Muscle is the Organ for Longevity with Dr. Gabrielle Lyon

In this episode of unPAUSED, Dr. Mary Claire Haver sits down with Dr. Gabrielle Lyon, board-certified family physician, founder of the Institute for Muscle-Centric Medicine, and bestselling author of Forever Strong, to explain why skeletal muscle — not body fat — determines how well women age. Dr. Lyon shares the case that changed her career: a patient in her mid-fifties who had done everything she was told — dieting, cardio, the food pyramid — yet showed signs of accelerated brain aging. The problem wasn't her fat. It was her muscle.
Dr. Lyon explains why muscle is the body's largest site for glucose disposal — meaning low muscle mass can cause insulin resistance and prediabetes even in lean women — and why muscle quality, not just quantity, drives the metabolic dysfunction usually blamed on obesity, yet still isn't measured in routine care. She and Dr. Haver dig into why 60–70 grams of protein a day isn't enough to protect muscle through perimenopause and menopause and why women should aim for closer to 100 grams alongside resistance training, how sedentary muscle lowers your carbohydrate tolerance before blood sugar and insulin become dysregulated, and the myokines — including BDNF — released when muscle contracts that support brain health, metabolism, and long-term independence. Dr. Lyon's takeaway: resistance training and adequate protein are the two things women actually control as they age, and no hormone therapy can make up for them if they're missing.
Guest links:
Dr. Gabrielle Lyon (Website) drgabriellelyon.com
Dr. Gabrielle Lyon (Instagram) instagram.com/drgabriellelyon
Dr. Gabrielle Lyon (Facebook) facebook.com/doctorgabriellelyon
Dr. Gabrielle Lyon (LinkedIn) linkedin.com/in/dr-gabrielle-lyon-00175a1a8
Dr. Gabrielle Lyon (YouTube) youtube.com/drgabriellelyon
The Dr. Gabrielle Lyon Show (Apple Podcasts) podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-dr-gabrielle…
Books:
"Forever Strong: A New, Science-Based Strategy for Aging Well," by Dr. Gabrielle Lyon amazon.com/Forever-Strong-Science-Based-Strate…
"The Forever Strong PLAYBOOK: A Six-Week, Science-Based Plan to Sharpen Your Mind, Strengthen Your Body, and Get Healthy at Any Age," by Dr. Gabrielle Lyon amazon.com/Forever-StrongTM-PLAYBOOK-Science-B…
"The New Perimenopause," by Dr. Mary Claire Haver thepauselife.com/pages/the-new-perimenopause-b…
"The New Menopause," by Dr. Mary Claire Haver amazon.com/New-Menopause-Navigating-Through-Ho…