Anti-aging Food Chart
Anti-aging. It’s a word that suggests optimal health and nutrition. Ultimately, there is no way to stop that process of aging, yet there are some excellent ways to slow the process drastically. No, cosmetic surgery isn’t a slowing of the process—that usually equates to an individual looking vaguely familiar, and still somewhat like someone else.
Importance of Anti-Aging Food
True anti-aging is a natural process that presents the body with what it needs to function optimally, well into the years associated with “maturity.” True anti-aging focuses on quality and quantity. Anti-aging comes from physical care, as well as the fuel we offer our bodies through anti-aging foods.
What are Anti-aging Foods
Without delving too deep, anti-aging foods are those which are associated with high antioxidant content. They are foods that require little work for the body to maintain balance. They’re often easily digest, are enjoyable to eat and result in better overall physical function, more radiant physical appearance and optimal biological performance. Ultimately, these foods promote health as opposed to the breakdown associated with aging. They are alkaline as opposed to acidic. A simple example of a snack: Blackberries vs. potato chips.
Why Antioxidants in Food Promote Anti-Aging
The process of aging is sped along by something you’re probably familiar with: Oxidation. When this process occurs in nature, it begins to break down cellular function. Without the assistance of antioxidants, it would give way to a chain reaction of free radicals which ultimately cause cellular damage, moving the physical further and further from optimal health and performance.
Foods That Naturally Promote Anti-Aging
Fruits and vegetables are packed full of antioxidants. Many come in the form of vitamins, while others may posses minerals or enzymes. And not to worry, there are meat products that possess excellent sources of anti-aging properties as well. The problem with meat, especially in many western cultures, is that highly acidic meats, red meat in particular, are ingested on nearly a daily basis.
While antioxidants help to offer balance to an acidic environment, excess of such foods can lend to the breakdown of physical function by providing an optimal environment to the process of oxidation—the foundation of aging. Limiting meat to a daily single serving will aid in better overall function of all biological systems.
Anti-Aging Food – Fruits and Vegetables
As mentioned briefly, blackberries are a wonderful anti-aging food. They possess a higher level of antioxidants than any other berry. Along those lines, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, red currant and hybrids of other berries also serve as clean energy for the body, while possessing excellent anti-aging properties.
There are also other great anti-aging foods within the fruit and vegetable family: Oranges, apples, pineapples, green olives, kiwi, cantaloupe, honeydew, banana, watermelon, red beans, black beans, kidney beans, russet potatoes (worth buying in organic form), plums, red cabbage—the list goes on and on.
Water – The Great Anti-Aging Food
When it comes to the most important “food” that should be consumed for anti-aging, it’s the one thing you absolutely cannot live without: Water. Our bodies are made up of over 75 percent water, and our bodies need this most precious resource to function, and allow all other antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, enzymes and hormones to function properly within the physiological scheme.
Most people do not drink enough water. Add to the fact that most people get their water through highly acidic drinks such as coffee, sodas, sports drinks and energy drinks and anti-aging can be thrown out the window.
Other people who drink enough water will often get theirs from a bottled source, not realizing that even the top brands of bottled water generally fall to the acidic side of the pH scale. Such water would be better for skin care, but filtered tap water would be a better option for ingestion.