“You are what you eat”, and when it comes to anti aging, nothing could be truer. Obviously we would all like to look as good as possible at all times and we will do what it takes to achieve this. After a certain age, one of our primary goals is to try and turn back the clock and slow down the process of aging.
Who among us at any age does not love to eat junk food, fast food or any other type of food that tastes good and is not necessarily good for us? We can only get away with poor eating habits for so long before it becomes a problem for us. As we age, we gain weight that we cannot seem to lose and it becomes harder to break the habit of not eating healthy food. Our bodies require a certain amount of nutrients in order to function at their best. As we grow older, this becomes even more important, since it’s difficult for our bodies to retain many of the vitamins and minerals that we require to maintain good health.
As kids, many of us avoided eating fruits and vegetables, specifically vegetables, only to realize at a later stage in life that we better acquire a taste for the fruits and vegetables that we once ignored, or fed to the dog under the kitchen table! We need fruits and vegetables daily in our diets. So let’s begin with vegetables.
Vegetables are an important component in our diets as they contain many nutrients that our bodies need to function properly. The nutrients we ingest safeguard us from illnesses such as type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, potential strokes, and certain cancers such as stomach cancer, colon and mouth cancer.
Eating vegetables can greatly decrease the risk of contracting kidney stones and will help us avoid bone loss as we get older. Vegetables can alleviate high blood pressure, also known as hypertension and assist us in controlling our cholesterol.
The following is a list of important vegetables, and the benefits we derive from them.
Carrots, are laden with vitamin A, vitamin K, vitamin C, are a very good source of fiber, and contain potassium. Eating carrots can aid in preventing some cancers, cardiovascular conditions, and they will benefit your eyesight, specifically your vision at night.
Spinach is one of those leafy green vegetables that are high in antioxidants. It is lush with vitamins A, vitamin E, vitamin K, vitamin C, vitamin B2, plus vitamin B6. It is rich in folate and magnesium. The folate will safeguard against heart attacks and strokes, while the magnesium will assist in decreasing your blood pressure. And this will also help avoid heart disease.
Broccoli is also quite rich with vitamin A, vitamin C, and also vitamin K. It too contains folate as well as your dietary fiber needs. Broccoli has displayed an ability to defend people from breast, lung, ovarian, colon, prostate and bladder tumors. It will help in building strong bone volume and density and after all that; it works very well for your protective immunity.
Anti aging, has another consumable ally to help with anti aging and that is fruit. Fruits are important, because they hold water, are high in fiber, as well as vitamin C. Daily servings of fruit can help you avoid heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, strokes and many forms of cancer.
Berries are extremely helpful for you and come in different varieties for you to enjoy. Berries are a great source of C vitamin, minerals, and phytochemicals that are so vital to maintaining our good health. Berries not only taste extremely good, but they are low in calories and make a great snack when you are hungry.
Many different berries are good for your heart, eyesight, particularly, night vision, and can prevent macular degeneration, an eye condition that plagues many people as they age and can rob them of their eyesight. Berries can prevent some common cancers like colon, ovarian, lung and other gastrointestinal cancers. Berries also seem to play a role in maintaining good health for your brain is well.
Apples are great for maintaining acceptable levels for blood pressure. They do not contain any fat or cholesterol, which is important if you are trying to keep up proper weight levels. Apples are an excellent way to control blood glucose levels, and they help safeguard against lung, colon, and liver cancers. When eating apples, you should not remove the skin, but instead, eat it along with the meat of the apple since many of the nutrients are found just under the surface skin.
Eating fruit is an excellent way for aging adults to maintain good health, and to keep their weight under control. Instead of snacking on useless high calorie, low nutrition junk food, choose to eat an apple instead, or a handful of berries since they contain few calories, they taste good and they are so good for you. Two or three servings of fruits each day will help you achieve the proper nutrient levels that you need as you age, and you will feel great for it.
Eating vegetables with every meal that you have through the day, will give you all the nutrients that you need to function at your highest ability at work or play. Try to consume at least five servings of vegetables and two or three servings of fruit on a daily basis. And you will see your health improve immensely.
When you add to this new diet plan of ingesting fruits and vegetables throughout the day, with some regular exercise, such as walking, riding a bike, etc., you will find that you have more energy and your personal well-being will also improve. Try it out for two weeks, and if you don’t feel any better, then by all means, have a bag of chips!
Sat, Dec 5, 2009
Anti Aging, Health And Aging, Longevity