Top 10 Foods to Keep You Young
Are you keen to stay looking as fresh and young as possible? Yes?
While there’s no way to pause or turn
back the clock you add years to your life by making smarter food
choices. Let me share with you a few age-proof strategies to help slow
the aging process and perhaps even stave off age-related diseases,
including osteoporosis, diabetes and heart disease. The solution lies
not in pharmacies but in your fridge. All you have to do is add them to
your diet.
There are many variables involved in how
long you live, but by following a healthy lifestyle, staying active and
eating a nutrient-packed diet, can give you extra ammunition when it
comes to combating the signs of aging.
As we grow older our caloric needs drop,
making it even more important to pack your diet with nutrient-rich
low-calorie foods, such as vegetables, fruits and whole grains—and limit
foods that are considered less-healthy and more calorie-laden.
Antioxidants are the kamikaze power
foods that reduce your risk of cancer and heart disease. These
health-protecting compounds found in plant-based foods help stop damage
to the body’s cells by destroying cell-damaging free radicals.
So which foods are best to make you look young and healthy? Here they are:
If you don’t like the taste of these foods mix them into foods that you like.
3. Chocolate: Dark chocolate is especially beneficial. In fact, many experts recommend eating one or two ounces of dark chocolate every day.
Dark chocolate has been shown to lower
blood pressure in people with elevated blood pressure, reduce LDL
cholesterol by as much as 10 percent and the theobromine in chocolate
prevents tooth decay.
Chocolate contains serotonin, a natural
anti-depressant and creates feelings of happiness and pleasure.
Chocolate works as a cancer fighter is by inhibiting cell division and
reducing inflammation.
A Dutch study followed 200 men over 20
years and found that those who large amounts of chocolate, both milk
chocolate and dark, lived longer and had lower overall disease rates
than men who ate little or no chocolate.
4. Yogurt: Yogurt is
associated with the term “probiotics”, which means “that which supports
and is for life”! Yogurt is a dairy product that is obtained by
fermenting milk. This fermentation uses bacteria to transform milk which
is a liquid into yogurt which is semi-solid in nature. Yogurt is a
proven treasure-trove of enriching elements like zinc, calcium, lactic
acid, Vitamins B1, B2, B-6 and B-12, protein, and yeast. It holds rich
deposits of friendly bacteria that boost overall health.
Many people who cannot tolerate milk,
either because of a protein allergy or lactose intolerance, can enjoy
yogurt. The culturing process makes yogurt more digestible than milk.
Yogurt lowers the risk of colon cancer
as it contains intestines-friendly Lactobacteria that reduces the
conversion of bile into carcinogenic bile acids. The bacterial cultures
in yogurt have also been shown to stimulate infection-fighting white
cells in the bloodstream. Yogurt can lower cholesterol and also decrease
yeast infections in the vagina.
Antibiotics kill not only harmful
bacteria; they also kill the healthy ones in the intestines. The live
bacterial cultures in yogurt can help replenish the intestines with
helpful bacteria before the harmful ones take over.
Yogurt is a rich source of calcium and protein.
The live-active cultures in yogurt increase the absorption of calcium.
250gm of yogurt gets more calcium into the body than the same volume of
milk can. This daily intake is equivalent to twenty percent of the daily
protein requirement for most persons.
5. Red wine: Wine is
one of the oldest alcoholic beverages on the planet. While heavy
drinking of any alcoholic beverage rather brings lots of health-related
troubles instead of benefits, current research suggests that a glass of
red wine each day may be providing you with more than just a little
relaxation. A glass of red wine gives you a healthy dose of anti-aging
polyphenol antioxidants, minerals, and resveratrol.
Wine has anti-aging effects, improved
lung function from antioxidants in white wine and stronger bones.
Drinking wine reduces ulcer-causing bacteria and keeps the arteries
clean thereby reducing strokes
Red wine intake reduces the risk of
kidney stone formation and moderate wine drinking correlates with a
lower risk for Alzheimer’s disease.
6. Water:
It truly is fountain of youth. Very few people, active or not, drink
sufficient water every day. Drinking water helps you lose weight because
it flushes down the by-products of fat breakdown. Drinking water
reduces hunger; it’s an effective appetite suppressant so you’ll eat
less. Water helps to relieve headache and back pains due to dehydration
also make you look younger when your skin is properly hydrated. Water
helps to replenish skin tissues, moisturizes skin and increases skin
elasticity, helping boost your anti-aging armory.
