Foods that seem to accelerate the aging process. What should we avoid?
There are some foods that speed up the natural aging process. They can contribute to looking older than your biological age. Worse, they can shorten life span. Find out from the experts which are the 11 foods that could accelerate the aging process.
While it’s true that you can’t escape chronological age, you can influence biological age with smart strategy. Lifestyle, including diet, determines how quickly we reach a certain biological level. Equally, it affects how we look.
Biological aging is not the same as chronological aging
Biological aging refers to the progressive deterioration of functional characteristics at the cellular and molecular level. These can be influenced by lifestyle factors, including diet, explains dietitian Danielle Crumble Smith, according to Eatthis.
According to dietician Marlyne Perez, it is essentially vital to follow a balanced diet rich in antioxidants, essential fatty acids, vitamins, minerals and fiber. Also, minimizing processed foods, sugars, unhealthy fats and excess salt, as well as alcohol, boosts longevity by slowing down the aging process.
On the one hand, an unhealthy diet—lacking antioxidants and essential nutrients and high in processed foods, sugar, and unhealthy fats—can result in chronic inflammation, oxidative stress, impaired gut health, and metabolic problems, Perez points out. Cumulatively, all these factors accelerate cell damage, affect organ functions and increase the risk of age-related diseases, contributing to a biological age greater than the one in the bulletin, explains the expert.
Foods that seem to speed up the aging process
Obviously, a nutrient-dense diet is the key to slowing down the biological clock. Here’s why you should avoid foods that intensify cellular aging, limiting their consumption to special occasions only.
Cereals with sugar
Although cereal is a complete breakfast option, many brands available on the market contain plenty of added sugars. If you have a high sugar intake, especially in the morning at the first meal of the day, you will experience rapid spikes in blood glucose. Which forces the body to quickly release insulin to regulate those sugar levels.
Over time, this continuous fluctuation in blood sugar and insulin levels can lead to insulin resistance and increased oxidative stress. Which contributes to an accelerated aging process in the body, points out Perez.
Moreover, regular consumption of sugary foods can contribute to weight gain and even obesity. Both conditions are associated with various metabolic problems, such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
A diet rich in sugar also manifests itself in the skin. Excess sugar reacts with proteins in the body, such as collagen and elastin, through a process called glycolysis. It makes collagen and elastin stiffer, according to a 2021 review. Damage to these affects skin’s youthfulness and suppleness, accelerating signs of premature skin aging, such as wrinkles and sagging skin.
Hot dogs and bacon
Including processed foods in your eating routine is not an inspired move. Processed red meat and derived products are high in saturated fat. They often contain preservatives like nitrates, which can contribute to biological aging by stimulating chronic inflammation and oxidative stress. These factors accelerate cellular aging and increase the risk of age-related diseases such as cardiovascular disease and certain types of cancer. In addition, eating processed meats is linked to the formation of dangerous compounds that can damage DNA and proteins, further exacerbating the aging process, Smith explains.
Eating red or processed meat at least 4 times a week is associated with a 20% higher risk of colorectal cancer than eating it just twice a week, a 2020 study found.
alcohol
Excessive alcohol consumption can accelerate chronological age in 3 ways. First, it’s a diuretic, which means you’ll urinate more. Thus you will end up dehydrated, which results in dry and flabby skin, more exposed to the formation of wrinkles and fine lines.
Second, alcohol obstructs the absorption of vital nutrients like vitamins B12 and folic acid, along with antioxidants, compromising cellular health. This contributes to cognitive decline, increasing the risk of age-related neurological dysfunctions such as Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
Finally, alcohol can damage the liver, affecting its ability to efficiently metabolize toxins and leading to serious diseases such as fatty liver, hepatitis and cirrhosis.
Refined white flour
Baked goods like bread, bagels, pretzels, pretzels and pasta are made from refined grains, which are devoid of all the fiber and nutrients that make whole grains healthy. This process gives these foods a high glycemic index, leading to rapid spikes in sugar and insulin levels. These increases and subsequent decreases in blood sugar can cause oxidative stress and inflammation, accelerating cellular aging, Smith adds.
Additionally, flour products’ lack of fiber and essential nutrients compared to whole grains deprives the body of key anti-aging nutrients such as B vitamins, antioxidants, vitamin E and minerals. It therefore contributes even more to the aging process.
