How High-Fiber Foods Help Safeguard Your Heart Health
Eating more fiber offers many healthy benefits, including improving the health of your heart. How does fiber safeguard heart health? Click here to learn more.
Can My Diet Actually Slow the Aging Process?
Although aging is inevitable, we all know at least one person who looks a lot better than their same-aged peers. As a result, we may ask ourselves, “Is it due to their lifestyle or sheer luck?”
Genetics play a role in the way we age, but this role is often overestimated. The environment we live in and the foods we consume daily both impact our DNA.
From our experts at Bethel Family Medicine, here’s how diet impacts the aging process.
Low protein diets and accelerated aging
When most people think about protein, they picture the building blocks of muscle. However, protein is involved in almost all of the processes of the human body, including the fight against oxidative stress and the maintenance of optimal bone health.
Understanding the body’s master antioxidant: glutathione
Glutathione is the most powerful endogenous antioxidant in your body. Your body produces it by breaking down the proteins from your diet into amino acids.
Glutathione is made from three amino acids: cysteine, glutamic acid, and glycine. It’s found in every cell, and it can fight oxidative stress at a cellular level.
Although glutathione levels decline with age, studies suggest that an increase in dietary protein leads to an increase in glutathione production.
Adequate intake of vitamin C, an exogenous antioxidant, can help reduce the depletion of glutathione levels in the body.
Low facial bone density is linked to low protein diets
Studies indicate that we lose density in our facial bones as we age. And as these bones shrink, our cheeks begin to point downward. We may develop jowls, and our nasolabial folds may deepen.
Facial aging is inevitable. However, with adequate protein intake, you can slow down the breakdown of muscle tissue, including those in the face. The most bioavailable sources of amino acids for bone density include seafood, eggs, dairy, red meat, and poultry.
High sugar diets deteriorate the collagen in the skin and arteries
Here’s another reason to quit sugar: It may age you prematurely and lead to blockages in your arteries.
Excess blood glucose binds to the collagen in the body, causing the collagen to become more rigid. In the skin, collagen rigidity causes fine lines and wrinkles. In the arteries, when collagen is less elastic, plaque accumulates faster, causing arteries to narrow and increasing the risk of blockages.
Learn more about how your diet impacts the way you age
If you’re interested in preventing conditions associated with aging, contact us to schedule an appointment. Our experts can help you get a better understanding of what a healthy diet looks like and how it impacts the aging process.
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