New Age Organic

‘Anti-aging’

 

Building Strength and Flexibility

Your musculo-skeletal system consists of bones, muscles and joints. This is the physical infrastructure of your body that allows you to stand upright, maintain your body shape, as well as move and flex. This is one of the hardest hit by the degenerative processes of aging. In our youth, the normal bone loss (breakdown of cells) is counteracted by bone growth (cell replacement) but if left unchecked, as we age, the rate at which we replace bone decreases, resulting in bone loss. However, there are many positive treatments and preventative measures to keep your bones, muscles and joints strong, healthy, fit, and mobile.

Bone is a living active tissue that continuously regenerates itself. It serves as a storehouse for minerals, mainly calcium, which will be tapped to meet your body’s mineral requirements. Bone is broken down through a process called “resorption”, releasing its minerals into the general circulation.  New bone is then formed to replace the reabsorbed bone preventing a net bone loss, through a process called “bone remodelling”.

As we age, bone formation begins to fall behind, causing a gradual bone loss resulting in weaker more brittle bones and bone conditions such as osteoporosis.  The specific reasons for this slowdown of bone remodelling are not completely understood, but there are a myriad of factors involved.

Bone Loss

Bone cells called “osteoblasts”, which rebuild bone, falter with aging, this is compounded for women because declining oestrogen levels after menopause actually increase bone resorption, accelerating the bone loss process. Poor nutrition, smoking, and physical inactivity all contribute to bone loss, along with reduced absorption of dietary calcium that comes with aging.

While a certain amount of bone loss is inevitable over time, the process is not entirely beyond our control. Dietary and lifestyle changes will help to maintain bone health.

Exercise

Physical exercise is a key factor in the prevention of bone loss and osteoporosis, and exercise has been shown to increase bone mass in women with post-menopausal osteoporosis. In these tests it was found that the duration of the exercise was as important as the intensity.  A brisk 45 minute walk four times a week provides the correct level of weight bearing physical activity.

Dietary Health

Constant dieting contributes to bone loss, as it compromises nutritional intake and encourages bones to release more nutrients, which are not replaced. Cut out alcohol, as this negatively affects the balance of calcium in your body. Heavy caffeine consumption has also been linked to a risk of osteoporosis and increased incidence of hip fractures.

Which Supplements Support Bone Health?

Calcium - Calcium is the most important nutrient for bone health. This mineral is necessary for numerous functions including building and maintaining bones and teeth, blood clotting and the regulation of heart beat. Foods rich in calcium include dairy products, fish, watercress, soya, brewers yeast, eggs, nuts, sunflower and sesame seeds, and pulses. Calcium supplementation of 1500mg per day has been shown to be helpful to women if consumed within three years of menopause.

Vitamin D - Vitamin D plays a critical role in bone health. When blood levels of calcium begin to drop, vitamin D is converted into an active enabler which increases calcium absorption into the blood and minimizes calcium loss in the urine.

Vitamin K - Vitamin K, found mainly in green leafy vegetables, plays an important role in calcium regulation and bone formation. One or more servings per day of broccoli, Brussels sprouts, dark green lettuces or kale should provide enough of this nutrient. However, if your diet is lacking we recommend a supplement of 45mcgs per day be used.

Boron – This mineral also improves calcium absorption and reduces the amount of calcium excreted in the urine. It also helps protect magnesium levels (see below) and increases oestrogen levels, having a protective effect on your bones. Natural sources of boron include apples, pears, carrots, grapes, leafy vegetables and nuts. A supplement of 1mg to 3mg per day is recommended.

Magnesium – This mineral is required for the body to use calcium and potassium, and plays a very important role in the formation of bone.  Magnesium is found in most foods in particular dairy products, fish, and meat. A supplement of 350mg to 500mg per day is recommended.

Vitamin A – This nutrient is key for calcium metabolism.  Good sources include fish liver oil, meats and carrots. Take a supplement of 5000iu to 15000iu per day.

Vitamin C - Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) and malic acid are useful supplements to help boost mineral absorption. A supplement of 500mg to 200mg per day is recommended.

 

You are what you eat!

It is undeniable that if you eat a natural and healthy diet, you can reduce the effects of aging on your body and physical well-being.  Key nutrients such as antioxidants and essential fatty acids (EFA) help to keep your body and mind fit and ready to prevent many of the illnesses associated with aging such as diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure. Adding more whole grains, fruit, vegetables, beans and pulses to your diet can add years not only to your life but also to your quality of life in dramatic ways.

There is no doubt at all, that eating a healthy, varied and balanced diet plays an important role in looking and feeling younger, adding essential nutrients that will enhance your health and wellness on all levels.  Choosing fresh organic produce, and adding supplements to make up for dietary shortages of key vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients, make sure that you will feel full of energy and look great well into your later years.

Fruits and Vegetables

FACT: Fruits and vegetables provide us with the majority of the vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients our bodies need to stay healthy. Many of the nutrients found in fruits and vegetables play more than one role in helping to keep us healthy. They are essential to our day-to-day health and also to our long term resistance to illnesses such as cancer, heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. They affect our skin, our energy levels, our metabolism and virtually every body function, but perhaps the most crucial element of fruit and vegetables is the fact that they are rich in antioxidants – widely recognised to have anti-aging properties.

