ANTI-AGEING FOODS

The most anti-ageing foods you can eat are the ones that help mop up free radicals in your body. It is no surprise that they are mostly fresh fruits and vegetables.

Stay Younger Longer Diet
There is no doubt that eating a nutrient-packed diet is the easiest way to live a long, healthy life. The average woman in the UK lives to 79.9 years, but experts believe you can extend this by an impressive 10-15 years with the right nutrition. Luckily this does not mean avoiding jammy doughnuts forever. Food is one of life's pleasures, and not giving yourself treats would be a real shame. So if you have had a 'bad' day, don't worry. It is not the takeaway meal you had last night that determines your health, but the nutrient-rich meals you eat day in, day out.

Age-friendly foods
Fresh fruits and vegetables: The most anti-ageing foods you can eat are the ones that help mop up free radicals in your body. It is no surprise that they are mostly fresh fruits and vegetables. Try fruits such as blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, plums oranges, red grapes, cherries, kiwi fruit, pink grapefruit, apples, tomatoes and cantaloupe melons. Vegetable choices include steamed spinach, broccoli, beetroot, onion, corn, aubergine, green leafy vegetables, red bell peppers, sweet potato, Brussels sprouts and carrots.

Locally grown organic foods: Experts advise eating these as much as possible, as they provide more vitamins and minerals than non-organic (and, of course, fewer pesticides).

Good-quality protein: Eat at least once a day. Best choices are organic chicken or fresh fish, and vegetarians can get their protein from soya-based foods plus kidney bean, chickpeas, lentils, peas and eggs. Nuts (try almonds, cashews, Brazils and hazelnuts) and seeds (such as pumpkin, sunflower, sesame, hemp and linseeds) are also a good source of protein and provide important essential fatty acids.

Raw foods: Eat more of these, which are high in nutrients and fibre. And experiment. A large proportion of our diet comes from just 19 foods, but the greater the variety of food you eat, the more nutrients you will consume.

Water: Do not wait until you are dehydrated to down a glass of water. The mechanism that makes you thirsty becomes less effective with age, so you may have to start drinking to feel like drinking more. Make an effort to drink at least four to six large glasses of water a day (about two litres), and your skin will feel softer by the end of it. And choose room-temperature water as ice-cold chills your stomach, making it more difficult for you to absorb nutrients.

Age-enemy foods
Sugar: This is not only very addictive, but also very ageing. It wreaks havoc with your digestive system and also destroys collagen production, causing premature ageing. Sugar is in most processed foods, not to mention fizzy drinks, crisps, cakes, biscuits and chocolate, which all contain large amounts. If you feel sleepy after a meal, chances are you're suffering a sugar overload. Cut down on processed TV dinners, canned foods and your intake of 'white' foods (think bread, rice, pasta), as these are highly processed and lacking in the goodness of their brown alternatives.

Alcohol: Alcohol extracts water from every cell in your body, causing dehydration and accelerated ageing. It also generates large amounts of ageing free radicals and strains your liver, causing a build-up of toxins that shows in your skin as wrinkles and broken blood vessels. One or two glasses of red wine can have a positive antioxidant benefit (young red wines are better than oak-aged), but excessive alcohol can result in many health problems, from depression to fatigue. If you like a drink, make sure you eat foods that cleanse and support the liver, including broccoli, globe artichokes, cauliflower, beetroot, radishes and fennel. And drink dandelion-root tea, a great liver cleanser.

Simple Long-Life Eating Habits
Really enjoy everything you eat
Most importantly, stop eating the minute you stop enjoying it. One of the simplest ways to prolong your life is to eat less, so choose smaller portions of great-tasting food an stop eating when you are full. This probably means eating slower, too, so your brain has a chance to realize you have had enough.

Make time for breakfast
In the morning your digestive juices are ready for food, so eat now or you could eventually weaken your stomach. Skipping breakfast also slows down your metabolism to save energy from; plus, eating all your meals later means you end up consuming calories that have nowhere useful to go.

