Anti Aging Foods

Written by Ken Meyer

Retarding the affects of aging is possible with proper anti aging nutrition

Balanced diet will play a large role in negating the affects of aging.




Obviously, the effects of aging won’t be the same for everyone. In addition to proper skin care which will be covered in another piece, there are three anti aging factors that can reduce the physical signs of ageing for everyone.
 
Nutrition: You are what you eat and many of the foods you normally eat have negative dietary side effects that increase the aging process.

At the same time there are wonderful specific foods that actively fight free radicals in the body and promote optimum health.

It is important to understand the effects of free radicals in the ageing process and how antioxidants help with their anti aging properties in a manner far better than creams and cosmetics.

Creams and cosmetics are very important and have a strong and important role to play in staying and looking young.
 
Habits: Many habits that negatively affect staying young will need to  be changed. Habits can be changed, they say, in 21 days of consistent use. Changing habits is the second factor in proper anti aging care.
 
Exercise: Yes, once again, exercise which we should all be doing in any case, is another factor in fighting the ravenges of aging. Proper exercise in moderation and in conjunction with proper anti aging diets will reduce fat, maintain bone structure, muscle tone and overall health actually extending life expectancy.

We will be concentrating on anti aging nutrition in this article. Future articles will address how to change lifestyle habits and what they are and affective exercise to maintain a youthful and healthy lifestyle.

The Role of antioxidants and Free Radicals

Free radicals are a natural occurring process in the human body whereby atoms or groups of atoms lose their stable properties.

During metabolism weak bonds in molecules will split, leaving atoms that are unstable because they are missing an electron. The natural reaction of the atom is to stabilize itself. It will thus go to the nearest stable molecule and attempt to steal one of its electrons. This cascading effect can damage and destroy cells and promote the effects of aging.   

What Then Do Antioxidants Do?

The human body will defend itself with agents called antioxidants, most prominantly vitamin C and vitamin E. These and othe antioxidants work by giving up on of their electrons to the weak molecule so other more healthy molecules don't lose theirs. They sacrifice part of themselves if you will.

The beauty of the antioxidant is that they remain healthy, the do not become a free radical now looking to replace what they just gave up.These nutrients acting as antioxidants are really cell policemen preventing further damage to healthy cess and helping cells to regenerate.

As mentioned above vitamens C and E are the two most prominant antioxidants. Vitamin C is water soluble and E is fat soluble.,

Anti aging antioxidant Vitamin C being water soluble requires more and heftier intake unlike anti aging antioxidant vitamin E, the body cannot store C for long periods of time and needs to be replenished.


Fruits and Vegetables

If you add natural, raw foods to your anti aging diet you are helping to prevent cancer in many  forms and you are regenerating necessary cells.

Foods with some of the highest anti aging value are fruits and bright colored vegetables such as carrots, broccoli, tomatoes and citrus. In addition, they are good sources of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals which prevent/retard the effects of aging. Fruits and vegetables are also an excellent source of complex carbohydrates.

Complex Carbohydrates

Create a anti aging diet containing 65-70% complex or not so simple carbohydrates.Not to be confused with simple unhealthy carbohydrates.The  majority of these fibers should come from raw fruits and vegetables, unrefined whole grain foods such as whole rice and whole flour pasta.  The rest of the diet should contain no more than 15% protein rich foods such as fresh meat and dairy protect.
Drink Lots of Water and Fluids

Increasing fluid intake is important for healthy skin, promotes sweating when combined with a regular routine of exercise. In fact, much of your recommended fluid intake can/will come from fruits and vegetables.
 Drink freshly squeezed 100% fruit juice, no additive juices, as it removes the excess in fiber; increasing your intake of vitamins and of antioxidants will also brings fluids to your body.
A cup of good quality tea, coffee and a glass of red wine (now we’re talking) will also bring trace elements, antioxidants and many additional nutrients that fight the effects of aging. You should never (never say never) exceed 1 / one glass of wine a day and 1 or 2 cups of tea or coffee.
Foods that accelerate the aging process

We are bombarded daily with advetisements for food most of which comes with large doses of bad carbohydrates from refined flous and sugar.

We gain weight needlessly promote aging and lower longevity by eating these foods with refined products in them.

Eliminating refined processed foods from your anti aging diet is recommended by some; however, drastically reducing the intake of these foods, in other words eating them in moderation will also help.

Avoiding processed foods

Processed foods may cause cell degeneration and are a significant contributor to the aging process. Processed foods are high in simple carbohydrates including the ones marked as “all natural”.

Processed foods represent a high source of unrefined sugars; artificial sweeteners hydrogenated oils, preserved meats, etc. Avoid microwave dinners when possible, puffed foods and grains and all artificial sweeteners! Stevia and its derivatives is a wonderful substitute for artificial sweeteners.
Processed foods contain preservative, artificial ingredients, monosodium glutamate, corn syrup and artificial colorings especially in items such as cakes, candy, cookies and soda.


Get more anti aging nutrition information and products at http://www.antiagingnook.com. You can also pick up great information regarding other areas of the anti aging battle.