such as taking care of our diet or doing physical exercise, is vital to avoid a problem of significant dimensions. Ultimately it is about having a healthy life expectancy and to achieve this we must be able to modify our habits at an early age. Our actions in the present determine our future quality of life. There is no more to it.