Switch from coffee to green tea
Caffeine raises levels of cortisol (the stress hormone) and insulin, which both accelerate ageing. But green tea is full of antioxidants that do wonders for the skin and also help speed up your metabolism, plus reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer. Green tea is an acquired taste, so look for varieties with apple, mint or lemon, which will make the switch far sweeter.

Eat essential fats for wrinkle-free skin
Forget expensive skin creams. Essential fatty acids (EFAs) are the best investment for supple, hydrated skin with fewer wrinkles. They nourish the skin, acting as internal moisturizers to keep it soft and smooth. Symptoms of EFA deficiency actually include common ageing conditions such as dry skin, fatigue, allergies, poor memory and inflammatory conditions (inflammation triggers most disease associated with ageing, from Alzheimer's to arthritis.

There are two main types of EFAs - omega 3 and 6. One of the best sources of omega 3 is oily fish such as mackerel, wild salmon, sardines, tuna and herring, and seeds such as linseeds, walnuts, hemp and pumpkin. Omega 6 is found in walnut and sesame oils and nuts like walnuts, Brazils, pecans and almonds (but not peanuts). Another option is Udo's Choice Ultimate Oil Blend, which is made from organic flax, sunflower and sesame seeds and can be used in salad dressing or drizzled over cooked food.

And don't mistake EFAs for the type of fat that ends up on your hips. EFAs actually encourage weight loss by increasing by metabolism to help burn stored fat, and they also help suppress appetite and decrease cravings for sweets and starchy foods.

DUMP THE TOXIC FOOD










Fill up on antioxidant foods, use skincare containing antioxidants and drink eight glasses of water a day.

It is estimated that 70,000 chemicals foreign to the human body are in common use today. And if that was not enough, another 1,000 are being introduced each year. Our bodies are being contaminated by substances that have never been a part of the environment before, and the more toxins you have in your body, the more you will struggle to look and feel good.

Toxins are everywhere. In the air, we breathe, sprayed over the food we eat, in the chemicals we use to clean our homes, and in the beauty products we buy. this accumulation of toxins has been blamed for many current health issues, from a rise in infertility to the food intolerances and allergies so common today. Andthese same toxins are also very bad news for your skins, as they create free radicals, which damage healthy cell renewal, causing skin to age more quickly.

We may not be able to choose the air we breathe, but we can make other choices to lessen our toxic exposure.

How to lessen the load

• Avoid chemicals in food, such as artificial colourings and flavorings in convenience and read-packed meals and desserts, and artificial flavourings and additives such as monosodium glutamate. Organic food, which contains fewer pesticides, is your best choice.
• Consider switching your usual cleaning products to environmentally safer ones, which are now widely available at all supermarkets and health stores.
• Reduce your exposure to radiation by ditching your microwave oven, minimizing your mobile phone usage, and limiting the time you spend in front of a computer or TV.
• The majority of beauty products contain chemical colourants and preservatives. Read the labels and cut back on products containing parabens, sodium lauryl or laureth sulphate, synthetic fragrances and colourants, petrochemicals and PABA sunscreens. Or choose from a range that promises to be 100% natural.
• The thinning of the ozone layer caused by air pollution means the sun's ultraviolet rays are now less filtered, and therefore more dangerous. Skin cancer cases in the UK are now around 70,000 a year - 7,000 of these are malignant and 1,600 fatal. The majority of sunscreens contain chemicals that are absorbed into the skin, adding to your toxic overload. Far better are non-chemical sunscreens, which contain minerals (titanium dioxide or zinc oxide) that sit on the skin's surface.
• Limit your exposure to pollutants by avoiding walking (and never exercising) by a busy road. Stay out of smoke-filled rooms, and surround yourself with plants that filter out indoor pollution.
• Fight back by filling up on antioxidant foods, using skincare products containing antioxidants and drinking at least eight glasses of pure water a day to give yourself an internal wash.