Eating Natural and Staying Young

Life would be wonderful if we had the ability to stay young forever, our beauty never fading away. However, with the essence of time, we can not turn back the clocks nor our body's natural desire to age. We all want to run to a fountain of youth to drink from the everlasting anti-aging serum, but as life shows us we too will have to succumb to the effects of old-age.

Despite the ability to turn back the hands of time, we can stay young and healthy by eating and drinking healthy. We can stop the aging clocks, even if only for a moment by indulging in the benefits of nature. Natural nutrition is an excellent way to keep your skin and inner self healthy. We will discuss some wonderful nutritious ways you can stay healthy and have a younger life.

Eat your fruits and veggies: Fruits and vegetables have the ability to help ward off diseases such as Alzheimer's, strokes, and heart attacks. They are both rich in antioxidants and have active ingredients that provide anti-aging properties. You can slice fresh uncooked fruits and vegetables and snack on them throughout the day. You can snack on grapes, dried fruit, or apple slices. Instead of having a big piece of cake after dinner, eat a colorful fruit salad. You can even dip the fruit in dark chocolate for a little pick me up.

Color matters: You want plenty of color on your plate. You want the greens, yellows, and reds. This lets you know that you are in taking enough plant chemicals to help you stay young. Green, yellow and red foods have antioxidant carotenoids that can boost your immunity. These colorful plants can help fight heart disease, cancer, sight problems due to age, and DNA damage. Broccoli, spinach, peppers, sweet potatoes, carrots and pumpkin should all be included in your diet.

Cut the calories: If you want to lose or maintain your weight, it is essential that you cut down on calories. Monitoring your calorie intake is extremely important especially if you are over 50. Women over 50 actually need about 200 calories less than women under 50 living an active lifestyle. Your metabolism is slowing down, so you need to modify your diet to match your slowing metabolism by cutting down your portion size instead of cutting out all of the foods you love.

Folate in your diet is essential: If you want to keep your memory fresh and young you will need lots of folate. Leafy green folate enriched veggies are a must add to your everyday diet.

Butter is good: One of the delights of staying young is adding a little bit of butter to your diet. You can get rid of the spreads and substitutes. Organic butter is delicious to add to warm bread or to use in light cooking. If you are still cautious of using butter, you can always use virgin olive oil instead.

No more sweeteners: Artificial sweeteners most likely contain ingredients that are very bad for your health. Aspartame (E951) is an ingredient found in artificial sweeteners. This ingredient produces the toxin methanol and has been known to give women headaches and menstrual problems. Another ingredient to avoid in sweeteners is Saccharin (E954) which has been linked to bladder cancer. Acesulfame K (E950) has also been linked to cancer. Sorbitol (E420) and Mannitol (E421) has been a common cause of bloating. (Mariot, 11).

Eat more fish: Omega-3 fatty acid is found in some of the world's tastiest fish. This fatty acid works great protecting the brain, heart and eye health. Omega-3 can help ease depression while protecting against stiff joints. You will want to eat at least two portions of salmon, sardines, or mackerel per week. If you aren't a fish lover, you might want to consider purchasing Omega-3 pills as a substitute.

Organic is nutritious: Eating as many fruits, veggies, meat, and eggs in an organic state as possible is key. Many genetically engineered food producers do not care about the health of their customers, only the dollars in their pockets. Many of these foods have been altered from their natural state and turned into genetically modified vegetation. Organic farmers care about their customers' health and do not provide their customers with artificial pesticides, antibiotics, or additives of processed or genetically modified foods. These fruits and veggies are healthy and safe and a great way to keep your body young.

No more TV dinners: Get rid of all of the frozen gup in your fridge. These dinners are not natural and are chocked full of unwanted additives and preservatives. Get out of the habit of popping a Stoufers in the microwave and start eating and living healthier.

Don't forget your breakfast: Eating breakfast everyday is a great way to get off to a young and healthy start. Your body needs fuel, so it is up to you to provide a healthy blend of fuel for it. Eat oatmeal, eggs, yogurt, toast, fruit, nuts and seeds. These are wonderful light and healthy starters.

Water works wonders: Dehydration can take serious tolls on your youthful appearance. As we get older, we lose some of our sensation of thirst. We must take heed and remember that our bodies need water even when we don't feel like drinking it. You should drink six to eight glasses of water per day, especially during the hot summer months.

Drink plenty of fresh juice: Freshly squeezed, blended, organic or bottled, you want to include delicious fruit juices in your diet. You can combine several fruit juices to help maintain your health. Red grapefruit juice helps reduce cholesterol problems. If you want to detox, simply mix and drink apple, carrot and ginger. Invest in a juicer and a juice recipe book. You will be amazed at all of the delicious healthy combinations you can come up with.

I hope that this article has been of some benefit to you God willing.

SourceMarriott, Susannah. 1001 Ways to Stay Young Naturally. New York, NY: DK, 2007.