According to a recent study, presented at the EuroPrevent 2019 in Lisbon, muscle power may help you live longer. The study indicates that power depends on the ability to generate force and velocity and to coordinate movement. "Rising from a chair in old age and kicking a ball depend more on muscle power than muscle strength, yet most weight-bearing exercise focuses on the latter," said study author Claudio Gil Araujo, Professor at Exercise Medicine Clinic -- CLINIMEX in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. "Our study shows that people with more muscle power tend to live longer," Araujo said.
For the study analysis, the team of researchers enrolled 3,878 non-athletes, aged 41 to 85 years. The average age of participants was 59 years; five percent were over 80 and 68 percent men. All the participants underwent a maximal muscle power test using the upright row exercise between 2001 and 2016.
The values were divided into quartiles for survival analysis and analysed separately by sex. As per the findings of the study, during a median 6.5-year follow-up, 247 men (10 percent) and 75 women (6 percent) died.
"We now show that power is strongly related to all-cause mortality. But the good news is you only need to be above the median for your sex to have the best survival, with no further benefit in becoming even more powerful," said Araujo.
After 40 years of age, the muscle power starts decreasing. The researchers suggest multiple exercises for the upper and lower body, weight with the load to achieve the maximal power may increase muscle power. What we eat also determines the strength of our muscles.
Here is a list of 3 foods that may help boost muscle strength:
Eggs
Being an excellent source of protein, eggs come loaded with essential vitamins and minerals that can go a long way in helping you maintain and increase the muscle growth.
Eggs come loaded with essential vitamins and minerals
Lean Meats
Chicken and fish, both are sources of lean meats and contain essential proteins that play a vital role in growth and repair of muscles.
Almonds
Almonds are a rich source of magnesium, vitamin E and monounsaturated fats that can benefit the body in several ways. One of which is boosting muscle health. For muscle growth, vitamin E is considered to be essential and eating almonds will give you a good dose of it.