Anti-ageing Foods you should start eating - today!

Can you really eat yourself younger? Believe it or not, there are foods out there, that naturally have anti-aging properties. As part of a balanced, healthy lifestyle, including some of these foods in your diet can help slow down the aging process, both internally and externally!

Ok, I know we do not eat water but it can help fight the aging process! Water is essential if you want to achieve younger looking skin. It will flush your system of all the toxins and impurities that have built up through diet and environment. Whilst it is cleaning out your system, it helps to carry the good vitamins and minerals around your body, feeding them to your other organs. We should drink at least 8 glasses of water a day!

Traditionally eaten around the holidays, turkey is a brilliant source of zinc! Why do we need zinc? Zinc helps fight the aging process by helping to produce and maintain healthy collagen – the substance responsible for keeping our face looking fuller and younger. It is great for fighting off infections too! Red meats such as beef, when consumed in high quantities have been associated with causing type 2 diabetes and an increased risk of colon cancer. White meats like turkey have shown no signs of attributing to such diseases – yay for turkey! Turkey also scores points for helping to reduce blood sugar – those with high blood sugar levels will often suffer with acne breakouts and premature aging.

Like turkey, the also attribute to low blood sugar levels and better insulin regulation. Grapes are filled with phytonutrients – a naturally occurring compound, and several of these phytonutrients in grapes are associated with longevity. Not only will they keep you looking younger, but physically younger as well! Grapes are a water soluble fruit, so they also help to keep us hydrated, combating dry, aging skin. Grapes also promote happy hearts and cardiovascular systems, improving blood flow and circulation to our skin keeping it glowing and younger looking!

Salmon is filled with omega 3 fatty acids, which are great for our skin! Omega 3 reduces inflammation and reduces the amount of lipids (fats) traveling in our bloodstream – salmon is perfect if you have oily skin as it can help reduce the amount of fats clogging our pores. Omega 3 is also a wizard when it comes to cell protection and production. The healthier our cells are the better they work at keeping us looking fresh and youthful. Stress can cause us to age almost over night, so try eating some salmon! Studies have recently shown that the omega 3s in salmon can help to not only reduce stress and inflammation in the brain, but also improve our cognitive function too! Keeping your brain active, happy and young is jut as important as keeping your skin looking young too!

Whole grains that are rich in fiber are an excellent addition to your anti-aging diet! They help to reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes and keep your blood vessels in great shape! Whole grains, such as oats, are not only a good source of fiber, but are filled with selenium and vitamin E – both skin loving nutrients! Also, try barley! It is great for lowering cholesterol and promoting good intestinal health! If you are postmenopausal, barley will help to promote strong hearts and improved circulation. It is so important to keep a good blood flow to our skin so that we can repair and reproduce new cells often, keeping our youthful appearance!

Strawberries, cranberries, blueberries etc, if it has a ‘berry’ in there, get it into your anti-aging diet! The darker the berry the more benefits it is believed you will get! Berries are full of falvonols and anthocyanins which promote healthy cells, as well as reducing your risk of certain cancers and diabetes. Berries are also filled with vitamin C, which helps to repair damaged tissues and some studies have shown it reduces your risk of skin cancer too!

I just had to get this sweet treat on the list – what diet would not be complete without a little chocolate in it? Dark chocolate can actually protect you from the harmful UV rays from the sun! Sun damage is the most visible sign of prematurely aged skin. The cocoa bean dark chocolate is made from has the highest antioxidant capacity than any other food! This helps to reduce inflammation, as well as improving circulation and improves the skins ability to retain moisture! The more moisture our skin can hold onto the less visible wrinkles and fine lines become!

Surprised to see alcohol on this list? Don’t be! One glass of good quality red wine a day is proven to be good for your heart, protecting the arteries and lining of blood vessels. How is red wine anti-aging? Red wine contains an antioxidant called resveratrol which studies believe prevents blood clots, reduces inflammation and lowers cholesterol! Remember we’re only talking about one glass a day here. Drink in moderation – too much alcohol dehydrates your skin and can leave you looking old and haggard if you drink excessively over a period of time.

The war still rages on whether garlic is better for you cooked or uncooked, but suffice to say it is filled with anti-aging, skin loving benefits! It helps to lower inflammation, cholesterol and blood pressure and even maintains healthy cells! Garlic is filled with busy little nutrients, reducing the risk of certain cancers, and acting as both an anti-viral and anti-bacterial!

The humble avocado, I have said the best until last here folks! For hundreds of years, if not more, the avocado has been crowned the number one anti-aging food of all time! Filled to the brim with skin loving vitamin E, potassium, monounsaturated fats and of course, those helpful antioxidants! Eat them on their own, in salads, guacamole, or make a skin boosting facemask from nothing but a raw, mashed up avocado. They are brilliant little things and are necessary on your anti-aging shopping list!

Keeping a young, healthy appearance is not all about what you eat; your lifestyle can play a huge role in the aging process too. If you are going to put the effort into eating right, you should put the effort into living right too.

• Sleep – are you getting enough? The average person needs around 6 – 8 hours a night. Some might see this as ‘wasted’ time, but during sleep our body regenerates and repairs itself with all of those healthy loving vitamins and nutrients, we have been feeding it all day long!
• Smoke? It’s time to quit! Smoking is proven to age you prematurely, both inside and out. When you smoke, you are releasing a chemical called ‘acetaldehyde’, which affects the cross-link boundaries of our skin. These cross links are what hold our skin together, damaging them cause’s fine lines, wrinkles and sagging of the skin. Smoking also breaks down collagen, restricts the blood flow to your skin and even exposes you to radiation!
• Exercise – some love it, some hate it, no matter which side of the fence you are on, it is important to get some every day! A good cardio workout promotes good heart health and the healthier our heart is the better the circulation and blood flow to the skin!

To keep up to date with my writings and goings on, check out my blog