How To Build More Muscle & Supercharge Your Longevity - Dr Gabrielle Lyon - #696

**Chris Williamson** (0:00)
Hello everybody, welcome back to the show. My guest today is Dr. Gabrielle Lyon. She's a functional medicine physician and founder of the Institute of muscle-centric Medicine. Most health advice focuses on shedding excess weight. But what if your longevity, health span, resilience and quality of life was more determined by gaining muscle than losing fat? This isn't a bodybuilders coping strategy, it's new science backed by mountains of data. And today, we get to go through it. Expect to learn why the quality of your life is a direct correlation to your muscle health, whether it's more dangerous to be over fat or under muscled, whether exercise is more important than nutrition, Gabrielle's favorite hacks for getting more protein in every day, whether protein timing even matters, if it's possible to achieve this with a plant-based diet and much more. This episode is brought to you by Mudwater. Mudwater is a coffee alternative with adaptogenic mushrooms and Ayurvedic herbs. It provides energy without the anxiety, jitters or crash of coffee. The blend includes Lion's Mane for alertness, Cordyceps for physical performance, Chaga and Rishi for immune support, Turmeric for soreness and Cinnamon for antioxidants. It's Whole30 approved, 100% USDA organic, non-GMO, gluten-free, vegan and kosher certified. The blend can help alleviate pain and inflammation in the body. It's got anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that can help improve brain function and reduce the risk of chronic disease. But best of all, it tastes fantastic and it encourages a little ritual on a morning while you're making it of reflection and just checking in ahead of your day. Head to mudwtr.com/mw and using the code MW15 at checkout for 15% of everything. That's mudwtr.com/mw and MW15 at checkout. This episode is brought to you by house Of Macadamias. house Of Macadamias, ready salted macadamia nuts are unbelievably good. I didn't think that I was a nut lover and these things are kind of like tiny little balls of crack. So if you're a nut lover or if you know someone that is, you need to try these. Macadamias are the lowest carb of any popular nut. There's 33% less than almonds. They've got the best fat profile like an avocado on steroids, more heart healthy, mono unsaturated fat than any other nut and the only nut rich in rare Omega-7 fatty acids. This is why Tim Ferriss and Joe Rogan and myself are all massive fans. plus, obviously, they taste phenomenal. You can get a 20% discount site-wide plus a free box with your first purchase if you go to houseofmacadamias.com/modernwisdom and use the code MW20 at checkout. That's houseofmacadamias.com/modernwisdom and MW20 at checkout. This episode is brought to you by Surfshark VPN. Protect your browsing online and get access to the entire world's Netflix library for less than the price of a cup of coffee per month. If you use a public Wi-Fi network like a cafeteria or a library or an airport, regularly that internet admin can see all of the data going back and forth between your computer and the internet. Your internet service provider is selling your data to companies that target you with ads and phishing websites are trying to steal everything from you at all times. All of this is fixed with a VPN and it is available across unlimited devices. So it protects your phone, your iPad, your laptop and even your smart TV. And it's got a 30-day money back guarantee. So you can buy it and try it for 29 days. And if you do not like it, they will give you your money back. Head to surfshark.deals slash modern wisdom for an exclusive discount plus that 30-day money back guarantee that's surfshark.deals slash modern wisdom.
But now, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Dr. Gabrielle Lyon.
You say, the quality of your life is a direct correlation to your muscle health. Why?

**Gabrielle Lyon** (4:10)
because muscle is the organ of longevity, and your capacity to show up and execute anything and everything that you want in your life depends on your strength. And in order to build physical strength, it requires mental strength, it requires fortitude, it requires resiliency. And right now, we have this conversation about longevity and health span. What does that actually mean? That actually relates to the tangible plasticity of skeletal muscle. And by the way, we were kind of joking around podcasters and austin. But when you think about skeletal muscle, you often think about bro-science, you think about the big dudes. Skeletal muscle is so much more than that. And in fact, the health of your life depends on the health and the quality of your tissue.

**Chris Williamson** (4:58)
Interesting, obviously, the byproduct of building muscle, discipline, resilience, being able to overcome hard things, consistency, motivation, so on and so forth, somebody quite easily could say, well, I get that with distance running. I get that with rowing. I get that with doing yoga. What is it specifically about muscle building that is important for longevity?