Natural Anti Aging

Getting enough fiber in your diet is often difficult and can lead to irregularity. Fibre is beneficial to your intestinal health, but can also help you lose weight, prevent disease and certain types of cancers.

Dietary fibre is found in vegetables, fruits, cereal, seeds and nuts. Fiber acts like a sponge and absorbs some of the cholesterol and fats in our bodies and then gets rid of them. It travels through the entire digestive system without being absorbed. It plays a vital role in our health.

High fiber foods also reduce your appetite by satiating hunger for a longer time period

With all these benefits, people in North America and Europe only eat about 10 grams of fiber per day. Daily recommended intake of fiber is actually30 grams a day. Eating 30 grams of fiber a day increases the benefits to our health. Along with eating this amount of fiber, you need to drink 8 glasses of water a day. Since fiber acts like a sponge, it needs to be accompanied by sufficient amount of water to perform effectively.

Ways to Increase Your Fiber Intake:

• Eat the peel from fruits and vegetables when possible.
• Add ¼ cup of wheat germ to recipes requiring breadcrumbs
• Use whole wheat flour when baking muffins, pancakes, cookies and cakes
• Add ground flax seeds to your banana breads, muffins and cakes
• Add dried fruits, fresh fruits or nuts to your yogurt
• Add legumes such as lentils, red beans, black beans, white beans, chick peas and hummous to your meals.
• Use nuts in cereals, muffins and salads
• Each meal plate should consist of 1/3 fruits or vegetables
• Eliminate white bread, and go for rye, multigrain, pumpernickel or whole wheat instead.
• Add wheat bran to your cereal

We know that weight loss after 40 is an extremely difficult task. In fact, it can become an extremely tough battle. For about two years after the age of 40, I struggled with unexplained weight gain and bloating. I felt like a balloon about to explode. I found an anti-aging specialist in Toronto who did a hormone panel including cortisol and thyroid test on me. The end result was a low thyroid, low progesterone, low estrogen, burnt out adrenals and high cortisol for which she prescribed me a medication for the low thyroid, bioidentical hormones and advised me to contact a naturopathic doctor to deal with the low cortisol. By learning what I could and couldn’t eat and an exercise program for this stage of life, I was able to get rid of the bloated feeling, the excess weight, the exhaustion and general malaise.

Fitness over 40. For more information: Click Here

Both women and men gain excess weight around their late 30s to early 40s. For women, this is especially true because it is the body’s attempt to hang onto estrogen. The body begins to make estrogen in the fat stores. This is the reason that women with excess weight do not usually experience menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes. Their estrogen levels are high but this can lead to other serious health issues.

Chronic stress, insulin resistance and low thyroid contribute to weight gain. Both men and women should have their thyroid and hormone levels checked. Balancing your hormones, diet and exercise will help you to achieve a healthy weight. Eliminating sugars and refined carbohydrates from your diet will help immensely. Sugar has to become your “Public Enemy Number One”. Diets such as the South Beach diet, The Zone, Suzanne Somers’ diet of food combining or allowing yourself just 78 carbohydrates a day are healthy weight loss solutions. Just make sure those carbohydrates consist of high fiber wholegrains, fruit, vegetables, nuts, low fat meat and fish.

In addition to eating healthy foods you need to start, if you haven’t already, an exercise program which you love and enjoy. Do it regularly, whether it’s yoga, biking, hiking, swimming, weight training or Pilates. Exercise strengthens your muscles, fights osteoporosis and burns the fat. Stick with it. It is possible after 40 to maintain your health and weight.

The years after 40 can be the most satisfying and rewarding. Priorities change, perhaps your career changes, your children become more independent. Personal relationships change. This is the time in your life to take charge of your health so you are able to pursue your personal goals and dreams. You can live an active and productive life after 40. This is the time to follow those dreams you have put off because of the responsibilities of child rearing and career building. Your health and maintaining a healthy weight will ensure that you are able to follow those dreams.

What are the best and healthiest anti-aging diets to follow? What should we eat to prevent aging and the diseases that accompany aging? The best diets and the healthiest diets to follow to fight aging include:

The Mediterranean Diet
The Okinwa Diet
The Macrobiotic Diet

The macrobiotic diet, a method of eating that Madonna (who has the energy level and body of a 25 year old) follows is a very healthy diet, rich in phytoestrogens, plant based foods and fish. However, it is a difficult diet to follow in our busy lives unless you have a macrobiotic chef who shops and cooks for you.

The Okinwa diet is a plant based diet with less calories than the average western diet is rich in phytoestrogens. This way of eating will make you feel healthier and look younger no matter what age you actually are. A recent news article on the BBC news site reported that Japanese women live the longest, (click here to read) and their menopausal symptoms are few, if non-existent. The eating plan of the Okinwa diet includes:

Fish – Tuna, Salmon, Mackerel, any fresh water fish which is high in Omega-3 fatty acids – known to reduce heart attacks
7 servings of vegetables and fruits
7 servings of whole grains
2 servings of calcium
2 servings of soy products, tofu, soy beans and soy flour
6 glasses of water
6 cups of green tea – which is full of antioxidants – read our article about the health benefits of green tea by clicking here.

The most pleasurable method of eating and also the most researched is the Mediterranean diet. Rich in fruit, vegetables, whole grains and fish, the diet has been shown to cut the risk of tissue inflammation, lung disease, heart attacks, Alzheimer’s disease, and asthma and respiratory allergies in children. The diet has low levels of sugar, animal fats and nitrates, unlike the western diet which is high in meat, sugar content and processed foods. The Mediterranean style of eating is rich with flavonoids and anti-oxidants.

Foods included in the Mediterranean diet:

Eggs – less than four times per week
Wine – in low to moderate amounts – it is rich in flavonoids with powerful oxidants
Lots of fruits, vegetables, bread, potatoes, beans, nuts, seeds
Olive Oil – a vital monounsaturated fat – known to lower cholesterol levels in the blood
Fish, poultry, dairy products – low to moderate amounts
Goat cheese – a good source of calcium