The best way to age slowly is to eat right. Most people in the modern world aim to look younger than their age, and they do a lot of procedures to make that happen instead of choosing healthy foods to eat to slow the aging process.
We age every year, but it is not only the number that is changing here. Our bodies — most especially our faces — change as we reach the “older” years. We lose the elasticity of our skins, but it does not make us any less beautiful and less human.
However, we are currently living in a world wherein beauty has standards, and everyone is trying hard to pass that stage. But everyone needs to understand that aging gracefully does mean not only slowing the aging process of our physical features but also our insides, as well. Our internal organs, our bones, and everything that hides under our skin also age, and they all have limits. There are lots of healthy foods to eat, which can help us in keeping our looks youthful and glowing. But aside from chemical-related procedures, we should not forget that beauty starts from the insides, and we can achieve that if we supply our bodies with foods for anti-aging that have all the nutrients to slow down the aging process.
In this article, you will know the most essential anti-aging nutrients that your foods for anti-aging should have. We will also share the best foods and recipes so you can try aging gracefully at home.
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin E
- Vitamin D
- Magnesium
Vitamin A
Vitamin A is undoubtedly the Vitamin that is always present in many a lot of foods and is a fat-soluble vitamin that is naturally present in many foods.
This fat-soluble vitamin works best for your skin, and it is also responsible for strengthening your immune system and reproduction, as well as keeping your vision as good as always. Since beauty always comes from the inside, this vitamin also does its job in helping your organs, specifically, your heart, lungs, and kidneys, work better and accurately.
This one, as we have mentioned, is present in many foods and can be added to some foods like milk and cereals. You can also add more of these vitamins to your body by consuming meats like beef liver and other organ meats (though you need to watch the amount of them since they are also high in cholesterol.
If you are into kinds of seafood, salmon also contains a high level of vitamin A. You can also reach your daily intake by consuming green leafy and green, orange, and yellow vegetables like broccoli and squash. Of course, fruits like apricots and mangoes also have them.
You should know if you are able to meet the recommended amount to avoid catching cancer, measles, and age-related macular degeneration.
Here’s a Vitamin A soup from paleo.com.au, which you can try making now.
Ingredients
1 Butternut Squash
6 Carrots
1 Small Sweet Potato
2 Small Onions
Chicken Stock
1 tablespoon coconut oil
Nutmeg
Corriander
Salt & Pepper
Instructions
- Slice the onion and sauté it in the coconut oil in a large pot. Once it’s ready, add the chicken stock.
- Roughly cut all the vegetables into chunks before adding them to the pot. Then turn the heat down to a simmer and allow the vegetables to cook for 30 minutes or so, adding the seasoning. Add the nutmeg and coriander at the end and turn off the heat.
- Do not drain the pot, but instead, transfer it all into the blender (in several batches) and blend it until it reaches a nice constituency. Once it’s all blended, separate it into individual portions and freeze.
Vitamin C
Out of all vitamins that will be mentioned here, we are sure that this is the one you are most familiar with.
Vitamin C, or ascorbic acid, plays a huge role in slowing the aging process as it serves as an antioxidant that can wholly help your body be strong enough to fight the free radicals that can permanently damage your cell. Though the aforementioned free radical is usually present in the foods that we eat, it is also present in the environment. Usually, cigarette smoke and air pollution produce this, which can break your plan of aging gracefully.
We know that you have also heard about collagen, and Vitamin C is super rich in it. Aside from helping wounds to heal, collagen, as the most prevalent compound needed by your skin, also keeps you looking even younger than ever. This protein can also do the job of absorbing iron more from plant-based foods so you can be strong enough to build your immune system and make it work better.
Additionally, taking collagen supplements may promote the production of other proteins that help structure your skin, including elastin and fibrillin.
Though you can easily consume Vitamin C just by drinking juices, you can also try this Fruit Chaat recipe (which is rich in Vitamin C and A). To make this food, you need to combine papaya, pineapple, apple, banana, grapes, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, and lemon juice.
There are lots of recipes online that can help you make healthy foods to eat to contribute to slowing the aging process, but you can also spend your time making juices and smoothies using Vitamin C-riched fruits. By drinking these kinds of beverages, you can ensure an increase in your skin hydration and a massive reduction in wrinkle depth, making aging gracefully possible.
Vitamin E
Like Vitamin C, Vitamin E also plays a massive role in improving the aging process by protecting the cells from damage caused by free radicals.
According to cosmetic chemist Ni’Kita Wilson, “Vitamin E is the name given to [a] family of oil-soluble antioxidants. There are about eight different types” or forms of vitamin E, and of those, “tocopheryl acetate and tocopherol are most commonly found in skin-care products.”
