You already know that a well-balanced diet is good for your health and it also can keep you fit and slim, but did you know the foods you eat can help you look younger pr age you more quickly. That’s right! You not only are what you eat, you’ll look it, too. Those chips and cookies may look good but before you know it, all that junk food can add extra wrinkles and dull your complexion. If you look in the mirror and it seems like a stranger….a much older stranger….is looking back at you, maybe it’s time to start cleaning up your diet. To make the change even faster, get daily exercise, too.
Don’t fear fat, include healthy fat in your diet.
You’ll notice the word healthy was right before fat. That’s because not all fat is good…just as not all fat is bad. Trans fat is unhealthy and can age you. It’s found in fast food, snack food like chips, fried foods, non-dairy creamer, premade cake frosting, donuts, pastries and even commercial pizza dough. Avocado oil, olive oil and fatty fish contain the type of fat that is anti-aging. Some believe it’s the anti-inflammatory properties that keeps the elasticity in the skin, others think it’s the prevention of skin damage from the sun. Whether you’re eating avocados or enjoying fatty fish like salmon, you’ll be protecting your DNA. Fatty fish contains astaxanthin, which also improves hydration and elasticity.
For healthy skin, you need the right building blocks.
The produce section of your grocery, not the skin care section, is the key to beautiful, youthful skin. You need a colorful selection of fruits and vegetables for gorgeous skin. Red, yellow and orange produce is loaded with beta-carotene. It’s an antioxidant that prevents free radicals from damaging the DNA, causing cell damage and death. Blue, purple and green fruits and vegetables also contain different antioxidants. Vitamin C, for instance, is an antioxidant and important for the production of collagen. You’ll get it in citrus fruit, but also red bell peppers and broccoli!
Cut out food with added sugar and snack on nuts and fruit.
If you’re grabbing a candy bar at break, you’re causing your skin to wrinkle by making it lose both elastin and collagen. Sugar in your diet can cause AGE—advanced glycation end products. Those cause wrinkles by diminishing the elastin and collagen. Grab fresh fruit for a snack or include nuts. Nuts can boost the amount of collagen in the body and help prevent skin from sagging. The omega3 is what does it and walnuts contain a high amount.
- Add spices to your meals and keep those wrinkles at bay. Cinnamon boosts collagen production. Capsaicin, the substance that makes chili peppers hot, slow age-related skin cell changes. Ginger can help reduce age spots.
- Cutting out highly processed food, like white bread can help lower inflammation, which can increase aging. Increasing vitamin C in your diet reduces wrinkling, normally associated with aging. Eat strawberries dipped in dark chocolate and you’ll improve skin hydration and thickness.
- Make bone broth from the bones removed from meat, even rotisserie chicken. Bone broth is high in collagen, which can improve skin elasticity and reduce wrinkling.
- Make wrinkles less noticeable by eating food high in lycopene, like tomatoes. One study showed women who at food high in lycopene reduced the depth and visibility of wrinkles in 15 weeks.
For more information, contact us today at Prime Fitness Studio