Stop Aging the Drug-Free way
By
Kanika Goswami
A very important component of the aging process is the increase of acid content n the body. With age, our kidneys function differently and as time passes, the nitrogen compound present in our muscles protein gets reduced, even if we do external pumping, exercises and even weight lifting. The kidneys are responsible for breaking down this nitrogen compound, and this means that it is washed away from our body as a liquid waste. This means that the bulky muscles of our youth are getting ejected from our body in the form of urine. This acidification of the body also induces deficiency of calcium in the bones, which shows up as osteoporosis in elderly people.
Obviously, the key to suppress this process (no, no one can escape this fate…it is karma, he who is born has to die) is to offset this alkalinity in the body gradually making it less acidic in nature.
One of the most effective ways to make your body more alkaline is to consume fresh greens. Eating spinach can actually make one more muscular, even if one does not believe in Popeye.
The key to increasing alkalinity in the body is consuming a supplement called Potassium Bicarbonate in the diet, and seeing the effects over as little as 18 days. This can be introduced in your daily diet in the form of fruits and vegetables. Oils, fats meats grains, nuts, dairy products, fish and eggs only increase the body’s acidity levels. But fresh fruits and vegetables, with minimum amount of cooking can actually serve to reduce it. In other words, eating a high protein low fiber diet can actually reduce your bone density and muscle mass as you age. The surest and most effective way to avoid this is to avoid these foods and eat more natural veggies.
There have been studies made on foods and their effects on this loss of nitrogen from our body and the most important culprit seems to be parmesan cheese. Thus this food ranks highest on the scale on foods that aid in muscle loss. The best foods for ant aging properties, that is, the foods that increase the alkaline effects in the body are raisins. Among veggies, spinach is the leafy vegetable that does the trick.
The worst foods for those who would like to stop aging or slow down the process will be brown rice, rolled oats, whole wheat bread, spaghetti, corn flakes and white rice. But the highest honor goes to, as mentioned earlier, parmesan cheese, which is thrice as likely to reduce the nitrogen content in the body and speedup the muscle degeneration process, as any of these. In fact cheeses of any kind have a similar effect. This rolls the whole theory of healthy- means- protein, on its head.
|
|
The next worst are meat, poultry
and fish, eggs and even milk.
The foods that induce alkalinity are currants, raisins, bananas,
apricots, carrots, spinach, and celery (it actually has negative
calories, in the sense that it requires more calories to digest than
it provides to the body).
Besides, tomatoes contain ample anti-aging properties; they increase
the body’s resistance to oxidants.
In addition to maintaining a diet rich in leafy vegetables and low
on heavy proteins, seniors should also follow some simple
guidelines, actually the most repeated warnings of a bad lifestyle.
Smoking and too much alcohol ruins the skin and the liver. So avoid
these and the glare of harsh sun. The trick to stay well hydrated,
in order to maintain the pH level of the skin and the body system,
one must drink plenty of liquids everyday.
Exercise play a very important part in keeping the body fit and
supple but again, in middle age there may be problems that one faces
in keeping up with a very active lifestyle. Joint pains, back
problems and ligament weakness often surfaces just before the real
aging factor starts. Of course, our metabolism slows down
significantly after we reach the midlife point, almost around our
thirties and forties, but even with this slowdown, it is important
to be always active. Nothing brings on age faster than stress or a
sedentary lifestyle – two extremes. So enough exercise, preferably a
non-violent variety, is recommended. Of course, a healthy middle
aged person who is continuously doing weight training may find the
sailing smooth but people who are starting late in life, should
stick to exercises that gently and smoothly take care of the
fitness, toning, stretching and keeping the muscles and bones
well-oiled.
Eating right and moving right can actually delay the degeneration
process, and hence put off aging. The mantra is that Thinking
right keeps one young at heart, and then, aging almost never occurs.