Most skin-care products out there add Vitamin E to allow their consumers to achieve their dream of aging gracefully as they grow older. Aside from slowing the aging process of your skin, it can also contribute to healing a wide range of skin diseases caused by sun damage, including scars and burns. In addition, Vitamin E provides moisturizing and healing benefits to help your skin function well in strengthening the barrier between the environment and the body parts under your skin.
Surprisingly, Vitamin E can soothe anything due to its natural anti-inflammatory function, which hydrates your skin even you are under the sun.
You can naturally find this vitamin in various foods for anti-aging such as:
- Nuts and seeds, including peanuts, hazelnuts, almonds, and sunflower seeds
- Wheat germ, safflower oils, sunflower oils, and other vegetable oils.
- Some food companies also add Vitamin E to their products like fruit juices, spreads, and breakfast cereals.
Of course, a healthy aging process is not just about keeping your skin firm and glowing but also preventing your body from getting chronic diseases. Though it is very rare for someone to have Vitamin E deficiency, some medical experts still linked a number of conditions to it. For example, rare genetic diseases and Crohn’s disease. You can prevent this by supplying fat to your digestive system so it can easily absorb Vitamin E.
Vitamin D
Usually, Vitamin D is connected to maintaining a person’s bones secure enough. However, it gives the highest form of nutrients to the skin that it has always been nicknamed the “sunshine vitamin.” Our body itself can make its own Vitamin D whenever we get directly exposed to the sun. Some people already meet the daily recommended level of this vitamin that way.
A 2018 study published in Skin Pharmacology and Physiology showed that a lack of vitamin D can lead to certain skin conditions, including psoriasis and atopic dermatitis. So in order to prevent these kinds of diseases, you must consume foods for anti-aging that are rich with vitamin D like:
- Fatty fish, like tuna, mackerel, and salmon
- Foods fortified with vitamin D, like some dairy products, orange juice, soy milk, and cereals
- Beef liver
- Cheese
- Egg yolks
Since your body can synthesize this vitamin unlike vitamin C — which people must obtain by consuming food — through the sun, everyone should capitalize on it as much as possible, not only because it is free but also because it is the easiest way to get it. Taking brisk walks in your early mornings or even engaging in a running marathon can already make you feel warm enough to supply your body with Vitamin D naturally.
If you want to boost your body’s vitamin D more to sufficiently slow your aging process, you might opt for a chocolate milkshake which can both satisfy you and make you healthy. Cow’s milk in this shake already has the vitamin you needed plus a good dose of calcium. When you added more vitamin-D-fortified ice cream and soymilk, you will surely complete your body’s vitamin needs in no time.
Magnesium
Though it does not get enough spotlight unlike the vitamins mentioned above, this naturally occurring alkaline macromineral is actually an essential factor in building your overall bodily health, specifically your bones and muscles health.
Magnesium indeed pushed the cells to have normal functions in our body to keep our heart, bones, nervous system, and muscles in the game.
This vitamin plays a huge role in developing your skeletal system by maximizing its strength and the resilience of your whole frame, keeping osteoporosis away from the list of diseases you can get as you grow older. This can also help your muscles build strongly at a fast pace and unleash the full potential of your body.
But aside from these benefits, this is also a miracle mineral that is present in foods for anti-aging. This balances the levels of collagen and fatty acid on your skin’s surface, keeping it well-moisturized and glowing while aging gracefully. You can also say goodbye to dry and uneven skin tone since Magnesium works best in shooing away wrinkles.
Aside from guarding your inner self, it can also help you in protecting your skin from external damage caused by free radicals. This can start cellular regeneration and repair while improving your skin’s status. Moreover, once your skin absorbs this, your once dull and unhealthy features will no longer be disturbed-looking at all.
For people who have problems with acne, magnesium could be a game-changer, especially when you accidentally irritated and worsen it with topical products that are not ideal to be used. But it does not only impresses those individuals with other skin issues by lowering cortisol production and thereby potentially helping to reduce acne by stabilizing hormonal imbalances in the body.
In addition, magnesium — as a vitamin with an important chemical function — works inside out for you to attain aging gracefully.
To boost the level of this vitamin inside your body, you can choose healthy foods to eat that have magnesium in them like nuts, sunflower seeds, beans, bananas, and squash.
As advised by the federal government’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans, people should get all these vitamins, preferably, by consuming foods instead of taking supplements. Though medicines can also help you to achieve your daily goal, it is still better to naturally allow your body to get them from food — foods containing vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, and other substances that benefit health.
Despite only mentioning a few, it is still ideal for you to get all the vitamins available so you can ensure that you are aging gracefully and your body is thriving. It is okay to consume more foods to satisfy yourself, but you should not forget that a slow aging process is possible if you put the effort into both eating healthy foods and doing physical activities.
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