Pack Your Diet With Antioxidants To Fight Wrinkles And Signs Of Skin Aging
Do you want to look years younger than your age? If so, then you've got to know about something called free radicals. See, one of the best ways to help your skin age gracefully is to get enough antioxidants in your diet. What do they do? They control the effect of free radicals!
But what are free radicals? And how do we combat them? Glad you asked. Free radicals, oxidative damage and antioxidants are all terms we hear bandied about often, but really, the understanding the effect of antioxidants and free radicals is very important - if you want to stay healthier and look younger that is! And who wouldn't?
What are free radicals?
Free radicals are negative forces on your skin, quite simply. They're made by the body whenever it uses oxygen and they start a chain reaction in all your cells of your body, including your skin cells.
As the free radicals attack your skin cells, they actually damage the cellular structure of the skin, making you age at a faster rate, and causing more wrinkles. The best way to combat the effect of free radicals is to provide your body with plenty of antioxidants.
What are antioxidants?
What do they do? Antioxidants protect the skin from these damaging forces and help to repair the skin. When you have enough antioxidants, the stresses that cause free radicals are not as damaging and are not as aging.
In other words, you age more slowly and more gracefully. Antioxidants are not produced naturally by the body so the only way to get them is to either take them in pill form or eat foods full of them, or you could do both. Which method is best?
Vegetables and supplements
A recent study done by the American Institute for Cancer Research suggests that people who received their antioxidant dose in the form of fruits and vegetables actually showed less oxidation in their bodies than those who received only supplements containing antioxidants.
So fresh veggies and fruits are the way to go! But if you want to, as an added bonus, you can add in some supplements as well. Knowing then, that fresh sources are the best, let's look at how to get more of these powerhouse antioxidants in your diet!
Vegetables
Virtually all vegetables have antioxidants and this is why diets rich in vegetables, such as the Okinawan diet, are the healthiest in the world.
How many vegetables should you have every day? If you want the health and the stunning skin beauty of the Okinawans, then have 10 types of vegetables per day! In fact, the people of Okinawa were mistaken by Western doctors, to be 30 years younger than their age!
Their skin was superb, and so were their entire body.
When you pick fruits and vegetables go for what's in season. If you can get organic, this is even better! What are possibly the best vegetables? They'd be the 'legumes', or beans and lentils.
Why? Because they were found to be the vegetables highest in antioxidants by the Western doctors studying the Okinawan diet, as well as a recent study by the USDA of over a hundred fruits and vegetables.
But all other vegetables, including leafy green vegetables, veggies in the broccoli and cabbage family, and sprouts are great for antioxidants. The only vegetable to limit is potatoes as it's high GI, but the rest, expecially the green leafy ones, are fine. Just go for it and have 5-10 types of vegetables a day.
Fruits
If you're more of a fruit person, all berries such as blueberries, blackberries, cranberries and strawberries are packed with antioxidants, as are nearly every other fruit.
So again, pick what's fresh and in season as the freshness determines how much antioxidants are in the fruit. Keep in mind though that fruits are higher in sugar, so keep fruits to about 2 types a day.
Oils
Extra virgin olive oil is also packed with anti oxidants, and that's why the Mediterranean diet is considered so healthy. Make sure that the oil is extra virgin, and cold pressed preferably and if it's organic, then you'll get even more benefits.
So there you have it.
You now know what free radicals do, what antioxidants are, and how to get them.
If you plan your diet carefully, you should have no trouble finding heaps of antioxidant rich foods to have in your diet. This will help you fight any number of other health challenges, and a diet full of antioxidants will help your skin look years younger as well.
So go for it and get your diet rich in youthful antioxidants, and enjoy the benefits of younger looking skin!
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