As we age, the foods we eat can significantly impact the quality of our health, skin, mind, and body. Thus, foods we include regularly can help slow down the signs of aging by improving our joints, cognitive function, or appearance (by promoting good skin).
While several anti-aging creams and supplements can significantly impact the process, there are other natural sources that you can find in your fridge to protect you as you age.
In this article, we’ll talk about the top five anti-aging foods and how they can benefit you in the long run.
Common Age-Related Problems
There are several age-related problems we need to be on the lookout for. Some of the most common ones are related to our bones (osteoporosis), our muscle (sarcopenia), our skin’s elasticity (wrinkles), premature cell aging, and decreasing antioxidant capacity.
While all of them are natural processes our bodies must go through, there are ways that we can stop them (or at least slow them down), and it all starts in our kitchen. No wonder why Hippocrates stated, “Let thy food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”
How To Stop Them?
Nutrition, exercise, and mental health are all crucial factors for aging.
Good nutrition with different foods promotes variety which means you intake different nutrients throughout the day. Ensure that you get enough fruits and veggies, whole grains, lean protein, and healthy fats.
Don’t forget that your hydration levels are just as important. If you don’t know how much water you should be drinking, multiply your weight in kilograms by 35, giving you your daily milliliters of water. If you use pounds, divide your body weight by half to get your daily ounces.
Leading a sedentary life can have an impact on your aging. Research shows that people have stronger muscles and bones when they exercise frequently.
Finally, keeping your mental health strong is good to slow down aging. You can check the other article on 10 ways to improve your brain health for guidance.
Anti-Aging Foods
1. Chia Seeds – High In Calcium
Calcium is an essential nutrient that we need to maintain our bones strong. Calcium reserves are lost from our skeletons when we age, making our bones more prone to fractures. A diet high in calcium can prevent this from happening.
While most people think of dairy as the top choice for calcium, most people are lactose intolerance. This means that diary is often avoided. A great source of calcium that is lactose-free (and vegan) is chia seeds. One ounce of chia seeds (28g) has 179 mg of calcium, the same as having more than half a cup of milk. It represents 15% of the daily recommended value of calcium.
If you find it challenging to add high calcium foods, you can always supplement with a calcium supplement (TURNER Calcium Plus). Remember that it must have adequate levels of vitamin K2 to ensure that you don’t get calcium calcifications in your blood vessels that could lead to heart problems.
Also Read: What Makes Marine Fish Bone Calcium The Best?
2. Eggs – Good Protein Source
Research shows that your muscle mass can decline 3-5% after 30 years. A decrease in your muscle mass can make you more prone to metabolic diseases like obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and fractures.
A combination of nutrition and exercise is vital to keeping a strong and healthy muscle mass. Eggs are a great source of protein that can help you provide all the essential amino acids (especially BCAAs) that your body needs to keep your muscle mass.
Along with a good intake of protein, you need to exercise regularly. A combination of strength training and cardio is an excellent way to keep your heart and muscles healthy.
3. Bone Broth – Collagen Boost
Collagen is a key component in our connective tissues. As we age, the ability to replenish our collagen decrease by 1-1.5% per year. This means that a reduction of collagen can result in more wrinkles and a loss of elasticity in your joints.
Increasing your collagen intake can help your joints (avoiding any joint pain) and make your skin look wrinkle-free. Bone broth is an excellent option for those that want to increase their collagen intake daily.
You can take collagen peptides in supplement form for people who don’t want to make bone broth (TURNER Collagen Peptides). This is a quick and easy way to get your daily dose of collagen.
4. Salmon – Source of Astaxanthin
Mitochondria produces the energy twe need to move throughout the day. They can start to decline as we age, leading to progressive mitochondrial dysfunction, a hallmark of aging (this means that our energy factory starts giving us problems).
There are several ways to prevent this, one is by increasing your intake of carotenoids like astaxanthin. This is a potent mitochondrial antioxidant that helps reduce the damage done by oxidative stress and prevents them from harming the mitochondria.
Salmon is one of the highest sources of astaxanthin. It gives it that rich orange color (the same as shrimp). To give your body that extra boost in antioxidants, there is no better food source than salmon.
Additional to being high in astaxanthin, it is also a good source of protein (which helps maintain your muscles), and it is high in omega-3, which also helps reduce inflammation in the body.
Also Read: Astaxanthin: Top Sources and Benefits
5. Broccoli – Antioxidant Power
Antioxidants help decrease free radicals, which are molecules that produce cellular damage and they accelerate aging. Glutathione is the most potent antioxidant that our body has. However, as we age, we find a glutathione deficiency.
Certain foods can help produce more of this powerful antioxidant in the body. Broccoli is a powerhouse when it comes to antioxidant capacity. It helps increase your glutathione levels which helps decrease premature aging.
Remember to cook them to prevent any nutrient loss slightly.
Also Read: Foods With A Remarkable Antioxidant Profile
The Bottom Line
Foods can help prevent premature aging and help avoid any diseases seen like osteoporosis or sarcopenia (muscle weakness).
Make sure that you have a diet rich in nutrients and natural foods to get all the vitamins and minerals your body needs to fight to age. Chia seeds, eggs, bone broth, salmon, and broccoli are some powerhouse foods that can help you. Remember that variety is crucial, so you can always include other sources to have different nutrients throughout the day.
