The Secret to Anti-Aging Might Be Eliminating These Favorite Foods
We can’t fight the force of Father Time, but we can look younger than our actual age would otherwise dictate. There is enough out there detailing what we should eat as part of an anti-aging diet, but what about what we shouldn’t eat? Sometimes we
For many of us, we don’t know what’s aging us, especially when it comes to diet. It’s so easy to let the offenders slip through the cracks and wreak havoc on our skin. The following 6 foods can prematurely age the body.
1. Salt
Excess consumption of salt can lead to water retention, causing your tissues to swell and making your skin look puffy, less radiant, and unhealthy. On a less vain note, too much salt, or sodium, in the diet is linked to high blood pressure and thus heart disease. High salt intake can also lead to weight gain.
When you use salt in your cooking, ditch iodized table salt and opt for a sea salt, which retains many more nutrients. Use it sparingly. The less salt you use, the less you’ll start to crave it. With 80 percent of our salt intake coming from process foods, it is important to meticulously read the ingredient labels to make sure you aren’t overdoing sodium.
2. Coffee
Caffeine depletes the body of moisture, including your skin. Dry skin will make you look older. This doesn’t mean you have to give up your Morning Joe. Instead, drink plenty of water throughout the day to compensate.
3. Spicy Foods
This one may come as a surprise, but for some people, hot foods can compromise your young appearance. While hot peppers and spicy foods are good for your metabolism, they dilate blood vessels and can cause rosacea in people with sensitive skin. For most people, spicy foods offer a short-term glow, but for others, it can lead to irritated, flared skin.
If you know you have sensitivity towards spicy foods, reduce consumption or avoid them altogether.
4. Alcohol
A healthy liver means healthy skin. Your liver is responsible for expelling toxins from the body, but if you overburden your liver with harmful substances, it won’t be able to function efficiently. Drinking too much alcohol at any given time strains your liver and compromises your appearance. Meanwhile, alcohol is dehydrating and can interfere with your sleep, both of which have an impact on your skin.
5. Simple Carbohydrates
Simple carbohydrates like white bread, sugar, pasta, and rice have a high glycemic index and cause you insulin levels to peak, which essentially leads to a burst of inflammation throughout the body. Inflammation produces enzymes that break down collagen and elastin, which result in sagging skin and wrinkles.
Avoid simple carbohydrates and instead choose whole grain or low-glycemic varieties: whole-grain bread, quinoa, vegetables, coconut palm sugar, nuts, beans, maple syrup, and sweet potatoes, among many others.
6 Soda
There are so many reasons why you should shun all fizzy drinks, and losing your youthful looks is most certainly one! Fizzy, sugary drinks are often devoid of nutrition, caffeinated and sweetened with excessive amounts of sugar (or artificial sweeteners, also not good for your health). They dehydrate the body and cause blood sugar levels to spike. Soft drinks also contain phosphoric acid, which leaches calcium – essential for healthy skin – from the body.
Consistently drinking soda can really take a toll on your appearance, leading to dry, lackluster skin. Stick to water or fresh fruit and vegetable juices!
Related on Organic Authority
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7 Unorthodox Anti-Aging That Might Make You Gorgeous (or Gag)
White Cup of Coffee Image from Shutterstock
