Medindia LOGIN REGISTER
Medindia

Eat Right and Beat Those Wrinkles - Foods that Cause Aging


About

Given a choice between eat to live and live to eat, many of us would fall into the latter category and at some point in time have yielded to those cravings for yummy scrumptious desserts and snacks as they are just too hard to resist. We tend to binge on a variety of delicacies that increase our calorie intake drastically and believe it or not, it actually accelerates the aging process. In today's fast-paced generation, with little or no time to exercise, this seemingly harmless indulgence could send our basic health parameters into the irretrievable zone. But, one must just spare a thought before gorging on those calorie-laden delicacies.

Foods that Cause Aging

A wise man once said, "You are what you eat!!" Bad eating habits will affect your health, as well as your skin and make you look older than your biological age. It is very important to know what you are eating. You must choose the right kind of food that not only revitalizes you, but also that ensures good your health and well-being. As they say whatever you eat shows up on your face, hence to avoid aging one must reduce the intake of fat and sugar. Many factors may trigger the aging process like excessive smoking, consuming too much alcohol and not regularly exercising. Bad lifestyles and wrong eating habits will eventually take a toll on your body as you age. One cannot put a stop to aging, but eating wisely can help you feel and look younger in the upcoming years.

Foods that Cause Aging

Consumption of excess sugar not only leads to weight gain and increases the risk of diabetes, but can also have a damaging effect on your skin and speeds up the aging process. So, while you stay away from all those sugary syrups, glucose and fructose drinks that line up the supermarket counters, you can supplement your desserts with natural sweeteners found in fresh fruits. All of us binge on sweets, but consuming too many sugary products can damage your skin proteins and actively age you by killing the elasticity of your skin, thus causing wrinkles.

Foods that Cause Aging: Excess Sugar

Excessive consumption of alcohol causes puffy face over a period of time your blood vessels tend to widen and store fat in the form of triglycerides. Research has shown that an occasional glass of red wine could prove beneficial to your health, but be advised - anything beyond moderation can lead to inflammation of the liver and premature aging of your skin. Toasting a glass of wine to a friend's health could therefore actually improve yours!

Caffeine leads to dehydration, as it takes away the moisture from your skin thereby increasing the production of cortisol hormone which is a very important hormone produced by the adrenal glands in our body, which again increases the aging process. So watch your coffee intake and make sure you drink plenty of water to stay hydrated.

Be it, children or adults, all of us love to binge on fried foods. Those mouth-watering french fries, burgers and chips are too hard to resist. Fried food again is largely responsible for weight gain and oil retention in our body. These fried foods invariably contain trans fat or artificial fat which causes skin inflammation, obesity, high cholesterol and promotes insulin resistance. Oil in these foods can be harmful to our skin leading to pimples and acne formation. So, beware of all those so called baked foods, fast foods and deep-fried foods.

Foods that Cause Aging: Fried Foods

One must avoid consuming processed foods. These foods are extremely detrimental to your health as they contain excess salt, sugar and a plethora of artificial ingredients to preserve these packed goodies over extended periods. The nutritive value in these foods is usually very less and one must eat processed food only very occasionally. Foods like white rice, white flour, instant noodles, pasta and biscuits must be eaten in moderation. Processed meat again is known to contribute to our aging process and illnesses especially cancer of colon and rectum. These processed meats, include those that have been smoked, salted or preserved with chemicals and nitrates for example foods like luncheon meat, bacon and sausages.

Pasteurization of dairy products can also increase your aging process, as too much heating kills the digestive enzymes in the milk and can lead to lactose intolerance in many people.

Advertisement

Here's the good news. With a little care you can revamp your family's eating habits without compromising on the taste. When buying packaged or processed foods, watch out for labels on your food products in your grocery store. Research proves that in the USA, foods containing less than 0.5gram of trans fat can be called trans fat free. Avoid usage of shortening, hydrogenated oil, margarine as these are unhealthy fats. Watch the content of sugars and preservatives in the juices, jams and sauces that you normally just dump into your shopping containers. Go in for fresh foods and foods with no preservatives; also baking food rather than deep frying will prove more beneficial to your skin and will be good for your health.

What to do to Avoid Rapid Aging Process: Margarine

The secret to good health is to limit the intake of fat and sugar and increase the consumption of vitamins, proteins and water which are rich in anti-oxidants. Apart from this, regular exercise improves your blood circulation and gives your skin a radiant glow.

By just being aware of the ingredients in your food and by watching what you eat, you and your family can stay healthy. So remember eating right can make you feel more refreshed and rejuvenated and make you grow younger by the day!

Latest Publications and Research on Eat Right and Beat Those Wrinkles - Foods that Cause Aging

Advertisement
Recommended Reading