Drinking water raises your metabolism
because it helps in digestion. Drinking plenty of water also helps fight
against flu and other ailments like kidney stones and heart attack.
If your body lacks water, your heart,
for instance, needs to work harder to pump out the oxygenated blood to
all cells, so are the rest of the vital organs, your organs will be
exhausted and so will you.
Drinking a healthy amount of water may
reduce the risks of bladder cancer and colon cancer. Water dilutes the
concentration of cancer-causing agents in the urine and shortens the
time in which they are in contact with bladder lining.
7. Blueberries:
Blueberries have the highest antioxidant capacity of all fresh fruit
being very rich in anti oxidants like anthocyanin, vitamin C, B complex,
vitamin E, vitamin A, copper (a very effective immune builder and
anti-bacterial), selenium, zinc, iron (promotes immunity by raising
haemoglobin and oxygen concentration in blood) etc. boost up your immune
system and prevent infections. Once your immunity is strong, you won’t
catch colds, fever, pox and all such nasty viral and bacterial
communicable diseases.
Blueberries have also been
found in clinical studies to slow down visual loss, preventing or
delaying all age related ocular problems like macular degeneration,
cataract, myopia and hypermetropia, dryness and infections, particularly
those pertaining to retina, due to their anti-oxidant properties.
The fruit can prevent and heal nerve
disorders by preventing degeneration and death of neurons, brain-cells
and also by restoring health of the central nervous system. These
berries can also cure serious problems like Alzheimer’s disease to a
great extent, heal damaged brain cells and neuron tissues and keep
memory sharp for a long-long time.
Blueberries are an ideal dietary supplement to cure many heart diseases as it strengthens the cardiac muscles.
Blueberries have also proven to prevent
and cure cancer as it contains Pterostilbene (excellent remedy for colon
and liver cancer) and Ellagic Acid.
Blueberries keep you fresh, active, fit, sharp, close to nature and in a good mood, as they are very good anti depressants.
8. Fish:
Eating fish regularly – one or two servings weekly –may reduce the risk
of diseases ranging from childhood asthma to prostate cancer. Fish is
low in fat, high in protein and an excellent source of omega 3 fatty
acids.
Eating fish every week reduces the risk
of heart disease and stroke by reducing blood clots and inflammation,
improving blood vessel elasticity, lowering blood pressure, lowering
blood fats and boosting ‘good’ cholesterol. Elderly people who eat fish
or seafood at least once a week may have a lower risk of developing
dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease.
Healthy ways to enjoy fish include baked, poached, grilled and steamed forms.
9. Eggs: Eggs make
the list because they are nutritious, versatile, economical, and a
great way to fill up on quality protein. Eggs also contain 12 vitamins
and minerals, including choline, which is good for brain development and
memory.
Contrary to previous belief, moderate
consumption of eggs does not have a negative impact on cholesterol. In
fact, recent studies have shown that regular consumption of two eggs per
day does not affect a person’s lipid profile and may, in fact, improve
it. Research suggests that it is saturated fat that raises cholesterol
rather than dietary cholesterol and prevent blood clots, stroke, and
heart attacks.
Eggs are one of the only foods that contain naturally occurring vitamin D.
Eggs may prevent breast cancer. Eggs
promote healthy hair and nails because of their high sulfur content and
wide array of vitamins and minerals. Many people find their hair growing
faster after adding eggs to their diet, especially if they were
previously deficient in foods containing sulfur or B12.
10. Nuts: Nuts
have 0f late been given a bad name because of their high fat content.
But their protein, heart-healthy fats, high fiber, and antioxidant
content earn them a place on the top 10 list.
Nuts are rich source of all important
omega-3 essential fatty acids which helps to lower the risk of blood
pressure, coronary artery disease, strokes and breast, colon and
prostate cancers. by their virtue of anti-inflammatory action. Omega-3
fatty acids also offer some benefits in conditions such as rheumatoid
arthritis and in cases of Schizophrenia, depression and Alzheimer’s
disease.
Nuts are storehouse of health benefiting
flavonoid antioxidants such as carotenes, resveratrol, lutein,
cryptoxanthin etc. These compounds have been found to be protective
against cancers, heart disease, degenerative nerve disease, Alzheimer’s
disease, and infections.
Almost all the varieties of nuts we eat
come in shells. There is nothing to worry about contamination
or handling issues. Just grab healthy looking nuts of your choice and
enjoy!
