This article is based off information drawn from Josh Bezoni’s personal website.
Can you imagine being around 40 years old but looking just as young as you did when you were 10 years younger? Well it’s not that difficult to achieve that as long as you stay active and, more importantly, follow good advice for how to properly eat. What we eat has consequences across all aspects of our lives. It can affect how we feel and think and even how younger or older we look. Now, can you imagine being 30 and looking well over 40? Then perhaps you need to follow these 5 important, yet unusual, tips for looking up to 10 years younger.
1. Reduce the amount of toxins your body takes in…
Toxins can come from cigarettes, air pollution, alcohol, our water supply and what we eat. It may be harder to control toxins from air pollution, given the state of things, and moving to a pollution free area may not be feasible but you certain can and should control the other potential sources for toxins. Drinking less alcoholic beverages, for example, is one step to reduce the amount of toxins your body takes in. Along with that, eating little to no processed foods is another important step. Eating wholesome, unprocessed foods whenever you can will reward you with healthier internal organs and a well balanced diet in the long run. All of this goes a long way toward helping you look and feel younger.
Water can be another source of toxins and it also happens to be a liquid that we really need. The best advice would be to avoid regular tap water whenever possible. Purified water is ideal, so look for the best and most cost-effective way to switched from tap to purified and your skin may look a lot healthier.
2. Increase essential fat intake…
For years we’ve been told by experts across fields of health and nutrition that fat was bad for us. But what many people are coming to terms with is that there are essential fats that your body needs. The human skin needs certain fats to keep its integrity and stay healthy, so avoid all fats can be harmful to your overall look. Most Americans are deficient when it comes to one of the most important of these fats, Omega-3. Our body can’t really produce these essential fats on its own, so eating foods that contain large amounts of them is a great start. Fish, nuts, and certain seeds like flax seeds are high in their essential fat contents and make great additions to any meal. Daily, it is recommended that we eat a serving of fresh fish and up to ½ cup of nuts.
3. Get some sun…
It is true that overexposure to the sun can be harmful. It can prematurely age your skin and increase the risk of skin cancer, but you shouldn’t completely avoid the sun. The sun is one of the best ways for your body to replenish itself with Vitamin D, which is manufacture when your skin is exposed to ultraviolet light.
Getting some sun does not mean going outside at high-noon when the sun can likely fry an egg on the sidewalk. Instead, exposing much of your skin (no streaking, please) to sun for up to 15 minutes a day is ideal. You will avoid the potential harms while getting Vitamin D which is important in regulation of the levels of calcium and phosphorus in the blood. New research has also suggested that Vitamin can provide protection from osteoporosis, hypertension, cancer and autoimmune diseases.
4. Eat frequently throughout the day…
Losing weight can help a person look significantly younger and one way to boost your metabolism to promote weight loss is by eating frequent, healthy and well balanced meals throughout the day. A lot of people have one to three meals a day, and that’s not a good way to eat. Instead, having a small meal with essential fats, proteins, and healthy carbs (fruits, vegetables) every three hours is the best way. Having such a well balanced small meal every three hours will allow your body to absorb the nutrients, and nutrient deficiency can increase aging.
5. Avoid processed sugars and consume more antioxidants…
The American Heart Associate agrees, no more than 30 grams of processed sugar per day should be consumed. But, unfortunately, the average consumer in the United States consumes around 173 grams of processed sugar a day. Teenagers consume a lot more, 200-400 grams a day and this is very bad news for those who wish to stay looking young and healthy.
Processed sugars have no real nutritional value and nutrient deficiency, as stated before, causes faster aging. Lacking nutrients, the body will crave more foods which can lead to weight gain and the more sugar you consume, as it is highly addictive, the more of it that gets converted into fat.
Keeping your sugar intake low but increasing your intake of antioxidants is great because antioxidants have several benefits. Replacing the empty calories from sugar rich foods with fruits and vegetables, that are packed with antioxidants, is the best step. Antioxidants, for example, fight against “free radicals,” which are molecules, atoms or ions that can harm your body and cause diseases as well as premature aging. Foods that can help with this due to their high content of antioxidants include: Green tea, strawberries, pomegranates, blackberries and blueberries. Vegetables are also essential in this step, so a diet that contains less processed sugars and more healthy fruits and vegetables is perhaps the best way to look and feel younger.