Looking Young and Feeling Awesome!  

(Jayne Freeland - July 2009)

Something we all want, right? Retaining or restoring youthful looks is a booming industry, but does any of it work? What’s more, do the high priced crème’s and plastic surgery procedures do anything more than make us “appear” younger? After all, we can’t literally turn back time, or can we? 

Time does not have as great an influence on aging as once thought. To some extent, yes, but our birthdays do not entirely control how quickly we age and how soon we show or feel the signs and symptoms of aging. It all boils down to cellular health, how we treat our bodies and what we do to counteract free radical damage.  

Free radicals are negatively charged molecules that attack our bodies at the cellular level. Though some amount of free radical production within your body due to normal processes is expected and dealt with by built-in antioxidants, the vast majority of free radicals are from the environment and its pollutants. Sure, car exhaust and industrial pollution are not something we can control, but what other chemicals are you exposed to on a daily basis?  

It’s a good idea to limit your exposure to household chemicals by using eco-friendly products, but other chemicals that we ingest are not quite as obvious. Refined products with additives, preservatives and other chemicals also pollute your body with free radicals. Saturated and trans fat produce more free radicals during digestion than any other food component. Non-organic products may still have some amount of pesticides and herbicides.  

All of these cause damage at the cellular level. When our cells are in poor condition, so are we. It’s more difficult to maintain healthy tissue and systems begin to work less efficiently. All of it spirals out of control and we start to look and feel older. Our skin may be more prone to wrinkles and sagging. Our bone health deteriorates. Muscles and connective tissue lack strength and endurance. Arteries start to clog leading to cardiovascular disease, less energy and eventually, dementia.  

So, do you have to eat like a superstar in order to combat aging? That would be nice, but it’s not quite as easy to never use processed foods; moreover, we might start living obsessive compulsive type lifestyles if we try to avoid every little chemical. How would we get to and from work or the market? Ride our bicycles and wear ventilators? Actually, exercise also produces some amount of free radicals. Sounds tough, right? 

No. What youreally need to do is offer your body nature’s #1 free radical fighter: antioxidants found in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, seeds and nuts. When you eat 5 or more servings of fresh fruits and vegetables every day, you stand a much better chance of avoiding premature aging and really, putting off aging for many more years. Replacing as many refined products with whole grain, natural carbohydrates (whole grain breads, quinoa, barley, oats, seeds and nuts) will help combat free radicals and avoid overexposure.  

And guess what? This method of fighting the aging process not only helps us look younger for a longer period of time, but it also helps us feel younger! You will have more energy, strength, endurance and better immunity! And that, my friend, is worth far more than wrinkle-free skin (though that’s a lovely benefit as well!). 

Starting down a healthier path may seem difficult at first, but once you put your mind to it, you’ll be grateful every time you glance in the mirror or bound up a flight of steps with the energy of a child!

 
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