How to Be Younger, Longer(so they say)

Recently I read an article that said, "what you eat can dramatically influence how fast your body ages, according to mountains of research." Not that we really didn't already know that, but it is interesting to see what this research suggests in healthier eating and how it reduces aging and fights chronic disease. Here are some to do things for our diet:

GET PLENTY OF ANTIOXIDANTS: A leading cause of aging, experts say, is "oxidative stress," which results when cells become dysfunctional over a lifetime or die because of attacks from internal and external chemicals known as "free radicals." Consuming lots of antioxidant-packed foods, mainly fruits and vegetables, boosts your cells' power to resist attack. In addition there are now some real cool supplements that I feel are very good and provide you with the required antioxidants. Juice + on a daily basis provides all of the fruits and vegetables one would possible need, in a three pill cocktail. The only draw back to this type of supplement is that the body only absorbs about 20% of any pill type application and takes time to get into the system. What I do guarantee, from my experience, is that Juice + really works your digestive system and provides all of the fiber action anyone would need. For the past 3 months I have been taking MonaVie and since it is in liquid form it gets into your system much faster. This product is becoming very popular and is showing some great results, especially for fighting inflammation and increasing energy. The anchor of the MonaVie formula is the acai berry in addition to 18 other fruits. On a daily basis I take 2 oz. in the morning and 2 oz. in the afternoon or night. There is also a 1 oz. sport pack that I found worked very well for me on my most recent triathlon competition. This pack is also very good for traveling and easy to maintain.

INFUSE YOUR BODY WITH OMEGA-3: Chronic inflammation speeds up aging, promoting heart attacks, arthritis, skin diseases and Alzheimer's, while reducing memory, immunity and muscle function. Omega-3 oil in fatty fish, such as salmon, dampens chronic inflammation, studies show. Red meat promotes inflammation. Since salmon always gets the high marks for this healthy oil it makes it more of a challenge for me, since I cannot stand salmon. So, I do take a pill form of Omega-3, knowing that I only get minimum benefits from it since of the low absorption of pill form supplements. I am trying to like salmon and may learn to love it, who knows.

CONTROL BLOOD SUGAR: Eating foods that spike your blood sugar and keep it chronically high leads to cell changes that promote aging and chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, gallbladder and heart disease, Alzheimer's, and breast, ovarian and endometrial cancers. What spikes your blood sugar: white bread, white potatoes, most white rice, processed grains and sugary cereals. The key here is the color "white", since it seems that everything in food stuff that is white seems to be bad for you. So, if you are color blind have someone help you with the proper colors of the food you eat. It is almost impossible for me to eat white bread and I never do unless I pick a piece up out of habit. All of our bread around the house is now brown wheat bread with some nuts laced throughout the loaf.

MAINTAIN A NORMAL WEIGHT: Obese people are more apt to have type 2 diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, etc., etc. Other research finds that heavier adults harbor higher brain levels of toxic amyloid beta, a protein involved in Alzheimer's. Duh, I think it has to be obvious to all concerned that obesity is bad and it is now starting with our youth. We are not waiting to grow old to get obese, we are bringing this dreaded aspect of life into our adulthood from our youth. Our parents of today are lazy and lackadaisical about how they feed their children and are not doing them any favors by stuffing the fast food stuff down their little darling mouths, into their stomachs and ultimately causing them to be very fat before their times. WAKE UP PARENTS AND DO THE RIGHT THING BY YOUR CHILDREN IN FEEDING THEM PROPERLY. Yesterday, while waiting for my plain in the airport, I watched a mother feed her young son a McDonald meal of hamburger and french fries and it made me want to grab them out of their hands and dump it in the trash. This eating education needs to start at a young age and become a part of a healthy lifestyle.

On the next post I will discuss the 10 terrible aging foods, and 10 top anti-aging foods. But, always remember aging starts immediatley with birth, so to properly fight aging the combat should start immediately.

See you then,

Mike Greer