Listened to a very interesting podcast while walking the other day, all about Age Accelerators: foods that are empty calories, zero health benefits, and actually can speed up the body's aging process. There were three main culprits named.
1. Full fat dairy ~ the saturated fat in full fat milk, ice cream, cheese, etc. clogs up your arteries and increases your blood pressure. Opt for fat free or 1% versions instead.
2. Deep fried foods ~ especially when eaten away from home. The trans fat (also known as partially hydrogenated) is what gets us. And fast food joints, fairs, etc. where you typically find these foods reuse the oil over & over again. Reheating oil like that causes carcinogens like crazy.
3. Refined carbs ~ these include colas, most processed foods, white flour & products made from it, and foods with no fiber. Or in other words, 99% of the foods up & down the aisles at the local grocery store. We are seeing adult diseases in our kids, people, because of these foods. Diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol...the list goes on. Look around at our youth walking around with belly fat.
Now, for some better news. Anti-aging foods. The top five this podcast outlined were
1. spinach, for its calcium and vitamin K for osteoperosis prevention
2. curry powder, helps your mental muscle. Regions where they eat curry daily have 1/4 of the Alzheimer's we have here in the US
3. tomatoes, the lycopene helps protect against sun exposure and therefore wrinkles
4. almonds, for their vitamin E which keeps you agile, helps your balance. Especially important as we age and are more prone to falls.
5. chocolate, the darker the better, for its antioxidant power. 70% cocoa or more is the best
Think I'll go munch on some almonds and dark chocolate now!!
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