Forever Strong Quotes

“Based on USDA data, the US per capita consumption (pounds per person per year) of beef from 1970 to 2020 fell an annual average of 34 percent with no health or environmental benefits. Yet we still blame red meat for nearly all health problems. This terrifies me as a physician.”
― Gabrielle Lyon, Forever Strong: A New, Science-Based Strategy for Aging Well

“While observational studies play a role in developing good science, they do not constitute good science in and of themselves. Because they rely on correlation without causation, they should not be used to make health claims.”
― Gabrielle Lyon, Forever Strong: A new, science-based strategy for aging well

“the tissues in your body contain proteins. Over the course of a single year, nearly every one of these proteins gets replaced. It’s mission-critical to ensure that you have sufficient and proper nutrients to meet, and exceed, these requirements. A body trying to make do with a low-protein diet will prioritize the survival of the liver, heart, brain, kidney, and gastrointestinal tract. Given the body’s constant rebuild and repair cycles, these organs have high amino-acid demands, and your body will always work to take care of your organs first. Eating only enough protein to fuel these essential functions will leave your body lacking sufficient amino-acid supply to support skeletal-muscle growth and repair. By eating for muscle health, on the other hand, you will simultaneously meet all your primary biological needs while also optimizing for body composition.”
― Gabrielle Lyon, Forever Strong: A New, Science-Based Strategy for Aging Well

“The fewer calories you consume, the more these calories should come in the form of dietary protein. But because protein is an absolute requirement, it may be misleading to consider it as a percentage of calories. That’s because, depending on your calorie consumption, you could wind up eating too little. Here’s how this plays out. If we follow the guidelines recommending that protein make up 15 percent of caloric intake, a 70-kg adult consuming 2,500 kcal/day would get 93 grams of protein. However, that same individual on a lower-calorie diet at 1,400 kcal/day would consume only 52 grams of protein, which is too low for healthy muscle.”
― Gabrielle Lyon, Forever Strong: A New, Science-Based Strategy for Aging Well

“The human tendency toward present bias prioritizes our current wants and desires over our long-term personal goals. Essentially, we make choices that favor our present selves over our future selves. Present bias embodies the struggle of procrastination—putting off until tomorrow the actions that need to be taken today. I”
― Gabrielle Lyon, Forever Strong: A New, Science-Based Strategy for Aging Well

“Contrary to the messaging many of us are getting today, a hearty steak as part of your diet is better for you than ultra-processed plant-based foods such as Twinkies, Lucky Charms, and Impossible Burgers.”
― Gabrielle Lyon, Forever Strong: A New, Science-Based Strategy for Aging Well

“Every hour, complete 10 to 20 air squats. Stand at your desk. Get your heart rate up with a brisk walk to the bathroom or water fountain 10 times a day. Bring a resistance band to your office to get in a quick 10-rep set of bicep curls between tasks.”
― Gabrielle Lyon, Forever Strong: A New, Science-Based Strategy for Aging Well

“Both theories have been proven wrong,10 but big food and pharmaceutical companies make lots of money selling highly processed plant oils chemically turned into margarines, shortenings, and hydrogenated oils, along with prescription drugs such as statins.”
― Gabrielle Lyon, Forever Strong: A New, Science-Based Strategy for Aging Well

“Without solid science to back up a statement, an expert can give nothing more than their opinion.”
― Gabrielle Lyon, Forever Strong: A New, Science-Based Strategy for Aging Well

“Bed rest is not a benign treatment without side effects. In fact, it causes potentially more harm than good. Recommended to nearly all patients entering the hospital, despite the results of a 1999 systematic review that found no benefits for any of the seventeen conditions studied, bed rest is a largely outdated practice. Here we see another consequence of the full metabolic power of muscle going largely unrecognized in mainstream medicine.”
― Gabrielle Lyon, Forever Strong: A New, Science-Based Strategy for Aging Well

“Because estrogen offers critical support for tendons and ligaments, menopausal decline increases the risk of injury and joint pain. This same effect can be observed in women taking birth control pills that suppress natural hormone production.”
― Gabrielle Lyon, Forever Strong: A New, Science-Based Strategy for Aging Well

“Obesity is known to disrupt female fertility, and even being slightly overweight can be associated with decreased pregnancy rates.”
― Gabrielle Lyon, Forever Strong: A New, Science-Based Strategy for Aging Well

“A typical doctor’s visit includes measuring vital signs such as blood pressure, pulse, and weight. But for a more accurate picture of overall health, your doctor should also be measuring your muscle mass at each annual visit, with a strength assessment and other tests. This would allow immediate feedback about the trending direction of your muscle condition, which ultimately determines so much about your overall health. Until the medical system steps up to the challenge, it’s crucial that you take charge of your own longevity.”
― Gabrielle Lyon, Forever Strong: A New, Science-Based Strategy for Aging Well

“The proteins in beans or quinoa, for example, contain significantly different AA profiles from those of beef or chicken. If you choose lower-quality protein sources, you will need to consume greater quantities or find supplemental options. By and large, animal proteins, which contain the highest quantities of essential AAs, will serve you best in supplying the aminos critical for sustaining the body’s protein-reliant systems—including muscle. It’s not impossible to get these through eating an ovo-lacto vegetarian diet rich in dairy and eggs. It’s not even impossible to get these in a vegan diet, although your options will be limited, and you might need supplements to prevent a deficiency.”
― Gabrielle Lyon, Forever Strong: A New, Science-Based Strategy for Aging Well

