Fish and Anti-Aging
When choosing between fish and meat, you should give preference to fish, because fish contains iodine, which in turn is needed by the thyroid gland. In addition, the omega-3 fatty acids contained in fish have a positive effect on blood flow, blood lipid levels and blood pressure. Even if one does not suspect it, red wine (consumption in small quantities) also has a positive effect on the body.
However, this is only the case if there are no underlying diseases. These could include diabetes mellitus or overweight. Red wine contains phenolic acids that protect the body’s cells from attack by free radicals.
However, if you want to do without alcohol, it is also possible to take up phenolic acid through other foods. Here, for example, kale, white cabbage, radishes, wholemeal products, coffee or tea are suitable. It is also important to ensure that you drink enough water (at least one and a half litres) every day. Milk is also one of the foods that have positive aspects for your body, as it contains a lot of calcium. This is good for healthy bones and stable teeth.
Eating habits
With increasing age, more attention must be paid to the energy intake with calories, because the muscle mass decreases and therefore the calories are burned less. This means that with the same diet the surplus energy is stored in the body in the form of fat reserves. This accelerates the aging process. In order to counteract this, calorie intake must correspond to actual requirements and be reduced if necessary.
What is an anti-aging diet?
As explained above, a healthy, balanced diet plays an important role in the context of ageing. Although an anti-aging diet cannot prevent natural ageing, it can significantly delay it. The following foods or vitamins should be consumed more often.
Vitamin C: Vitamin C is important for the maintenance of the immune system. Fruit and vegetables contain plenty of it. Vitamin C also stimulates the elasticity of the skin.
Carrots and yellow peppers: The carotenoids contained in carrots and yellow peppers act against free radicals, which accumulate mainly with age. Omega-3 fatty acids: These are abundant in cold water fish and fight inflammation. With increasing age, the inflammatory processes in the body also increase, which can lead to diseases such as osteoarthritis.
Approx. 300 mg omega-3 fatty acid is recommended as a daily dose. There are also omega-3 fatty acids in the form of capsules, which can be purchased in pharmacies as a food supplement.
Cocoa: Dark chocolate is considered an antioxidant food, i.e. free radicals accumulated in the body can be eliminated by chocolate with a high cocoa content (e.g. 70%). Red wine: Red wine has the same effect as cocoa.
However, an appropriate amount should be consumed to prevent the effects of alcohol from taking over. 200 ml red wine is recommended for women. Whole grain products: By eating carbohydrate-rich foods such as pasta and white bread, the blood sugar level is rapidly raised, on the other hand, it is also rapidly lowered again by the release of insulin.
If you replace these foods with wholemeal products such as wholemeal pasta and wholemeal bread, your blood sugar level will rise much more slowly and will also remain at this level, so that you will be saturated for a longer period of time. A lot of sugar not only leads to all cardiovascular diseases, but also stimulates skin aging. If you reduce your daily carbohydrate intake, you will also delay skin aging.
Foods high in dietary fibre: These are vegetables, fruit and the wholemeal products mentioned above. Pulses in particular contain a large amount of fibre. Fibre is digested more slowly, which means that the blood sugar level is less subject to fluctuations.
Phytohormones: These are natural ingredients found in herbs such as red clover, silver candle, sage and monk’s pepper. These natural substances with a hormone-like effect have proven to be a good anti-aging remedy. They are also found in pomegranates, chickpeas and dates.
Soya: Soya contains plant oestrogens that stimulate the formation of collagen fibres. Collagen fibres are located in the connective tissue under the skin and decrease with age. This is why wrinkles develop.
Soya milk, tofu etc. can counteract the formation of these wrinkles.