6 Simple Ways to CHANGE the Way you LOOK & FEEL!

In the first part of this series on “How to Look and Feel Good” I talked about the longevity, anti-aging and cognitive function aspect of it. Today, I will dive into the beauty and functional aspect of our life and aging.

We all age! The question is how we age?

Do we keep our functionality and our pretty looks all the way to the end ? Think brain, heart, muscle, joints, skin…

This is the conclusion of my research and digging into this topic. Six simple ways to change the way you age, listed in no particular order, but #5 should be the top of the list followed by #2, if I was to rank them:) ENJOY!

#1. Stay Hydrated

Spring/filtered water, coconut water, high water content vegetables and fruits, specifically cucumber, zucchini, celery, radish, melons and berries will help you do that.

#2. Eat collagen rich foods

Meat/bone stock-a gel like stock. Everybody’s favorite one is chicken stock. Collagen not only makes your skin beautiful plus your joints healthy, but keeps your gut lining and immune system healthy and well nourished. Collagen is a structural protein, made of 2 non-essential amino acids: glycine and prolyn. You get a good supply of both of these amino acids when you eat/drink a gel like stock. Gelatin (aka a gel like stock) is especially rich in proline, hydroxyproline and glycine.

“Gelatin was valued for its medicinal benefits for thousands of years and was long considered a panacea for everything from skin and joint disorders to digestive distress to heart ailments.”-Why Broth is Beautiful: Essential Roles for Proline, Glycine and Gelatin by Kaayla T. Daniel PhD, CCN

Also, to help your body synthesize collagen, you need vit C and Sulfur, just to mention two of the many nutrients required.

To assure a good supply of vit C, Sulfur, other minerals, vitamins and antioxidants, I suggest eating the rainbow.

#3. Eat the Rainbow-Antioxidant-Anti-inflammatory-Anti-aging

Dark green leafy vegetables (chlorophyll-, Vit C)-spinach, arugula, dandelion, parsley, kale
red vegetables like tomatoes-lycopene- powerful antioxidant helps slow down cellar damage (oxidation) caused by free radicals
orange and yellow vegetables and fruits- high content of Beta carotene (precursor of vit A-important for skin repair and regeneration and vit C-powerful antioxidant and crucial element in Collagen synthesis)-berries like goji berry, raspberry, strawberry, carrots, red and yellow bell peppers, oranges and grapefruit
blue/purple-antioxidant rich vegetables and fruits-help prevent cellular damage caused by oxidation (sun exposure, smoking, eating, drinking, stress, etc.)–eggplant, beets, red cabbage and red onion, blueberries, black berries

#4. Eat daily foods from Brassica and Allium family: Antioxidant-Anti-inflammatory-Anti-aging, Anti-cancer Foods

Brassica Foods: Brussels sprouts, Bok choy, Broccoli, Broccoli rabe, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Chinese cabbage (napa), Collard greens Daikon (a type of radish), Kale, Kohlrabi.
Allium Foods: Onion, garlic, leeks.

Those foods are high in sulfur, a mineral that’s abundant in proteins found in joints, skin, hair, nails, and it has multiple crucial roles in the body including cellular detox of toxic compounds and free radicals. It’s part of glutahitione peroxidase the most potent antioxidant in the body it’s worth mentionig here that the best way to get sulfur in our body is from animal foods. Sulfur is derived almost exclusively from dietary protein, such as fish and high-quality (organic and/or grass-fed/pastured) beef and poultry. Meat and fish are considered “complete” as they contain all the sulfur-containing amino acids you need to produce new protein.

#5. Eat a variety of fermented foods daily

I don’t think in this day and age we can have any discussion around food and nutrition, whether about disease prevention, anti-aging, longevity, beauty or weight loss and not talk about fermented foods and probiotics. From well known traditional sauerkraut, to trendy (yet old) kombucha , to yogurt and kefir, lacto-fermented foods supply us with a good dose of probiotics aka beneficial micro organisms that are absolutely paramount to our health and well being.

“I am a mass of microbes with a human face”

-feel free to tweet this one, because we all are:)

#6. Fatten up

Don’t skip the good fats. Every cell in your body is made out of fat, (saturated, unsaturated and cholesterol. Your brain and the entire nervous system is 60-70% by weight fat. Your skin, down deep in the third layer (hypodermis) is made of fat and connective tissue (aka collagen).

Shy away from damaged fats, vegetable oils and trans fats. Keep the sugar (and most insulin inducing carbs) out of your diet, and you can only expect beautiful, functional, graceful aging.

In conclusion:

• Eat whole foods,
• Have a good mix of vibrantly colored plants and
• Nourishing animal foods,
• Keep hydrated,
• Have your daily stock and
• Fermented foods.

The end result?

Expect to age gracefully and have a wonderful, functional life.

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Happy, healthy aging,

Mihaela