What are Antioxidants?

Antioxidants are nutrients that help protect cells from the aging effects of free radicals in the body.  Free radicals are molecules that are produced when the body breaks down food, or when the body is exposed to toxins such as smoke, or alcohol, over exposure to the suns rays, and radiation. In the aging process it is free radicals driving deterioration of cells that play a key role in cancer, heart disease, and other degenerative effects of aging such skin breakdown and arthritic conditions.

Antioxidants are founds in all bright colored fruits and vegetables, as well as in whole grains, and may often be identified by their distinctive colors. The dark red of cherries and tomatoes, the orange of carrots, the yellow of corn and mango, the rich hues of blueberries, blackberries and grapes. These antioxidant rich foods also provide other key nutrients such as vitamins A, C, E, and beta carotene, the minerals selenium and zinc, and the anti-aging compound lycopene.

Creating Balance

Research shows that eating a variety of fruits and vegetables in a range of colors is the best way to ensure that you are getting the correct balance of antioxidant nutrients, as well as other key vitamins and minerals that your body needs to stay healthy.

Five servings of fruit and vegetables per day are typically recommended. It is not that difficult to eat more fresh produce, throwing a handful of mixed berries into a salad, choosing a fruit snack over other sugared carbohydrates, drinking plenty of natural fruit juices, and snacking on raw carrots, celery, cucumber, peppers, and apples you will easily surpass this goal.

The Best Fruits and Vegetables

Which Fruit?

• Dates - provide an excellent range of vitamins, minerals and amino acids that are essential for healthy skin.
• Avocados - a wonderful anti-aging food with an abundance of youth-boosting agents.
• Tomatoes - the best source of the anti-aging compound lycopene
• Grapes - a powerful detoxifier providing polyphenols (antioxidants), vitamins, and minerals.

Which Vegetables?

• Mushrooms - rich in chromium, protein, and prebiotic fibre.
• Carrots - these contain antioxidant carotenoids for healthy eyes, skin and mucous membranes.
• Broccoli - powerful nutrition supporting the liver, helping to detoxify the body.
• Garlic - a potent antioxidant and natural antiseptic, supporting the blood, cardiovascular and immune systems.

More Super Foods

Beyond fruits and vegetables - beans, peas and chickpeas are from a family vegetables called pulses or legumes.

Beans and Pulses

These are also an extremely important part of a healthy diet. Not only are they a major source of complex carbohydrates (completely unrefined), but they also provide an excellent source of fibre, protein, and minerals such as potassium, magnesium, and zinc. In addition they are low in fat and an inexpensive addition to any diet.

Chickpeas are known to be adaptogenic (meaning they support the adrenal gland, which is responsible for our response to stress) and are rich in protein and iron which is essential for healthy blood.

Lentils are also a rich source of protein and iron. They are known to aid circulation and heart function, as well as supporting the kidneys.

Soybeans are a wonderful complete food that is rich in protein, unsaturated EFAs, lecithin (good for brain cells) and many more valuable nutrients. Soy also acts as a phytoestrogen or natural source of the hormone oestrogen, which is essential for women in particular, in whom the production of oestrogen declines with age.

There are many kinds of pulses including adzuki beans, black-eyed beans, kidney, lima, and borlotti beans. Try them in stews or pasta, cold in salads or eaten raw as a snack at least three times a week.

Whole Grains

Whole grains or foods made from them contain all the naturally occurring nutrients and parts of the entire grain seed. The principal health benefits of whole grain come from the complete package of nutrients that are perfectly balanced and synergized by nature. It is impossible to duplicate these benefits by taking single nutrients alone. These nutrients include vitamins B and E, the minerals magnesium, selenium, and zinc, fibre and other valuable nutrients including flavonoids, oligosaccharides, inositol, phytates, phytoestrogens and protese inhibitors.

These balanced nutrients have been shown to protect against many chronic health conditions such as cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. What’s more, whole grains also encourage healthy digestion, which means that the food you do eat is better assimilated by the body.

Cold Water Fish

The Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs) known as omega oils 3, 6, and 9 are found in oily fish (cold water fish), which include salmon, herring, sardines, mackerel, pilchards and fresh tuna.  Some experts consider wild salmon (farmed salmon should be avoided due to high levels of pesticides) to be the best all-around source of key EFAs and other nutrients. In addition to salmon you may also consider tuna, anchovies, halibut, sardines, mackerel or trout – all of which will do the job quite well. If you are not a fish-lover, then a quality natural supplement may be the answer.

Do I Need Supplements?

The healthy diet outlined above should be sufficient to provide all the nutrients you need for optimum health, however because of the way our food is farmed and processed today, even the best products may not contain all the necessary vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. What’s more, as we age our bodies may not assimilate food as efficiently as in our younger years. We also know that certain nutrients play key roles in encouraging optimum health and vitality, and supplements can ensure that we get good levels of these. There are also leading physicians who promote the use of supplements in the management of certain pre-disease conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, and of course vitamin deficiencies.