Slowing the Aging Process

Aging gracefully means being as healthy as you can be for as long as possible.  Your dietary and lifestyle choices play a big role in slowing the aging process.  Effort is needed to exercise and eat right.  Good dietary and lifestyle choices can also assist in easing the effects of advancing years. 

All of the anti-aging philosophies and contradicting promises seems very confusing.  You may wonder what to eat .  It turns out that the body’s aging process can be accelerated by inflammation in the body. 

What is inflammation and how can it affect your body?

The immune system responds to injury and diseases by providing you with inflammation.  This is a normal process that is important for healing.  One the other hand, not all inflammation is healthy for you.

When inflammation gets out of hand, it can attack the normal cells of your body and the process that is supposed to heal you becomes self-destructive.  It is now well known that chronic inflammation is the root cause of many serious illnesses. Diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis , asthma, Crohn’s disease, colitis, inflammatory bowel disease and lupus are all caused due to inflammation.

Persistent stress, over-exposure to environmental toxins, and poor diet can all contribute to this type of inflammatory process.

Can something be done?

The good news is that there are some lifestyle choices that can help with ease the painful effects of inflammation and aging. Following an anti-inflammatory diet is an effective way to deal with inflammation, but be wary. The anti-inflammatory eating plan may be a bit strict by some standards, but the physical benefits are immense.  The anti-inflammatory eating plan isn’t  technically geared for weight loss but rather helps improve your overall long-term health. 

The Anti-Inflammatory Diet 

 There is no known risk in following the anti-inflammatory diet. But, with any dietary change you should consult with your physician. Eat lots of vegetables. Try eating a variety of different vegetables and fruits. Most vegetables are extremely low calories, making them perfect for filling you up at mealtimes. In addition, vegetables are full of fiber, which keep intestinal and colon health on point, as well as  of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, which fend off free radicals and compounds that damage DNA and promote aging.

The anti-inflammatory diet places a focus on whole foods that are whole and unrefined, high in anti-inflammatory spices, high in healthy fats, and high in omega 3 fatty acids. 

Some things to include in an anti-inflammatory diet include the following:

·       Soy products, such as tofu, soy milk, tempeh, an edamame

.    Oily fish such as tuna and salmon 

·       Healthy fats found in extra virgin olive oil of high quality, beans, avocados, seeds, and nuts

·       Vegetables and fruits that are brightly colored. There should be a rainbow on your plate. Eat daily fruits and vegetables especially  such as blueberries, strawberries ,cherries, kale, spinach, broccoli.·     

.       Clean water and green tea as a beverage

·       Spices that are anti-inflammatory, such as cinnamon, turmeric, and ginger

Foods to Avoid

It is also important to decrease your intake of foods that cause inflammation.  Highly processed foods are inflammatory as are carbohydrates that are quickly digested, such as sugar and sugary snacks.  You need to stay away from foods containing vegetable shortening, partially hydrogenated oils, and polyunsaturated oils, such as soy, corn, safflower, and sunflower oils. 

It may be difficult to know if you are eating any of these foods, which is why you need to read the food labels to see if any of these inflammatory foods are in them. When you’re not sure, you should buy raw unprocessed foods and cook them yourself.  Food that are labeled “raw” or “organic” can be seen as good foods to choose in an anti-inflammatory diet. 

Does an anti-inflammatory diet work?

According to the expert dietitians, there is good evidence to show that monounsaturated oils and omega 3 oils can fight inflammation.  On the other hand, some of the information is off when it comes to taking anti-inflammatory foods to combat aging.  One study indicated that heredity can play a role in who gets the disease and who doesn’t.

While diet is important, genetics also plays a role in the aging process.  You can decrease the effects of chronic diseases by eating an anti-inflammatory food diet.  Don’t make big changes all at once.  Start introducing anti-inflammatory foods gradually into your diet and take away inflammatory foods so that eventually your diet represents an anti-inflammatory diet as much as is possible. 

 Let’s now examine how other lifestyle changes can assist with the aging process. Aging is inevitable,  but that does not mean that you have to sit back and let it prematurely take your youth away. No, there are things you can do starting right now to beat the aging process, and maintain your youthful looks and vigor well into an age nobody will be able to guess!

These tips are extremely simple- there’s no magic pill here. Read on to find out the five keys tips you should be doing.

Sleep More

Sleeping is one of life’s simple pleasures, and something that should come naturally to everyone. However, more than half of the USA’s adult population is chronically sleep deprived, in the sense that they get less than the recommended 8-9 hours nightly, many days running. Sleep is the one thing that everyone has going for them, since it is the hit reset button for your body.

During sleep, repair ensues, so that proteins in skin are fixed, hormone production is ramped up, and the process of rebuilding in general. Chronic sleep deficiency inhibits the ability of the body to fix structural defects, including in DNA, which can accelerate greying of hair, wrinkling of skin and deterioration of organs.

Shed harmful habits 

Sure, watching TV late into the night is a bad hobby, and it is damaging, but it is not bad in the sense we are referring to. The ways we are talking about, relates to  the over consumption of alcohol, smoking and eating junk food. Excessive alcohol consumption places undue stress on the liver that’s primary job is to remove toxins from the body, and in some cases makes it unable to do its job. The toxin accumulation is bad for your health, which in turns can accelerate the aging process.

Smoking, on the other hand, is worse in many aspects. With negative effects ranging from the lungs, to blood vessels and more, smoking can age you 25 years in just 5 years. Nutrient delivery suffers, so skin ages and wrinkles far sooner than it should, and you increase the risk of dying from complications of the lung.

 Be Happy

We don’t expect you to be euphoric all day long, but being happy has proven benefits over being sad, or pouty. This can be explained by endorphins, feel good chemicals produced in the brain that boost mood, reduce heart rate and blood pressure, and reduce stress levels as well. Practicing mindfulness meditation is one of the best ways to develop your appreciation of the little things in life. This improves your happiness outlook. It makes you smile more. More smiles, less frowning, means less development of wrinkles and fine lines.

Weight Train

A little jogging or cycling is good during any point of life, but in order to diminish the effects of aging, weight training is a must. Not only does muscle help you fill out your clothing, but it can also help prevent skin from sagging, wrinkling, or your posture from stooping.

Nothing screams old like a hunched back and sagging skin, but luckily, weight lifting can delay this for years to come, not only that, but your overall mobility will be kept in check, and you will look great, so hit the weights!

In concluding- care must be taken to eat well, rest, maintain a positive attitude, get sufficient rest and exercise. In doing this you can slow the aging process.