Polyunsaturated vegetable
oils like sunflower, corn,
safflower, cottonseed, and
grape seed oils have very
high omega-6 and very low
omega-3, and should be
used sparingly. Alternative
good choices include canola
oil and olive oil.
Alcohol
If you are generally in good health,
a glass of red wine or beer daily have
both been shown
to be beneficial.
But, be careful that
you do not slip into
regular or excessive
drinking: high
alcohol consumption provokes
inflammation, especially of the liver
and oesophagus.
Artificial ingredients
Aspartame. Saccharin. BHA and
BHT. Mono-sodium glutamate.
Potassium bromate. Sodium nitrate
and nitrate. These
are some of the worst
artificial ingredient
offenders. Artificial
sweeteners and other
artificial ingredients
that preserve, thicken,
or flavour, are artificial – meaning
they are not really meant to go into
your body. Many have been linked
to various serious diseases including
cancer. If you want to look younger,
feel younger, heal and prevent
disease, and live longer, seek whole
and natural foods, and read labels
carefully to avoid these deadly agents.
The quickest and easiest way to
maintain your youth and prevent the
signs of ageing is to eat a healthy,
balanced diet full of natural, real
foods, and leave the processed, high
fat, high sugar foods on the grocery
shelf.
Denise Fair is a dietician at Central Health
Medical Practice.
commercially baked goods and
fast foods. They are found in most
of your processed pre-packaged
foods – biscuits, cookies, popcorn,
crisps, chips,
crackers, breads
and noodles.
Watch food
labels carefully.
Avoid margarine,
vegetable shortening and partially
hydrogenated oil. Watch labels
for these ingredients because the
packaging generally won’t advertise
that a product contains “trans fats”.
Processed grains and meat
Refined grains basically have their
nutritional value stripped right
out of them to
make it easier
for food factories
to produce and
store them on
supermarket
shelves.
Furthermore, processed grain
products typically have a whole
spectrum of added ingredients that
make them even less healthy, such
as excess salt, sugar, and artificial
ingredients. White rice, white flour,
white bread, noodles, pasta, biscuits
and baked goods are a few examples
of processed grain foods.
Scientific research shows that
processed meat is a very strong
contributor to ageing and disease,
especially cancer of the colon and
rectum. Processed meats include
those that have been smoked, salted,
cured or preserved with chemicals,
such as lunchmeat with nitrates.
Avoid eating bacon, turkey bacon
(no, it isn’t better for you!), sausages,
hotdogs/wieners/franks, hams, lunch
meats and other cold cuts.
Cooking oils high in omega-6
Most people’s diets are dangerously
high in omega-6, and dangerously
low in omega-3, contributing greatly
to premature ageing and disease.
the ageing process. Poultry is high
in zinc and selenium, two minerals
that balance hormones and promote
collagen production. It also defends
against free radical damage, which
harms cells and accelerates ageing.
Berries
Berries of all types are super-rich
in antioxidants. Darker berries,
especially those that are black or
blue, tend to
provide the
best anti-ageing
benefit as they
have the highest
concentration
of antioxidants.
Berries can help improve memory,
reduce inflammation, slow and
reverse neurological degeneration,
and their high vitamin C content
helps repair damage to body tissue
such as your skin.
Green tea
Switching from
coffee or regular
tea to green tea
is a simple way
to slow down the
ageing process.
Drinking six to ten
small cups of green tea a day adds
health-promoting catechins, which
reduce inflammation and cholesterol,
thereby lowering the risk of diabetes
and stroke, and staving off dementia.
An added bonus is that green tea
slightly increases metabolic rate,
helping you burn up to an extra 80
calories per day.
FOODS THAT CAUSE AGEING
Hydrogenated fats (trans-fats)
Think of these as artificial or fake
fat. They are extremely bad for
you and, in addition to promoting
inflammation, trans-fats promote
insulin resistance, high cholesterol
and obesity. These nasty fats are
prevalent in deep-fried foods,
December 2015
37
