9 foods that make you age faster
You know that the food you eat affects everything from your waistline to your mood. New research suggests your diet may also play a role in how you age.
Several studies have explored the link between popular diet and the aging process.
For example, the Mediterranean diet has been shown to slow aging, and foods rich in antioxidants and nutrients like vitamin E and choline (nuts, eggs, and fish) have been shown to protect cognitive health. But what about foods that have the opposite effect?
"A lot of sugar, fat, salt, preservatives... and other chemical compounds lead to inflammatory reactions that can negatively affect our DNA, thereby leading to aging," said Dr. Raelene Brooks, University of Phoenix (USA).
Here are 9 foods that can make you age faster:
Caffeine
According toFortune, people who drink more than six cups of coffee a day tend to have smaller brain volume and a 53% higher risk of dementia than those who drink coffee less frequently.
Consuming too much caffeine can also age you faster. Photo: Times of India
Some studies have even found that every 100mg of caffeine (equivalent to about one cup of coffee) is associated with 2.4 years of accelerated aging.
Caffeine is a diuretic, which means it stimulates your brain and your need to urinate. This can cause dehydration. When you don’t have enough water, your skin stops releasing toxins. This buildup makes you more susceptible to dry skin and wrinkles.
But you may not need to give up your morning cup of joe completely. There are plenty of other studies that show the benefits of coffee. In fact, moderate coffee intake has been linked to a variety of health benefits, from improved muscle strength to a reduced risk of heart disease.
However, you don't need to worry about having a cup of coffee in the morning. Photo: Tu Anh
Some studies have even found that people who drank 1.5 to 3.5 cups of coffee per day were 21% less likely to die during the study period than those who did not drink coffee.
Spicy food
Adding too many spices to your food may put you at higher risk of dementia.
Researchers followed a group of older Chinese adults for 15 years and found that those who regularly consumed more than 50 grams (about 1/4 cup) of chili peppers per day had lower cognitive scores than those who ate less spicy food.
That doesn't mean you should give up hot sauces, chili peppers, and curry powders, but instead opt for fresh spices over processed ones. The combination of preservatives and sodium (in some packaged spices and hot sauces) can affect the brain.
Consuming too much salt is not only bad for your heart, it can also age you faster. Photo: Shutterstock
Sodium
It's no secret that sodium is bad for your heart. In many people, too much sodium in their diet raises blood pressure. High blood pressure is linked to an increased risk of stroke, heart disease, and other age-related chronic diseases.
A high-sodium diet, defined by one study as more than 12,000 milligrams (or 2.1 teaspoons) per day, was linked to lower cognitive function and a 330% increased risk of cognitive decline.
Artificial sweeteners
Artificial sweeteners are man-made chemicals designed to trick the brain into thinking it's eating sugar but without the calories.
You may want to skip the diet soda. Drinking a can of diet soda a day has been linked to an increased risk of dementia, and consuming more artificial sweeteners has been linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, including heart attack and stroke.
In fact, this link is tenuous because it may be due to other risk factors, including a diet high in red and processed meat and ultra-processed foods.
margarine
According toWebMD, your skin is the largest organ in your body and everything you eat affects it. Most margarines, especially the solid kind, contain trans fats.
They raise “bad” cholesterol, lower “good” cholesterol, and cause inflammation throughout your body. Inflammation is linked to heart disease and stroke, two conditions that can make you look older.
Alcohol
If you’ve ever had a dry mouth the morning after a night of drinking, you know that alcohol dehydrates you. This has a big impact on your skin, since your skin is 63% water. Even if you drink a large glass of water, it will hydrate all your other organs before it hydrates your skin.
When you don't get enough water, your skin will look and feel dry, and can't protect itself from wrinkles.
Processed meat
Sausages, bacon... often contain a lot of salt. Illustration: Tu Anh
Processed meats, like bacon, sausage, ham, and cold cuts, are smoked and salted to make them last longer without spoiling. That’s what makes them both delicious and dangerous. The sodium and inflammatory chemical preservatives can wreak havoc on your body inside and out.
Fried food
Soaking in boiling oil promotes free radicals, or unstable molecules that damage other molecules in your cells and age your skin. You can also find free radicals in other fried foods like french fries, corn chips, and mozzarella sticks.
Grilled food
Baked goods like cookies and cakes are high in artery-clogging fats that make you gain weight. They also don't cut down on sugar, which in excess can lead to diabetes, high blood pressure, and tooth decay (among other things).
Inflammation is another reason to skip that ice cream. The more inflammation you have, the higher your risk of arthritis, depression, Alzheimer's disease, and some cancers.
