Anti-Aging Nutrition Guide

Thursday, February 23rd, 2012 • by Paula Campbell, Nutritionist

Eating a healthy and balanced diet is fundamental to good health. If you hope to avoid illness and disease then it’s a good idea to become familiar with anti-aging nutrition and the benefits it can bring you.

Regrettably, the eating habits of many individuals today are anything but nutritious. Junk and processed foods are consumed regularly, and play a major factor in the current obesity epidemic.

Given the lack of nutritious eating habits in society today, it comes as no surprise to learn that average life expectancy is predicted to decline in the years ahead. But if anti-aging foods are eaten on a regular basis, this trend can be reversed.

Anti-aging nutrition is based on a healthy lifestyle and proper diet. Stress is one main contributing factor that makes us look and feel older than our chronological age.

Large amounts of stress leads to a flood of free radical cells coursing through the body. This production of free radicals sets the stage for a variety of life-threatening ailments and diseases.

While nobody can live forever, it is possible to slow down or delay the aging process. The body becomes less efficient at absorbing vitamins and minerals as we get older, which is why it becomes vital to eat more nutrient-rich foods.

The modern diet is not good for you because it often contains too many highly acidic foods. Everyday foods like red meat, dairy and coffee along with artificial preservatives and sweeteners can do major damage to the body.

Eat More Alkaline Foods

In addition, the prevalence of fast food restaurants makes it easy to forget about healthy eating habits for the sake of convenience. But what many people fail to realize is that high-calorie, high-fat junk food is a major contributor to obesity and premature aging.

As the body ages, it’s a good idea to begin eating more alkaline foods. For example, most vegetables are alkaline, especially spinach, broccoli, cabbage and other leafy greens. A raw foods diet can be a great anti-aging regimen.

Whole grains, nuts, and particular fruits like pears and apples are also alkaline-forming. These foods should be part of your anti-aging diet for better health and longer life. Alkaline foods play a major role in vegetarian nutrition.

Anti-Aging Supplements

If you are too busy to prepare nutritious anti-aging meals each day, you may want to consider taking anti-aging supplements. For example, if you are 35 and older, omega-3 fatty acid supplements can be taken to compensate for not eating enough fish.

The fatty acids in fish and omega-3 capsules are fundamental to good health. Another important anti-aging supplement is Vitamin B, because it is considered to help with stress reduction.

An area of anti-aging nutrition that is often overlooked is the type of liquids we drink. Bear in mind that the vast majority of soft drinks sold in stores do the body more harm than good.

It’s much healthier to drink pure mineral water at regular intervals during the day. Staying adequately hydrated is a simple and effective way to ward off disease and preserve the body’s vitality.