I've become more cognizant of hyped-up claims regarding anti-aging foods as my 48th birthday approaches. Goji berries! As a natural skeptic, I've been wondering if there are actually superfoods — Goji berries! Walnuts and green tea are two foods that can help you get rid of wrinkles and keep your brain and heart healthy. I recognize that aging is a natural process, but any tactics or advice that will help me age gracefully are welcome. So I contacted a group of nutrition academics, dietitians, and dermatologists to receive their best nutrition-related aging recommendations
I've become more cognizant of hyped-up claims regarding anti-aging foods as my 48th birthday approaches. Goji berries! As a natural skeptic, I've been wondering if there are actually superfoods — Goji berries! Walnuts and green tea are two foods that can help you get rid of wrinkles and keep your brain and heart healthy. I recognize that aging is a natural process, but any tactics or advice that will help me age gracefully are welcome. So I contacted a group of nutrition academics, dietitians, and dermatologists to receive their best nutrition-related aging recommendations.
As I predicted, no single diet had a substantial impact on the aging process. However, these experts taught me that an overall healthy dietary pattern — that is, the foods and beverages we consume on a daily basis — may make a significant impact in our health as we age. Whether you want to avoid cardiovascular problems, cognitive troubles, or wrinkles, the same basic food pattern is recommended.
This pattern can be summarized as follows: Choose less ultra-processed foods and more whole foods (vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, and lean proteins) (fast food, soda and sweets). This is where the Mediterranean and DASH diets come in. These eating plans work because they include foods that are high in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds while avoiding items that increase inflammation or cellular damage, both of which hasten the aging process.
Clinical trials have shown that these eating habits can help protect against cardiovascular disease. "There is a significant, powerful, plausible, and consistent body of available prospective evidence to support the advantages of the MedDiet on cardiovascular health," the authors found in a study published in Circulation Research in 2019.
However, there is a lesser-known strategy for preserving brain health and preventing dementia. Researchers at Rush University in Chicago created the MIND diet a few years ago by combining the Mediterranean and DASH diets (an acronym for Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay).
The MIND diet emphasizes berries, leafy greens, vegetables, olive oil, nuts, legumes, fish, chicken, and whole grains, among other "brain-healthy foods." Cheese, butter, red meat, fried meals, and sweets should all be avoided, according to the plan. If you want to get into the details, the strategy suggests:
▪a dark green leafy vegetable at least once a day
▪At least once a week, eat berries.
▪Nuts at least five times a week are recommended.
▪At least every other day, beans or legumes
▪Three servings of whole grains per day are recommended.
▪At least twice a week, poultry (non-fried).
▪Once a week, at least one serving of fish (not fried).
▪Cheese, fast food, and fried meals should be eaten in moderation (Less than once per week.)
▪One spoonful of butter every day is all you need. (If you don't have any, replace it with olive oil.)
▪Less than five times a week, sweets or pastries
▪No more than three times a week should you consume red meat.
▪A glass of red wine is ideal. (One glass each day is recommended.)
According to Xiaoran Liu, an assistant professor at Rush University Medical Center and the Rush Institute for Healthy Aging, "studies demonstrate that greater adherence to a MIND eating pattern is connected with a slower pace of cognitive decline and a decreased chance of acquiring Alzheimer's disease."
Those who strictly followed the MIND diet had a 53 percent lower risk of getting Alzheimer's disease, according to a research by Liu and colleagues. Because of its high metabolic activity, the brain is particularly prone to oxidative damage, according to Liu, but specific nutrients found in "brain-healthy meals" can assist.
"Many of the foods in the MIND diet have significant antioxidant capabilities," says Liu. "Phylloquinone, lutein, and folate are abundant in green leafy vegetables, while berries have high phenolic content. The combination of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of these nutrients may assist the brain."
The relationship between our digestive system and brain, known as the gut-brain axis, is another way that foods in the MIND diet may alter cognitive function. The way food breaks down in the stomach has been shown to have a positive or negative impact on cognition, and a new study published in the journal Molecular Nutrition & Food Research found that foods high in polyphenol compounds, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes, had the most beneficial associations for cognition.
"We discovered a protective relationship between metabolites obtained from the consumption of fruit and vegetables, chocolate, coffee, and mushrooms in our study," said Ral González-Domnguez, associate researcher at the University of Huelva in Huelva, Spain, and one of the study's researchers. "On the other hand, metabolites linked to bad dietary patterns, such as artificial sweeteners and alcohol, were found to have a negative connection with cognitive deterioration."
Another aspect of the aging process that can be addressed by food is the loss of muscular mass. The important thing is to eat adequate protein. At each meal, aim for 20 to 30 grams of protein, but not from any source. Fish, poultry, soy, beans, lentils, and Greek yogurt are all good choices. In other words, concentrate on the low-saturated-fat proteins found in the MIND, DASH, or Mediterranean diets.
"Protein is frequently not ingested in sufficient proportions," says Heather Keller, a dietician and professor at the University of Waterloo's Schlegel-UW Research Institute for Aging. "To boost muscle building and retention, older adults appear to require more high-quality protein in their diet."
According to studies, foods from the Mediterranean and DASH diet patterns can help with visible indicators of aging including dry skin, dark patches, and wrinkles. "Dietary patterns can certainly affect overall health and, in particular, skin health," says Vivien Fam, a dietitian and clinical research scientist at Integrative Skin Science and Research in Sacramento, and one of the authors of a recent review on skin health and nutrition published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Soy, almonds, leafy greens, tomatoes, melon, pomegranate, oranges, and grapes, all of which may be included in the MIND, Mediterranean, and DASH diets, were found to have favorable impacts on skin health.
Fam cites studies showing that consuming 20 percent of one's calories from almonds (about 12 cup per day) or a half-cup of mangos on a daily basis might reduce wrinkles in postmenopausal women. However, adding mangoes or almonds to a diet consisting primarily of ultra-processed foods is unlikely to improve skin health. So, if a random superfood gets a wonderful review, be suspicious and think about how it fits into your whole diet and lifestyle.
Mona Gohara, a dermatologist and associate clinical professor of dermatology at Yale School of Medicine, says, "If anything sounds too good to be true, it probably is." "There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution."
Excessive sugar consumption appears to be particularly harmful to wrinkles. When we consume too many sweets, some of the sugar molecules in our bodies link to elastin and collagen proteins, forming advanced glycation end products (or, more accurately, AGEs), which cause collagen and elastin to weaken, droop, and wrinkle.
"Doughnuts aren't the answer to eternal youth," Gohara explains, reminding her patients that a healthy eating pattern is a lifetime, not a six-week regimen to get rid of wrinkles. "Skin is an organ," explains Gohara. "As a result, just as we eat for our heart and brain, we should eat for our skin." The Mediterranean, MIND, and DASH diets are good places to start if you want to protect all three.