Does Aging Equal Illness and Bad health?

Some of us have been trained to believe that with age comes illness and bad health. In some cases it does, but it doesn't have to. You might be surprised to know that the key to a healthier longer life is as simple as eating right and exercising more.

According to Jeffrey Blumberg, PhD, professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University "Aging is often associated with the development of one or more chronic diseases, but it doesn't have to be that way." The bottom line is that your risk for disease and disability increases with inadequate physical activity, genetic susceptibility, and poor diet. We may not be able to alter genetic susceptibility, but we certainly have control over our diet and exercise.

Well, all that's good news but the question is what type of 'crazy' diet do we have to follow to stay healthy into our golden years? Let's take a look at what the experts are saying about adopting a simple and healthy diet and what foods to avoid.

According to Elizabeth M. Ward, MS of Webmd.com, it might just be as simple as adding a list of healthier foods high in antioxidants to our diet as well as decreasing our caloric intake. She states "aging is something we are all doing but we may have more control than we think, "perhaps by combining a diet rich in "anti-aging" foods with fewer calories overall it may help us age better -- and live longer."

So, what's the best eating plan for preventing, delay, or minimizing the conditions associated with aging, including inflamed joints, flagging memory, and failing eyesight?

"The most beneficial diets rely heavily on fresh vegetables, fruits, and legumes -- foods that are naturally lower in calories and packed with nutrients," says Bradley Willcox, MD, MPH, co-author of The Okinawa Diet Plan and professor of geriatrics at the University of Hawaii.

Experts suspect the antioxidant compounds found in produce, legumes, and whole grains are largely responsible for holding back the march of time.

So, antioxidants are where it's at! Well, yes and no, according to Elizabeth M. Ward "antioxidants generate a lot of buzz when it comes to longevity, but aging well takes more. You must optimize a myriad of beneficial nutrients, including protein, calcium, and vitamin D, and minimize detrimental dietary components including saturated and trans fats." According to Dr. Oz author and leading health expert you may want to consider more than just what you eat. Dr. Oz recommends focusing on five things to slow down the aging process:

1. Food

2. Exercise

3. Meditate

4. Sleep and Sex

5. Vitamins

Dr. Lam in collaboration with Dorine Tan, RD, MPH, ABAAHP a clinical dietician, created an anti-aging food pyramid to help educate individuals on what changes you should make in your diet to slow down the aging process.

According to Dr. Lam "this is the world's most advanced Food Pyramid specifically designed for anti-aging. In addition to optimum nutrition for cellular fortification, it curtails sugar imbalance, controls oxidative stress, aids in detoxification, and prolongs lifespan. It is the best anti-aging diet available, and it has been proven clinically to work."

Dr. Lam's Guidelines are as follows:

"1. Start with 10-12 glasses of room temperature pure filtered water a day. Begin in the morning with 2 glasses of water to purify and hydrate your body from the overnight dehydration. Bring a water bottle around with you during the day, and drink water whenever you feel thirsty.

2. Your carbohydrates intake should be comprised primarily of whole grain cereal, barley, and oats. These are low glycemic index foods that convert into sugar once inside your body at a slow and steady pace. Reduce high glycemic carbohydrates intake such as rice, wheat, bread and pasta, which convert into sugar quickly once taken in and cause a rise in blood sugar level. Sustained intake of high glycemic food leads to obesity and adult onset diabetes, and is a leading cause of aging. You don't have to avoid all grains, as it is a good source of energy. The key is to take good grains and avoid bad grains. Top picks for whole grains are Quinoa, millet, barley, oatmeal, whole-wheat pasta, cracked wheat and wild rice

3. 8-10 portions of vegetables should be taken. Choose above-ground green leafy vegetables. Generally speaking, the more colorful the vegetable, the more anti-oxidant is inside and the better it is for you. Avoid vegetables that grow underground such as potato, yam and carrots because they behave like high glycemic index type carbohydrates and lead to sugar imbalance. Top picks for vegetables are kale, spinach, broccoli, artichokes, avocado, asparagus, cauliflower, sweet potato, carrots, pumpkin, and onions.

4. Low glycemic index type fruits should be taken, such as apple or blueberry. Always take whole fruits and avoid fruit juices which are high in sugar and low in fiber. Top picks for fruits are blueberries, cranberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, apples, and cherries

5. Legumes, organic eggs, and nuts are excellent source of protein. One to two eggs a day can be taken in without significant rise in blood cholesterol if you are healthy.

