Anti-Aging Diet: How to Eat to Stay Young

March 15, 2013 by Leave a Comment

foods that keep you young lookingYou can definitely improve your health with a good diet, but you can help to combat the signs and effects of aging too. There is a way to eat to help keep your body young inside and out for as long as possible. You can make these changes right now and you will start to reap the benefits right away. While consistency is key, even a few of these a day will help to make a difference.

Fruits and Vegetables

When it comes to your fruits and veggies you want intense color. Think bright orange carrots, deep green spinach, bright blue blueberries and deep red raspberries. There are others, but you get the point about the color.

After looking at color you want to look for specific antioxidants and these include zinc, vitamin C and beta-carotene. These antioxidants can protect you from a variety of things, such as blindness, premature aging, macular degeneration, heart disease and cancer.

Red wine should be added here as well. Now, this means a single serving each day and not more. Red wines contain resveratrol and this is a compound associated with lowering your risk of a variety of age-related issues, such as cancer, premature aging and heart disease.

Whole Grains

Take all of your white flour items, such as white bread and white rice, and toss them. You want food that is brown and made from whole wheat and grains. Eating a variety of whole grains at least three times a day is known to help in keeping your blood vessels youthful and in great shape. You want to go for things like oats, barley, brown rice, quinoa and wheat. Since these are all also rich in fiber it will help to keep your digestive track humming along well too.

Fish

Fish are jam-packed with Omega-4 fatty acids and these are very important in keeping you young. They can help with preventing stroke, heart disease and maybe even Alzheimer’s disease. You only need to get two servings every week to reap the benefits. Some of the best fish include salmon, tuna and lake trout. If fish is not your thing then talk to your doctor about taking a supplement instead.

Dairy

Yes, you can and should have some dairy. Dairy tends to have high amounts of both vitamin D and calcium and these are critical for healthy bones. If your bones are not strong then you risk injury which could prevent you from being active and not being active can age you. Stick with low-fat dairy to keep your risk of heart disease and high cholesterol low.

Beans and Lentils

These are protein powerhouses and protein is a critical nutrient. You can eat these types of things as is, or add them to soups, salads and other dishes. You can help to prevent diabetes and heart disease when you eat these in place of fatty meats. Talk to your doctor about how much protein you need to strive for each day. This will help to ensure that you get what you need to maintain peak health.

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Women’s Nutrition 101: More Nutrients, But Fewer Calories

February 27, 2013 by Leave a Comment

best nutrition for womenWhen it comes to nutrition for women, there are basically two things that are almost always true: you need more nutrients and fewer calories than men do. It is important to know which nutrients are the most critical and how many calories you need each day so that you can strike a balance. Having this information will help you in maintaining a healthy weight and preventing nutrient deficiencies.

Fewer Calories

As adults, women naturally need fewer calories than men do. Women who do not exercise need about 1,200 calories every day. This is considerably less than men who do not exercise. Now, if you do work out, you will need to increase your caloric intake to compensate for this. How much it is increased by will ultimately depend on you level of physical activity. There are formulas that a nutritionist can use to help you determine exactly how much you need to sustain your body. Caloric intake is a funny thing and you definitely want to make sure that you are getting enough without getting too many.

More Nutrients

There are some nutrients that women need a lot more of than men do. Iron is a good example. Women that are 19 to 50 should be getting 18 milligrams of iron each day. Now, men only need eight milligrams, so as you can see this is a big difference. Since women are consuming fewer calories and have a menstrual period every month, they need a lot more iron. There are supplements that can be taken to ensure you are getting what you need. Talk to your doctor before taking a supplement and to get some advice on which would be best for you. Since vitamin C increases the absorption of iron it is a good idea to take some more of this too. Now, you can increase your vitamin C intake by simply drinking and consuming more citrus fruits like orange juice and oranges.

Calcium and folate are two other nutrients that women need a lot more of. Calcium is critical for good bone density. When bone density is not where it needs to be, you will be at risk for osteoporosis, and from here, fractures. Since you definitely do not want to deal with broken bones, it is important to get the nutrients necessary to avoid them. If you are younger than 50 years old, you should be getting 1,000 milligrams of calcium each day. If you are older than 50, then you need 1,500 milligrams each day. This is a nutrient that you cannot skimp on. You need to make sure you are getting the right amount of vitamin D to ensure proper absorption of calcium.

Folate is a B vitamin that is critical in your childbearing years. Not having enough could result in birth defects should you get pregnant and have a baby. In addition to your baby, this vitamin is important to help protect against heart disease and colon cancer. You need 400 micrograms every day. If you become pregnant, this increases to 600 micrograms every day.

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Folic Acid May Reduce Autism Risk During Pregnancy

February 18, 2013 by Leave a Comment

reduce autism in pregnancysIf you are planning on getting pregnant, your doctor has likely mentioned that increasing your folic acid intake is important to prevent neural tube defects. New research is showing that this vitamin may also play a role in decreasing the risk of your child being born autistic. The key is to ensure that you are getting adequate folic acid before pregnancy and that you are getting the right amount once you become pregnant.

This study followed 85,176 babies for three to 10 years and looked at how mom’s intake of folic acid impacted whether or not the child ended up on the autism spectrum. The moms looked at were those that started folic acid supplementation four weeks prior to pregnancy all the way through those that did not start taking the supplements until they were eight weeks into their pregnancy.

Once researchers followed up with all of the kids, it was found that 270 kids had been diagnosed with a form of autism. There was a 40 percent reduction in risk in women who started to take folic acid early on in their pregnancy when compared to women who did not take a folic acid supplement at all. There was no reduction in risk found when it comes to PDD-NOS or Asperger syndrome.

Folic acid can be difficult to get in foods, though a lot of foods in the United States do contain it. When a woman is trying to get pregnant or just finds out she is pregnant, it is recommended that she take a supplement of 400 micrograms of folic acid each day.

In a developing fetus, the basic brain structures start to develop 15 to 56 days after a baby is conceived. This is early in the pregnancy, therefore, it is critical to be getting enough folic acid before you even become pregnant. The 400 micrograms per day is recommended not only when you are pregnant, but for all women of reproductive age. Also, just because you eat a diet rich in folic acid does not mean that you should skip the supplement. Folic acid is a water-soluble B vitamin, so whatever your body does not use will simply be excreted in your urine.

While the research needs to be confirmed in other populations, this is something for all women to start thinking about. It is still quite provocative to think that a nutritional supplement has the power to reduce the risk of autism in the developing fetus. However, since women should be taking in folic acid anyway to reduce the risk of neural tube defects, it certainly cannot hurt.

A good rule of thumb for all women is to get a comprehensive health physical before trying to become pregnant. This will allow you to know your general health status, how good your diet really is and if you are lacking in any essential nutrients, especially iron, folic acid, calcium and vitamin D. If you do have a deficiency, then you can get this corrected before even getting pregnant so that once you do become pregnant you know that you have everything that your baby will need for healthy growth and development.

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