“suggest you follow the Lyon RDA. Based on thirty years of scientific literature and Dr. Layman’s discovery of the leucine threshold, I recommend that adults consume 30 to 50 grams of high-quality protein at each primary meal.”
― Gabrielle Lyon, Forever Strong: A New, Science-Based Strategy for Aging Well

“Essential amino acids. These come directly from your diet. Although they’re called essential, even the aminos in this category are not equally essential. That’s because it’s harder to attain adequate amounts of certain AAs—such as leucine, methionine, and lysine—without consuming animal foods.”
― Gabrielle Lyon, Forever Strong: A New, Science-Based Strategy for Aging Well

“We need three different types of AAs to maintain overall health: Nonessential amino acids. Your body has the ability to synthesize these on its own. Conditionally essential amino acids. In times of injury or illness, your body cannot make enough of these and relies on dietary sources.”
― Gabrielle Lyon, Forever Strong: A New, Science-Based Strategy for Aging Well

“But not all protein is created equal. Different protein sources do not have the same AA composition, and different combinations of the twenty AAs have unique properties and roles in the body. This is entirely overlooked in food-packaging requirements. Even the RDA doesn’t recognize the meal requirements of different AAs. No wonder so many of us aren’t taking in the quality proteins our bodies need. There are twenty AAs, nine of which are designated “essential,” which means they must be obtained through diet or supplementation because the body can’t make them independently.”
― Gabrielle Lyon, Forever Strong: A New, Science-Based Strategy for Aging Well

“We talk about protein as a single macronutrient, but it’s just the delivery system for twenty different individual amino acids, which play dual roles: protein synthesis and the creation of new biomolecules and/or metabolic signals. This means all amino acids (AAs) have two primary purposes: Supporting the body’s physical structure. Supporting physiological functions such as neurotransmitter and antioxidant production and protein synthesis.”
― Gabrielle Lyon, Forever Strong: A New, Science-Based Strategy for Aging Well

“every adult should consume at least 1 gram per pound of their ideal body weight each day. In particular, your first and last meals of the day should each contain a minimum of 30 grams of high-quality protein.”
― Gabrielle Lyon, Forever Strong: A New, Science-Based Strategy for Aging Well

“As Viktor Frankl put it, pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional.33”
― Gabrielle Lyon, Forever Strong: A New, Science-Based Strategy for Aging Well

“Make the crema: Cover the cashews with cool water. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to overnight. Drain and rinse the cashews; transfer to a high-speed blender or food processor. Add the cilantro, lime zest and juice, and ½ cup water; blend. Add more water as needed to reach sauce consistency. Taste”
― Gabrielle Lyon, Forever Strong: A New, Science-Based Strategy for Aging Well

“The ultimate life hack is hard work.” —Dr. Gabrielle Lyon”
― Gabrielle Lyon, Forever Strong: A New, Science-Based Strategy for Aging Well

“The most important thing to understand right now is that it is absolutely possible to optimize or restore proper metabolic function by building and maintaining healthy muscle.”
― Gabrielle Lyon, Forever Strong: A New, Science-Based Strategy for Aging Well

“unhealthy muscle, infiltrated with fat, much like a marbled steak. This can lead to chronic fatigue, loss of strength, and insulin resistance, as well as the limitation of daily activities.”
― Gabrielle Lyon, Forever Strong: A New, Science-Based Strategy for Aging Well

“Through specific, targeted behaviors, you can literally change your destiny by empowering your muscle to run the body’s energy-processing and chemical-messaging system in healthy ways.”
― Gabrielle Lyon, Forever Strong: A New, Science-Based Strategy for Aging Well

“Wear a lightly weighted vest to work to add in just a little more resistance.”
― Gabrielle Lyon, Forever Strong: A New, Science-Based Strategy for Aging Well

“BUSTER You may have heard the myth that higher-protein diets lead to kidney dysfunction. The data tell us otherwise. A meta-analysis conducted by prominent protein researcher Stu Philips looked at higher-protein (HP) diets (≥ 1.5 g/kg body weight or ≥ 20% energy intake or ≥ 100 g/day) and their effects on kidney function. The indicator known as glomerular filtration rate (GFR) reflects any change in the efficiency of kidney function. When compared with normal- or lower-protein (≥ 5% less energy intake from protein/day) diets, HP diet interventions did not significantly elevate GFR relative to diets containing lower amounts of protein. Researchers concluded that HP intake does not negatively influence renal function in healthy adults.2 A systematic review of randomized controlled trials and epidemiologic studies conducted by Van Elswyk et al. found that HP intake (≥ 20% but < 35% of energy or ≥ 10% higher than a comparison intake) had little to no effect on blood markers of kidney function (e.g., blood pressure) when compared with groups following US RDA recommendations (0.8 g/kg or 10–15% of energy).”
― Gabrielle Lyon, Forever Strong: A New, Science-Based Strategy for Aging Well