What are foods that age you? What foods speed up your body’s aging process? What you eat and how you eat affects every aspect of your health. It even affects the aging process. Aging starts in your cells. One of the factors that determines how quickly cells age is the length of your telomeres. Telomeres are the caps at the end of each strand of DNA that hold chromosomes together and protect them.
To better understand the function of telomeres, consider the plastic caps at the ends of shoelaces. Without these protections, the shoelaces will wear and get damaged easily. Telomeres gradually shorten as we age. The speed of shortening of telomeres is determined by genetics and most importantly, lifestyle. Shorter telomeres lead to early death and an increased risk of age-related diseases such as heart disease.
One of the most important lifestyle factors that affects telomere length is nutrition. In this article from the humanhealthmag, we want to speak about foods that make you look older than your age. How to fight aging with exercise? Anti aging exercises can help you combat the signs of aging and reduce the effects of aging.
Foods That Age You: Which Foods Increases the Body Ageing?
Our lifestyle and the foods we eat determine how quickly or slowly our bodies age biologically. It was interesting, wasn’t it? What foods could be making you age faster? Let’s take a look at the dietary habits that affect telomere length:
1- Not Preferring Natural Foods
Do you prefer organic foods over non-organic? We keep hearing about the importance of eating natural foods and we know that it is a good advice. Natural foods, unlike processed foods that are mostly made of artificial ingredients and preservatives, only have one ingredient. The healthiness and naturalness of food plays a role in human health, which becomes apparent over time and with age and in old age.
Researchers conducted a study on patients with prostate cancer. One group of these patients was given a natural diet containing vegetables, fruits, and unrefined grains. They also had restrictions on their fat intake. Another group, who were also suffering from prostate cancer, followed a normal diet.
After five years, the patients on the natural diet had telomeres that were 10 percent longer than the telomeres of the group that had a normal diet. Because their telomeres had shortened. Also, the group that had a healthier diet made other positive changes in their lifestyle. They walked for 30 minutes a day and did yoga and relaxation exercises to control stress.
So, some of the benefits they got may have been due to exercise and stress management. So we recommend using natural foods, especially for the elderly. Also, be active and exercise and remove stress from yourself as much as possible.
2- Sugar Is Part of Your Diet
Sugar has no nutritional value and only makes you unconsciously consume less healthy foods. But the matter is not only that; sugar attaches to collagen fibers and forms complexes called advanced glycation end products. These compounds damage collagen, the strong fibrous tissue that keeps your skin young, soft, and flexible and protects your joints.
Glycation is also linked to age-related diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, which occurs inside blood vessels. For example, patients or the elderly with diabetes face more glycation in their tissues and blood vessels due to high blood sugar.
This is why diabetics have a higher risk of heart disease and sometimes premature death. Therefore, it’s better to eliminate sugar from your diet and if you need sweets, it’s better to use fruit. It is also recommended to use natural fruit juices instead of industrial drinks that contain large amounts of sugar and preservatives. Because fruits contain fiber. Even sweetened fruit juices can quickly raise blood sugar due to the lack of fiber.
3- Not Getting Enough Micronutrients in Your Diet
If you want your cells to function properly, you need a balanced diet of micronutrients, which include vitamins and minerals. Micronutrients act as cofactors for essential chemical reactions that help maintain health.
Insufficient amounts of even one vitamin or mineral can create a weak link in the metabolic chain. This affects chemical reactions that are vital to health, especially in the elderly. Some of these reactions can cause tissue damage, resulting in premature aging and an increased risk of age-related diseases.
4- You’re Not Eating Enough Protein
The average person’s protein intake is appropriate for a sedentary lifestyle, but if you’re an athlete or bodybuilder, you’ll need to consume more than 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. You may also need to increase your protein intake after the age of 60 and into old age. How many calories does an elderly bedridden person need? Do you know?
One of the biggest problems associated with aging is the loss of muscle tissue, also known as Sarcopenia. As you age, your muscle tissue becomes less responsive to the absorption of protein from your diet, a phenomenon known as anabolic resistance. Naturally, when you consume protein through nutrition, the amino acids are absorbed and the muscle tissue uses these amino acids to build protein in the muscles. In case of anabolic resistance, muscles show less reaction to dietary amino acids.
To compensate for this deficiency, older adults need to consume more protein to prevent further muscle breakdown. Some studies have shown that a diet high in the essential amino acid leucine helps build more protein in older men and women who are anabolically resistant.
It is recommended to include enough protein in your diet. Muscle tissue loss will cause you to age by weakening your performance. You need to store glucose to maintain your metabolic health and reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Do you know what is the importance of consuming high protein soft foods for elderly?
5- You Eat Too Much Red Meat and Too Little Plant-based Protein
It’s true that you need protein, but some of it should come from plant sources. A study showed that there is a relationship between the consumption of dietary phosphate from red meat and premature aging. There is a large amount of protein in legumes such as lentils and beans, as well as in nuts, whole grains and soybeans that can be used. You can get all the essential amino acids your body needs but can’t make.
Concluding Remarks
Foods that age you can be identified well, these ingredients have a special aroma and flavor, which is why they are so popular. Sometimes people include any food in their meals without having enough information about food, and this causes many diseases. In addition to knowing the foods that cause aging, you should also follow the right eating habits to have a healthy body.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are artificial sweeteners among the foods that cause premature aging?
In addition to preventing collagen production and strengthening the skin, the presence of sugar in meals has negative effects on teeth and joints.
Can aging be prevented by changing your diet?
The human aging process will be much slower in people who have a healthy diet. In addition to diet; it is also very effective to have healthy eating habits.
What foods are recommended to prevent premature aging?
Consuming protein, vegetables, dairy products, etc. is an ideal choice, of course, to have a healthy and
What are foods that age you?
The following are the most important foods that have negative effects on human health and lead to premature aging:
- Alcohol
- Coffee
- Lemonade
- The sweets
- Black tea
- Red meat
- Salty and canned foods
- Burned pieces of meat
- trans fats
- Processed meats such as sausages and sausages