Carbonated drinks and other sweetened drinks
These types of drinks do not bring anything nutritionally beneficial. Drinking them regularly generates many health problems, since the calories they contain come from added sugars.
Consuming these sugar-sweetened beverages contributes to biological aging primarily because of their high sugar content. As a result, they increase oxidative stress, inflammation and the formation of glycosylated products that accelerate cellular aging and tissue damage.
Excessive sugar intake can contribute to insulin resistance and the accumulation of fat in the blood. These processes are linked to the onset of obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, all primary causes of aging. Furthermore, drinks with added sugar prevent calcium absorption, leading to reduced bone mineral density. This increases the risk of conditions such as osteoporosis and bone fractures associated with age.
Fried fast food
Fried fast foods such as chicken nuggets, burgers and fries often contain trans fats. Especially if the oils in which they are prepared are reused often. A common practice in many fast food restaurants.
These trans fats contribute to inflammation and oxidative stress, processes that fuel cellular aging and increase the risk of age-related diseases such as heart disease and diabetes. Oils with high concentrations of unsaturated fats (such as soybean, sunflower or corn, commonly used in frying) are more likely to form trans fats when used at very high temperatures or reused.
Month the restaurant
Going out to eat becomes problematic, especially as you get older. Restaurant food can contribute to aging due to factors such as high levels of unhealthy fats, including saturated fat and trans fat. All cause inflammation and an increased risk of age-related diseases.
Restaurant menus are often high in salt and added sugars. In this way, it contributes to the risk of metabolic conditions such as obesity and hypertension, related to advanced aging. Moreover, the cooking methods of certain restaurants, such as frying or grilling at high temperatures, contribute to cellular damage and implicit aging of the body.
But there are also restaurants that prioritize fresh ingredients, use healthy cooking methods and offer healthy options. That’s why, if you want to go out to a restaurant, nutritionists recommend careful information about the available options.
Meats
Ham, salami, and turkey breast are all essential in a delicious sandwich, but they don’t have to become a mandatory part of your daily diet. Sausages are very often high in preservatives like nitrates, but they also have a high salt content. In this way they can stimulate biological aging, promoting oxidative stress and inflammation in the body. These preservatives, along with the specific products formed during meat processing, can damage cells and tissues, accelerating the process of cellular degradation.
The high salt content of sausages can promote hypertension and cardiovascular disease, major factors in the body’s biological decline.
Potato chips
Chips are a culinary treat for many people. But turning their consumption into a habit is bad for the biological clock. These foods are industrially produced, often prepared in unhealthy oils at high temperatures, leading to the formation of trans fats. Cooking at high temperatures can generate acrylamide, considered a potential carcinogen that contributes to cellular damage and the stimulation of aging, Perez comments.
But chips not only have a high glycemic index, but also a high salt content. It can lead to water retention, high blood pressure and a strain on the cardiovascular system. Thus, the aging process of blood vessels and organs is stimulated, the expert explains.
Sweetened pastries
Pastry specialties such as muffins, cookies, waffles and the like all contain refined flour and added sugars. Sometimes, they may even contain trans fats. All of these factors contribute to biological aging by promoting inflammation and oxidative stress.
High sugar content damages collagen and elastin, the basic proteins that keep the skin looking young. And trans fats can have a negative impact on cardiovascular health and cellular integrity.
Agave and other syrups
Sweeteners like agave, corn syrup, and certain types of maple syrup are high in fructose, a type of sugar associated with health problems. These include insulin resistance, fat accumulation in the liver, and elevated triglyceride levels. All contribute to metabolic problems and accelerated aging.
Similar to refined sugar, excessive fructose damages the collagen and elastin in the skin, leading to wrinkles, reduced elasticity and aging of the skin. Regular consumption of these sweeteners can result in weight gain, metabolic syndrome, and increased risks of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. All of these dysfunctions are strongly associated with accelerated aging.
Furthermore, using sweeteners instead of prioritizing whole foods (for example, putting agave sweetener in your bowl of oatmeal instead of fruit) can create a nutritional imbalance. Which in turn, by regularly replacing nutrient-rich foods with various sweeteners, contributes to accelerated aging processes. So, choosing a balanced diet that is rich in healthy nutrients reduces dependence on sweeteners and added sugars. This way you can reduce health risks to a minimum, slowing down the body’s aging process.
2024-02-22 23:02:00
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