Age-Defying Foods

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Best Age Defying Foods

 

Vanessa Gisquet

 

If you want to stay younger longer--or at least look like you have--a

good place to start is your local grocery store. Most people don't

realize that eating foods that combat the molecular mechanism behind

aging is probably more effective than even the most expensive lotions

and supplements.

 

According to a report from Norwalk, Conn.-based research firm Business

Communications Company, Inc., Americans spent $44.6 billion on

anti-aging products and services last year. Expenditures included $37.6

billion spent on drugs and supplements targeted at specific diseases of

aging, $7.7 billion spent on appearance products and services and nearly

$280 million spent on anti-aging products that use advanced technologies

such as hair regrowth.

 

Growing at an average annual rate of 9.2%, the total market is estimated

to reach nearly $72 billion by 2009. Maybe if people ate more of the

right foods they wouldn't need to spend so much money on Botox, caviar

crème and facelifts.

 

So what makes certain foods such powerful age-fighting weapons?

Antioxidants, special substances that are found in foods ranging from

cinnamon and cloves to blueberries and artichokes, have the ability to

scavenge free radicals, compounds whose unstable chemical nature

accelerates the effect of aging on our cells.

 

Not all free radicals are bad. They're byproducts of normal cell

activity, and without them, oxygen couldn't react with other molecules

to maintain basic biological functions. An integral part of turning

calories into energy, for example, is free radical production (that

explains why overeating and the overproduction of free radicals go

hand-in-hand). Our immune system even relies on free radicals to kill

invading organisms. Getting rid of free radicals all together would

clearly be a bad thing.

 

It's when free radicals don't do what they are supposed to do (and the

more calories you consume, the more likely that is to happen) that

problems arise. " Free radicals are like single men at a married ladies'

party, " says Dr. Marios Kyriazis, founder of the British Longevity

Society and author of Anti-Aging Medications. Wandering free radicals

snatch electrons from neighboring cholesterol particles, proteins or

DNA, beginning a chain reaction that results in wounds to nearby tissue

and genetic mutations.

 

Until these excess free radicals are quenched by antioxidant molecules,

cellular damage accumulates, contributing to a whole slew of

degenerative diseases like atherosclerosis, Alzheimer's and cancer. As

we age, our internal antioxidant enzymes become less active, making

diet-derived antioxidants even more essential.

 

Research shows that certain types of beans are among the best sources of

antioxidants, while blueberries and other berries follow closely behind.

Fortunately, you don't have to be a martyr to enjoy the foods on our

list, even if they are " health " foods. Dipping your steamed artichoke in

a little butter isn't going to kill you, nor will having a steak on the

side.

 

There are plenty of ways to incorporate these foods into your diet--add

a handful of dried cranberries or red beans to your salad, or some

berries to a bowl of yogurt or cereal. The important thing is to adopt a

healthy balance. The best anti-aging program incorporates the foods on

our list with fiber-filled whole grains such as wild rice, protein like

salmon, and plenty of leafy greens.

 

If you are already in your fifties or sixties, eating the foods on our

list is not going to magically bring back your hair or make your

wrinkles disappear. But they will certainly help counter the effects of

aging.

 

A study led by the Division of Preventative Medicine at Brigham and

Women's Hospital in Boston. found that, among 1,300 elderly

Massachusetts residents, cardiovascular risks were lower for those in

the highest quartile for consumption of antioxidant-containing fruits

and vegetables.

 

For those people who can get an earlier start, the protective impacts

will be even greater. There is abundant evidence that high intake of

antioxidant-packed fruits and vegetables helps protect against

degeneration in later life.

 

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