One of the secrets – probably the biggest – to staying vibrant and healthy is eating healthy, nutritious foods all throughout your life. But that may not be what you want to hear if you are in your 50’s and above. You may feel that you have put in the hard yards and now you deserve a little slack and now have a few more dietary indulgences.
Sure, you can, but unfortunately, your health and figure will suffer for it. Also, your ‘apparent physical age’, or how old you appear, is very dependent on your diet. Your appearance may already be living proof that you have not been as diligent as you could have.
However, you can slow the clock and even turn it back some if you choose. Even more important than how you look, good dietary choices play a huge part in preventing the onset of ‘old-age’ and ‘lifestyle’ diseases.
Maintaining a healthy mind and body by eating a nutritious diet will help protect you against diseases and health problems. This also means avoiding foods that can cause you more harm than good. This is a vital aspect that we too often gloss over.
Too often we rationalize our behavior in thinking that because we have eaten this healthy food, it is now ok to eat this food, that we know is not good for us. That is not how healthy eating works. Avoiding the bad is the biggest single secret to good health.
Here are some of the anti-aging foods that you should include in your diet and the foods to avoid that can make you actually age faster.
Anti-Aging Foods to Include
These foods can be found in the healthy Mediterranean diet, as they mostly comprise fruits, vegetables and fish. They are ideal anti-aging foods.
Avocado
- Rich in vitamins A, B, C, E, potassium, and anti-inflammatory fatty acids.
- Helps in getting rid of dead skin cells, making your skin smooth and supple.
Blueberry
- Full of vitamins A and C, and antioxidant anthocyanin.
- Helps in protecting your skin from sun damage, pollution, and stress.
- Stops collagen loss.
Nuts Such as Almonds, Pistachios, and Walnuts
- Packed with vitamin E, Omega-3 fatty acids, protein, fiber, polyphenols, and anti-inflammatory phytochemicals.
- Protects your brain against loss of cognitive skills and memory.
- Helps in repairing your skin tissues.
- Maintains your skin moisture and protects against sun damage.
Papaya
- Full of antioxidants, vitamins A, B, C, E, and K, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus.
- Maintains your skin’s elasticity and delays aging by minimizing fine lines and wrinkles.
- Prevents damage from free radicals.
- Gets rid of dead skin cells to promote new skin.
Pomegranate Seeds
- Rich in vitamin C and antioxidants.
- Helps defend your body from cell damage from the free radicals that cause premature aging and many diseases.
- Minimizes levels of inflammation in your body that contribute to aging.
Sweet Potatoes
- Rich in vitamins A, C, E, and antioxidant beta-carotene.
- Enhances skin elasticity and skin renewal.
- Protects your skin from harmful free radicals.
Broccoli
- Packed with antioxidants, calcium, fiber, folate, vitamins C and K.
- Enhances collagen production and increases bone health.
- Assists the health of the eyes.
- Maintains healthy brain function.
- Anti-inflammatory food.
Romaine Lettuce, Spinach, and Watercress
- Rich in vitamins A, B1, B2, C, E, K, calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, and iodine.
- Promotes good circulation and discharge of minerals.
- Fights free radicals and reduces premature fine lines and wrinkles.
Salmon and Tuna
- Rich in Omega-3 fatty acids.
- Help prevent age-related mental deterioration.
- Anti-inflammatory.
- Increases bone and joint health.
- Protects skin from dehydration.
- Promotes heart and eye health.
Foods that Contradict Your Anti-Aging Diet
Besides making you age faster, these foods increase your risk of chronic diseases.
Deep-Fried Foods or Fast Foods
Usually, these foods use unhealthy oils for frying. They cause inflammation, free radicals damage skin cells, skin dehydration causes wrinkles, and they weaken your immune system and cause heart disease.
Processed Foods – Bacon, Sausages, Pepperoni
These meats are packed with saturated fats, sodium, sulfite, and preservative nitrates. They cause skin dehydration, bloating, puffiness, and collagen damage because of inflammation. They increase the risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.
Sugary Candies, Donuts, and Pastries
They are full of sugar, which causes inflammation and wrinkles, and destroys your collagen and elastin that keeps skin looking younger.
Cakes and Biscuits
They are mostly full of sugar, unhealthy fats, and refined carbohydrates that are heat-processed. They will hasten your aging because they cause dental problems, weight gain, an unhealthy gut, and inflammation which lead to diabetes and heart disease.
White Bread and Pasta
They are processed carbohydrates that can harm your skin’s collagen that prevents wrinkles.
Canned Foods
Some contain harmful ingredients and excess sodium. Sodium causes dehydration that induces fine lines and wrinkles.
Beware of Some Red Meat
Some meats contain phosphates to increase their shelf life and enhance flavor and tenderness. Consuming foods with excess phosphates increases your risk of developing many health issues and diseases.
Obvious Differences
You might have noticed that inflammation and skin damage are always topical conditions, along with chronic diseases when aging is the topic. Although aging can’t be reversed, we can slow down the physical process and avoid its accompanying health problems by consuming a wide variety of anti-aging foods.
A very obvious difference between the two classes of foods above is that the good group are almost exclusively fresh and whole foods, whereas the damaging group are mostly highly processed offerings.
We also need to incorporate the whole range of healthy habits, such as exercising the mind and body, getting plenty of sleep, and especially avoiding the foods that counteract our youthful goals!
