Tips to help women gain muscle mass

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – A recent report has shown that women in the United States are often well below a healthy muscle mass for their bodies. This muscle plays a key role in our lives and especially in our aging process.

Sarah Widener, the Community Wellness director at Med Center Health, says that muscle doesn’t stay with us as we age.

“It is harder to build muscle as we get older. So in your thirties you are in your prime. We really want to build that muscle then and then carry it and maintain it as we age. It doesn’t mean, though, that it’s too late. So if you didn’t do that in your thirties and you’re in your sixties now, it’s not too late to start so that you can age comfortably,” Widener said.

Some experts suggest that our culture, and especially our diet culture, has pushed women away from a protein rich diet in an effort to stay fit and slim, but lacking a healthy amount of muscle for one’s body size is unsafe.

Sydney Griffin, a dietitian at the Dietitian Office in Bowling Green, says that protein doesn’t mean bulking up.

“Protein itself is not going to make us bigger or bulkier, and it’s something very positive that’s going to help us age more efficiently so that we can be more mobile, more strong and healthier. It helps us fight disease, it helps us recover from illnesses better or helps us heal from wounds better,” Griffin said.

Experts, including Griffin and Widener, are recommending lean proteins – think chicken, fish and beans. But there is a great variety of things that can introduce more protein into our diets, such as Greek yogurt and cottage cheese, as well as other dairy products. Also, a personal favorite of Griffin’s? Peanut butter.