6. At least 8 oz of cold water deep sea fish such as salmon or tuna should be taken per week. This will provide the body with the necessary omega 3 fatty acids as well as protein. Stay away from fresh water or costal water fish which can be contaminated. Free range chicken is a good source of protein also and can be taken twice a week.

7. Red meat such as beef should be restricted to once or twice a week. Try to take in beef that comes from cattle that are grass fed instead of grain fed in their diet.

8. Olive or Canola Oil should be used in preparation of food. It contains mono-unsaturated fat. Stay away from polyunsaturated fat that comes after processing, such as corn oil, safflower oil, and sunflower oil. The commercialization processes changes the structure of the fat and makes it harmful for the body. Avoid trans-fat that is found in margarine, cookies, and pastries as much as possible. It is the worse type of fat, much worse than the saturated fat you find in red meat."

So, what other foods should you consider adding to your diet? Well you might just be surprised to find that scientists at the USDA have developed a rating scale that measures the antioxidant content of various plant foods. The scale is called ORAC, which stands for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity. They discovered that a small group of "super foods" have up to twenty times the antioxidant power of other foods. It is recommended that one eat foods containing at least 3,000 ORAC units a day, which is not difficult, since 1/2 cup of blueberries contain 2,400 units.

Check out this list published by womensfitness.net:

Additionally, according to Relfe.com the following are foods which can help regeneration and anti-aging:

• RAW nuts, seeds, soaked and sprouted grains
• Almonds, especially if they have been soaked in water for 24 hours ('sprouted')
• Fruit and vegetables especially sprouts
• Green leafy vegetables
• Lentils - learn Indian cooking to make them interesting
• Beans that have been soaked for 8 hours. (That is, 'sprouted'. This makes them alkaline)
• Brown rice that has been soaked for 22 hours. This makes it alkaline
• Organic Cottage cheese and yogurt. They are alkaline. The bacteria have changed the original milk.
• GOJI JUICE - Possibly the best anti-aging substance in the world.
• Seeds
• Bee Pollen (not for everyone-some are allergic to pollen from some areas)
• Kambucha (fermented beverage made of tea and bacteria cultures.)
• Celtic sea salt
• Spirulina (blue-green algae)
• Seaweed
• Wheatgrass juice
• Barley greens
• Aloe vera
• Antioxidants (eg vitamin C, vitamin E, pycnogenols (anti-oxidant), coenzyme Q10)
• Olive oil
• Evening primrose oil
• MSM (organic sulphur)
• Foods with omega 3 fatty acids (eg flaxseed oil) and
• Foods with omega 4 & 5 fatty acids (eg evening primrose and fish oil).
• Gentle sunlight (vitamin D)
• Gentle exercise.
• A good night's sleep every night, average at least eight hours every day. Lack of sleep is CUMULATIVE.

According to Relfe.com "many of the foods that we have been told are good for us in actual fact may cause degeneration.

Foods which usually cause degeneration and aging are:

• High levels of carbohydrate
• Sugar
• Milk (especially homogenized milk) and cheese
• Caffeine - Including Tea, Coffee, chocolate, cola
• Cigarettes
• White flour
• Microwave food
• Chemicals such as flouride (which is a rat poison)
• Artificial sweeteners (especially aspartame / nutrasweet)
• Alcohol
• Processed foods
• Artificial Colorings (as in Gatorade)
• Additives
• Monosodium glutamate (MSG)
• Preserved meat
• Moderate to high levels of meat
• Meat from animals on unnatural diets (e.g. pork)
• Margarine
• Vegetable oil
• Canola oil
• Cotton seed oil
• Olestra (chemical fat substitute )
• Hydrogenated oils
• Oil that is not cold pressed / expeller pressed (use olive oil, butter or ghee)
• Deep fried foods
• Chips / French fries
• Puffed grains
• Meat and eggs raised by `normal' methods which have many toxins and hormones.
• Seafood which are garbage eaters (e.g. oysters)
• Foods with high levels of mercury. This includes most fish, such as tuna.
• Aluminum. Especially from aluminum cookware.
• Genetically Modified Food (GMOs). At present this is about 50% of all soy and corn. Even organic soy and corn can have GMOs in it unless otherwise stated.

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