What you eat affects you for better or worse.

You must have heard that sentence many times. And it really is true! What we eat and how we take care of our body will affect the way we feel and function on a daily basis. Aging is a normal part of the life process, but some foods are actually making you grow old faster. While a few indulgences won’t age you overnight, a continuously poor diet can accelerate the aging process over time. So, here is a list of some foods to consume in moderation in order to look as young as you feel.

1. Sugar

Sugar is the number one food to avoid if you’re looking to slow down the aging process. Among all other bad things that it does to your body, sugar damages your skin’s collagen, a protein that keeps skin youthful and firm. Sugar as well as artificial sweetener will cause you to crave more sweets. As a result, too many sweets can damage your skin’s collagen, because of its inflammatory response. Unsurprisingly, too much sweet stuff is also bad for your smile. It doesn’t only increase the risk of cavities, but the phosphoric and citric acids in soft drinks, along with the huge amounts of acidic sugar will wear down tooth enamel.

2. Charred Meat

Charred meats contain pro-inflammatory hydrocarbons that damage the collagen in your skin. Research shows AGEs (Advanced Glycation End products) absorbed into our bodies and when there’s too many of them, they can cause wrinkles and sagging skin because they damage collagen and elastin, which keep skin looking youthful.

Charred meat also use up vitamin C, which is central to collagen formation. This, altogether, speeds up the aging process.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2167317/Is-BBQ-ageing-Why-delicious-char-grilled-food-giving-wrinkles.html#ixzz4NJeG9imU
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

3. Salt

Your body needs salt but over salting is a big NO if you want to slow down the aging process. It is widely known that prepackaged frozen foods are high in sodium that dehydrates the body and make you retain water, as well as cause so-called puffy look.

4. Alcohol

The ultimate dehydrator - alcohol also robs our bodies of B vitamins, as well as vitamins A and C, which are vital for youthful skin and overall health. Excessive alcohol completely exhausts minerals including magnesium and zinc, as well as essential fatty acids, all of which are needed to slow down the onset of premature ageing.

5. Fried Food

Trans fats and hydrogenated fats are damaged fats that can be found in fast foods as well as deep fried foods. They reduce the fluidity of your cells, burden the liver and add to inflammation, thus resulting in ageing. They also contribute to damaging the collagen in the skin, making it look

On the other hand, foods that contain a rich source of nutrients will significantly slow down the aging process. Commonly called “Nutrient dense” foods are not processed and do not contain artificial or synthetic ingredients. Here are few examples of healthy and nutrient rich foods.

1. Green vegetables

Green vegetables such as kale, spinach and broccoli are responsible for keeping your skin hydrated and healthy. They are high in fiber and rich in essential nutrients.

2. Blueberries and raspberries

They are very rich in antioxidants which have the ability to neutralize free radicals and help prevent cell damage. Antioxidants in blueberries also protect against inflammation, thought to be a leading factor in brain aging, Alzheimer’s disease and other degenerative diseases.

3. Nuts

Being rich in omega fatty acids, nuts are a perfect age fighting food. To add to that, nuts can strengthen your immune system due to their rich mineral count.

4. Fish

Fish is a food of excellent nutritional value, providing high quality protein and a wide variety of vitamins and minerals, including vitamins A and D, phosphorus, magnesium, selenium, and iodine in marine fish. It’s rich in fatty acids, which suppresses the discomfort of chronic inflammation. A proper amount of Omega-3 fatty acids found in fish, enhance the feeling of well-being.

While you can’t stop aging, you definitely can, slow it down. The first step toward good health is eating right. What we eat influences how we feel, so make sure to incorporate foods rich in antioxidants and healthy proteins in your diet and start living healthy!