Let’s face it: there is no real fountain of youth. However, continuing to look and feel young is more in your control than you think. Consequences that we associate with aging, such as wrinkles, memory loss, and elevated risk for diseases such as cancer, has more to do with lifestyle choices than the actual process of getting older. Our nutritional and diet choices are just as important to keeping looking young as something like sunscreen is to keeping the skin looking young. There are some nutritional guidelines that you can follow to decrease the negative effects of aging on your body.

Anti-Aging Anti-Oxidants

Anti-oxidants are compounds that drastically slow down the aging process of your skin and boost up the overall anti-aging health and fitness. Some of the more well-known anti-oxidants are beta carotene, and vitamins C and E. Anti-oxidants combat free radicals, which are oxygen molecules that can attack and damage cell membranes, as well as necessary proteins and the cell’s genetic code. This is part of what brings about the effects of aging. Fruits and vegetables contain lots of anti-oxidants, especially broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, cantaloupe, citrus fruits, and blueberries. To combat the effects of aging, make sure your diet is rich in anti-oxidants.

Watch Where You Get Your Fats From

Although it is not good to have too much fat in your diet (especially saturated fats), a healthy diet needs to include some type of fatty acid. The healthiest way to get your fat requirements is from fish rather than red meats. Animal fats can be artery clogging and unhealthy, but fish are rich in the omega-3 fatty acid. Omega-3 fatty acids have been found to help lower the risk of heart-disease, stimulate the immune system, and possibly even alleviate depression. Researchers also speculate that the fatty acids found in fish may help inhibit the growth of cancer cells. The health of fish can be shown by the Japanese, who eat lots of fish, and are some of the healthiest people in the world, they also have one of the highest life expectancies of any people. Another way to get omega-3 fatty acids is in flax seeds and flax seed oil.

So while it is impossible to stop getting older – we are getting older as each day goes by – making healthy choices in our lifestyles can reduce the negative effects of aging. Watching what we eat and maintaining smart dietary habits will keep you looking young and can keep your mind sharp and sane. So don’t freak out about what you may look like in twenty years; eat healthy today and know that you’ll be okay.

If You Smoke - Stop!

I know that there are plenty of people out there telling you to stop smoking. It not only effects your lungs, but guess what, smoke can age you years beyond your actual age. Smoke ages the skin faster than just about anything else, causing wrinkles and just making your skin unhealthy. So if there is no other reason to get you to quite smoking, but you want to stay looking youthful, use this as an excuse to finally stop.

Increase Your Intake of Certain Vitamins

As we get older, our bodies have a harder time processing nutrients and vitamins, so it is necessary to increase your intake so insure that your body is taking in as much as it needs to stay healthy.

One vitamin especially important to take more of as you get older is Vitamin D, as it helps in the prevention of osteoporosis. The skin naturally produces vitamin D when exposed to the sun, but as we get older, it produces less and less, not to mention exposure to the sun can get more dangerous as we get older.

The B vitamins are also important, as they are necessary to keep the compound homocysteine low in the blood; if allowed to rise, homocysteine contributes to heart-disease risk and possibly memory loss.

Women especially should increase their intake of calcium, as it aids in the prevention of osteoporosis. According to the National Institute of Health, generally women should be getting a daily intake of 1,200 mg to 1,500 mg of calcium daily.

Eat Lots of Fresh Fruits and Veggies

Having lots of fruits and vegetables in your daily diet lowers your disease risk, as well as giving you more energy and less prone to weight gain. Fruits and vegetables have no fat (except avocados, olives and coconuts), sodium, or cholesterol. They are packed with vitamins and nutrients that the body needs to stay healthy, young, and fit.

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