This episode is brought to you by Rupa Health, BiOptimizers, Mitopure, and Joovv. Skeletal muscle is the currency of healthy aging; it’s an essential lever in maintaining optimal metabolic health, reducing body fat, and supporting longevity. And a major piece of building and maintaining muscle is protein consumption. Today, I talk with Dr. Don Layman about the science of muscle mass, optimal protein requirements for chronic disease prevention, performance, and much more.  Dr. Layman is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Food Science & Human Nutrition at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He served on the faculty at the University of Illinois from 1977 - 2012. Dr. Layman earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees in chemistry at Illinois State University and his doctorate in human nutrition and biochemistry at the University of Minnesota. He is recognized for research on protein and amino acids for muscle health related to athletic performance, obesity, diabetes, and cardiometabolic health. Dr. Layman is also a nutrition consultant to the food industry. This episode is brought to you by Rupa Health, BiOptimizers, Mitopure, and Joovv. Rupa Health is a place where Functional Medicine practitioners can access more than 2,000 specialty lab tests. You can check out a free, live demo with a Q&A or create an account at RupaHealth.com. Get 10% off BiOptimizers' Sleep Breakthrough and get a free bottle of Magnesium Breakthrough when you buy two or more. This is a limited-time offer. Go to sleepbreakthrough.com/hyman and use the code hyman10. Get 10% off Mitopure at timelinenutrition.com/drhyman and use code DRHYMAN10. For a limited time, get an exclusive discount on Joovv’s Generation 3.0 devices (some exclusions apply). Go to Joovv.com/farmacy and use the code FARMACY. Here are more details from our interview (audio version / Apple Subscriber version): The early work that led Donald to muscle-centric health (5:54 /3:42)  Protein, carbohydrates, and insulin resistance (19:43 / 14:04)  Why all calories are not equal (29:51 / 26:15)  Weight-loss research looking at high-carb, low-protein diets (35:14 / 30:58)  High percentages of women in certain age groups don’t eat enough protein (43:15 / 38:57)  How our protein needs and metabolism change with age (46:17 / 41:40)  Meeting protein needs with a vegan diet (52:37 / 47:08)  Protein quality and muscle growth (1:01:29 /  55:25)  Healthy aging, muscle, and MTOR (01:10:35 / 1:06:16)  How much and when should you eat protein? (1:18:07 / 1:15:35)  Me at age 40 vs age 60 Find Don on Twitter @donlayman and learn more through his website, MetabolicTransformation.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices