Healthy foods that keep you young

It seems the ageing process is significantly slowed by changing one's dietary habits and eating fewer calories. Research carried out on mice in the last sixty years clearly indicate that calorie restriction is the only therapy that extends the lifespan of mammals. Although this has not been proven conclusively for humans it is nevertheless likely to be just the same for us!

If you are over 50 and you decide to cut your calories you can still obtain all the nutrients to help you enjoy a healthy life. The mice in the study lived longer and their incidence of cancers, stroke and heart disease were greatly reduced.

The answer is to eat fewer foods rich in animal proteins and fats and to increase your intake of those containing large amounts of vitamins and minerals especially the antioxidants - notably resveratrol which happily is found plentifully in red wine! Antioxidants - also in tea and chocolate as well as numerous fruit and vegetables - fight the oxidative damage that occurs in the body's proteins, fats and DNA. Just briefly, there are important cellular structures called mitochondria necessary for converting food to energy. Restricting calories may encourage more efficient mitochondria and reduce the production of free radicals which is, simply put, damage to the cells.

 A daily supplement can help boost antioxidant levels quickly but nothing beats fresh fruits and vegetables. Research on mice has shown that apples and apple juice contain substances which help to prevent memory loss and Alzheimers. In one study, mice were given the equivalent of two to four apples a day or several glasses of apple juice - and fared better in memory tests than the control group which were given a reduced amount or none at all. It has also been found that broccoli, brussel sprouts and cabbage contain a compound called indole-3-carbinol which increases levels of important cancer-busting proteins - So the important message here - is eat your greens as they might save your life and will certainly help to increase your years. You can enjoy moderate intakes of tea, red wine and dark chocolate! For meat lovers why not also substitute red meat with (preferably oily fish) - and for vegetarians use soya, nuts and lentils. The result, you will find, will be a delicious healthy diet which is likely to increase your life span and keep you healthy throughout!

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