Are there anti-aging foods?

Who doesn’t want to slow down the aging process? Are there foods you can eat to slow down Father Time?  WebMD has an article called, Best Foods for Your Anti-Aging Diet.   In this article, dietitian Manuel Villacorta is quoted, “What you eat makes a huge difference in how you age and how you feel.”  An aging expert, Dr. Pontius states, “Even your skin will stay younger-looking if you eat right”.  So what are these foods that can help us stay younger longer?   

     1.        Fruits and vegetables – yes, back to at least 5 A DAY and aim for even more.  It is not just the vitamins and minerals in fruits and vegetables that are good for us but the color – and the more colorful the better.  Each color provides a different array of antioxidants.  It is the antioxidants that slow the aging process and help stop the damage to your healthy cells.   

      

      Some vitamins and minerals act as antioxidants such as vitamin C and zinc and the precursor to vitamin A, beta-carotene.  Vitamin C can be termed the anti-wrinkle vitamin as it help keep your skin younger longer.  WebMD also notes eating lots of yellow and green vegetables can lead to fewer wrinkles.  

     2.        What are some common foods with the most antioxidants?  WebMD provides a list of the 20 Common Foods with the Most Antioxidants

a.       Fruits – cranberries, blueberries and blackberries rank the highest

b.      Vegetables – beans, artichokes and russet potatoes

c.       Nuts – pecans, walnuts and hazelnuts rank high in the nut category

d.      Other foods with good antioxidant capacity include:  prunes, kidney beans, raspberries, strawberries, red delicious apples, Granny Smith apples, sweet cherries, plums, black beans and Gala apples. 

      3.    Green tea – this tea is rich in antioxidants and may improve skin.  

      4.   Chocolate – WebMD notes a study found that women who drank hot chocolate had softer, smoother skin in 3 months.  But they drank a special hot chocolate with higher cocoa content.  I add some cocoa to the low calorie hot chocolate mix I buy.  Just a teaspoon or so to enhance the flavor but also to get more nutritional benefit.

Among all these foods there should be some you can add to your diet.  Since colder weather is coming, it is a good time to add some hot green tea or even hot chocolate.  Maybe an apple a day isn’t such bad advice after all. 

Sources:  Best Foods for Your Anti-Aging Diet, 20 Common Foods with the Most Antioxidants, Skin Care Vitamins and Antioxidants.  Image source:  hot cocoa