I have some personal recommendations for anti-aging since I haven't seen these being widely practiced around. I follow these recommendations myself to thrive at what I do in my own life as well as to maintain my youthfulness, and I would like to share these with everyone who also have such intention to thrive. They are all based on well-documented scientific studies.
Purple Foods for Anti-Aging
Purple and blue foods such as purple cabbages, eggplant, small red beans and berries contain anthocyanins good for anti-aging results. Even Mariah Carey takes purple foods 3 times a week. I don't recall seeing many people making purple smoothies, the popular type is still the one containing green vegetables that contain green chlorophyll.
Chinese Herbs for Anti-Aging and Resilience/Strength
2 of the most potent Chinese herbs are yellow astragalus(Huang Qi) and fleeceflower root(He Show Wu). Yellow astragalus is actually better than ginseng, it has been scientifically proven to be able to extend the telomerase at the end of chromosomes, extending the cells' expiry date and prolonging lifespan.
He Shou Wu has a strengthening effect from the introduction of the root's resilience into the body to increase its resilience/strength. It promotes faster healing during sickness, increases the body's resilience to physical stress endured in high and low intensity sports, as well as increase sexual function for men. It is useful for warming up the body during cold winters, and has been widely claimed to be able to restore hair loss and reverse premature greying of hair.
Common everyday vegetables in the supermarkets do not have as much resilience as such resilient plants that are trees and roots that can live hundreds of years. Eating such plants would therefore 'transfer' the plants' longevity and resilience into the human body. This is how such herbs actually work in order to improve the body's health and resilience/strength.
Negative Ions
Negative ions are found abundantly from water splashes such as waterfalls, beaches, fountains, the washing sink, the bathroom shower. It is also found in lemons. Negative ion generators can provide a constant flow of ions that has been scientifically demonstrated to improve brain function, prevent depression, prevent cancer and extend lifespan.
Negative Ions Create Positive Vibes
http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/negative-ions-create-positive-vibes
Science : The Power of The Negative Ions
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I66oE44rejQ
Distilled Water
Non-distilled tap water contains animal wastes from water-based animals such as fishes and frogs and therefore is not actually vegan if you think of it. Such non-distilled water also contains added chemicals such as chloride, fluoride and other unknown pollutants from the environment. I usually find a puddle of foul-smelling yellowish liquid at the bottom of my distiller after the water has been distilled away.
Water can only hold a certain amount of impurities and if it is not distilled, it would not have the full ability to hold on to the body's impurities to effectively flush them out of the system. If the impurities from non-distilled water is reduced from getting into the body, the body would contain less impurities and one doesn't have to consume as much water for hydration purposes. With less impurities and toxins entering the body from drinking distilled water, the body can function at a higher level, and not age as quickly.
Avoid Foods Cooked in Dry Heat and Oil
Meat and vegetables that are cooked in dry heat
and oil create toxins that can age the body as well as contribute to illnesses such as cancer. For me to avoid the toxins,
I rely mostly on boiled foods such as chickpeas and lentils.
The Hidden Toxins in Cooked Foods
http://americannutritionassociation.org/newsletter/hidden-toxins-cooked-foods
"Many may not be aware, however, of the toxins and carcinogens that
exist when food is heated past a certain temperature or for a period of
time"
"Cooked meat and fish contain heterocyclic amines (HCAs) and polycyclic
aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), both of which have been shown to be
mutagenic and carcinogenic."
"Acrylamide is a carcinogen that is found in cigarettes, coffee, and
many baked or fried foods, particularly breads, potato and corn
products."
Chemicals in Meat Cooked at High Temperatures and Cancer Risk
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/cooked-meats
Choose Foods Low on the Glycermic Index
Foods that are high on the Glycermic Index can lead to excessive glycation that can age protein fibres such as skin, blood vessels and nerves. Common foods that are high on the Index include donuts, cakes, buns, white bread, sugary drinks, and candy etc
Even when eating foods that are low on the Glycermic Index, one also has to be aware of the Glycermic Load to ensure that there is no overloading of blood sugar in the blood by consuming too much food at once. The Glycermic Load can be effectively reduced by practicing grazing, which is done by dividing t
he number of large meals in a day into smaller meals.
Foods such as white rice(66) and potatoes(over 90) are high on the Glycermic Index. Alternatives such as brown rice(46) and chickpeas(28) are much lower on the Index.
Avoid consuming carbohydrates on its own but eat it with protein and fats. Consume vegetables first before consuming carbohydrates to reduce the speed of digestion.
Taking too much low GI fruits at once such as binging on a large amounts of
sweet juices and smoothies can still increase the sugar level in the
blood to high levels. The key is to either eat fruits whole without juicing or limit juices and smoothies to smaller portions.
(Elle Magazine) Sugar and Aging: How to Fight Glycation
The relationship between sugar and fine lines can be sticky. Find out why!
http://www.elle.com/beauty/makeup-skin-care/sugar-aging-how-to-fight-glycation-614621
"The science is this: When you have sugar molecules in your system, they
bombard the body's cells like a meteor shower—glomming onto fats and
proteins in a process known as glycation. This forms advanced glycation
end products (commonly shortened, appropriately, to AGEs), which cause
protein fibers to become stiff and malformed."
"The proteins in skin most prone to glycation are the same ones that
make a youthful complexion so plump and springy—collagen and elastin.
When those proteins hook up with renegade sugars, they become
discolored, weak, and less supple; this shows up on the skin's surface
as wrinkles, sagginess, and a loss of radiance. The presence of AGEs
also makes the complexion more vulnerable to bad-news assailants such as
UV light and cigarette smoke. As New York–based dermatologist Cheryl
Karcher, MD, puts it: "Number one, the glucose makes the cells abnormal;
and number two, it creates free radicals. So you get a double whammy
when it comes to aging."
"The external signs of glycation show
up around the age of 30 or 35, when a perfect storm of built-up sun
damage, environmental oxidative stress, hormonal changes, and the
development of AGEs begins to result in, well, a-g-e. "When you're
younger, your body has more resources to ward off damage, and you're
producing more collagen," says New York– and Miami-based dermatologist
Fredric Brandt, MD, who in 2007 was one of the first to launch an
anti-aging skin-care line specifically addressing glycation. "When you
reach a certain age, these sugar by-products begin to build up at the
same time that your threshold for damage is getting lower."
Insulin and Its Metabolic Effects(2001)
Glycation
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2001/07/14/insulin-part-one.aspx
"Everyone knows that oxygen causes damage, but unfortunately the press
has not been as kind to publicize glycation. Glycation is the same as
oxidation except substitute the word glucose. When you glycate something
you combine it with glucose. Glucose combines with anything else
really; it's a very sticky molecule.
Just take sugar on your
fingers. It's very sticky. It sticks specifically to proteins. So the
glycation of proteins is extremely important. If it sticks around a
while it produces what are called advanced glycated end products
(A.G.E.s).
That acronym is not an accident. If you can turn
over, or re-manufacture, the protein that's good, and it increases the
rate of protein turnover if you are lucky. Glycation damages the protein
to the extent that white blood cells will come around and gobble it up
and get rid of it, so then you have to produce more, putting more of a
strain on your ability to repair and maintain your body.
That
is the best alternative; the worst alternative is when those proteins
get glycated that can't turn over very rapidly, like collagen, or like a
protein that makes up nerve tissue. These proteins cannot be gotten rid
of, so the protein accumulates, and the A.G.E.s accumulate and continue
to damage.
That includes the collagen that makes up the matrix
of your arteries. A.G.E.s are so bad that we know that there are
receptors for A.G.E.s, hundreds of receptors, for every macrophage."
