Staying Young And Healthy With Nuts

Staying Young And Healthy With Nuts

Believe it or not, the first created human beings who inhabited this planet, Adam and Eve, already had nuts in their diet. In the Genesis, God provided them fruits that bear seeds that we now know as nuts. After thousands of years, we now understand why God never failed to create this fruit and seed in one. And a handful of it a day would never let you go wrong.

A HEARTy Snack

Almonds, macadamia, pistachio nuts, walnuts, and hazelnuts are not just for the appetite, they also are great sources of a number of health benefits. The studies of the Seventh Day Adventists during the 1990s first elevated the status of nuts to its consumers. The study of this religious group in Loma Linda, California indicated that those who eat nuts live two and a half years more than those who do not.

(The Seventh Day Adventist is a religious group that advocates healthy living by not smoking and dinking, and having a vegetarian diet. Members of this religious domination who live in Loma Linda live 5-10 years longer)

Nuts are said to contain Omega 3 fatty acids. These are unsaturated fatty acids that may decrease the risk of acquiring coronary heart disease. People who eat five times or more of it every week had roughly a 50 percent decrease in risk of dying from heart disease as compared to those who eat only nuts once a week. Those who eat one to four times in a week reduced their risk of acquiring the heart disease by 25%.

Recent researches also found out that walnuts and almonds can lower the blood levels of bad cholesterol which can lead to cardiovascular diseases. Besides its protective effect to the heart, this fruit have very low glycemic index. In fact, nuts are now being recommended by many dietitians to patients with diabetes mellitus 2.

KEEPING YOU AND YOUR BRAIN YOUNG

Usually, what’s beneficial to the heart is also favorable to the brain. Nuts are not just a hearty snack but also a brainy food. It helps keep your arteries clear so it lessens the risk of clogging arteries which can lead to stroke. Nuts also promote the production of precursors of serotonin, a neurotransmitter, which improves the mood, and reduces depression.

One ounce of nuts is the recommended amount to eat. That is equivalent to 24 almonds or 12 walnuts. Nuts is full of calories so be careful in eating too much of eat. Eating more than one ounce is fine unless you replace unhealthy high-caloric foods in exchange of nuts.

Here’s the deal: those who eat one ounce of nuts five times a week become 3.3 years younger for the males, and 4.4 years for the females.

In addition, you would also live two to three years longer compared to those who don’t.

WHAT SHOULD YOU EAT?

Well, raw, unroasted, unsalted nuts are best for your body.

Almonds are nut just tasty but are also beneficial because they are alkaline-formers even though they are high in protein. Having alkaline is good for the body because we need to keep up with the high acidic content of the body (which is the result of the oxygenation of all that we eat).

Walnuts are the nuts that have the most abundance of Omega-3 fatty acids. Walnuts are the kind that is beneficial to the diabetics.

BONUS : Staying Young is Just Another Meal Away

Healthy foods to stay young? Of course, you’ve heard it before, probably when mom insisted to eat more apples and less burger even when you thought you were too young to age.

Indeed, mom was right. You’ll never know when you’ll start to age until you notice some crumpling and folding on your skin. Premature aging might just be a sleep away. And you never want to see that happen.

But it’s never too late. You can delay aging now by changing some items on your plates, and it’s just another meal away.

You Are What You Eat

The food and all other things that you take or don’t are laying the groundwork for your health and your appearance as well. For example, a person who has a pretty huge room for french fries and beef patties in his stomach may suffer more diseases and may not look age-appropriate. A person deficient in unsaturated fats, on the other hand, may have dry, flaky skin, and eventually look older than he actually is.

According to Samantha Heller, MS, RD, a clinical nutritionist at NYU Medical Center in New York City, what you eat becomes the outer fabric of your body. And the healthier that you put in your mouth, the better you will look.

Sure, you don’t wanna look like french fries, or do you? Then, what should your next meal include?

High- fiber foods

Whole grains, cereals, black beans, apples, and pears are just some of the foods that are rich in fiber. Fiber found in these foods moves quickly and relatively easily through your digestive tract keeping bowel movements regular. Thereby preventing constipation,-one of the problems that aging people commonly encounter.

Fish, walnut, and flax seed oil

These foods are among the best sources of Essential Fatty Acids (EFA). EFA especially the omega-3 fatty acids regulate the fluidity or softness of the cell membranes, thus making your cell membranes healthy and hold more moisture. So that means younger looking skin.

Deficiency is visible in a hardening of the skin, as with dry skin and acne. And to those who are living in colder climates, you need more EFA for membrane fluidity.

Fruits and vegetables

Antioxidants from fruits and vegetables fight off free radicals, the byproducts of the body's everyday processes that damage DNA, cells, and tissues. The antioxidants and other phytochemicals lessens the chances of damage to he body’s cells. And because you are guarding your cells from premature damage, you are also protecting yourself from premature aging.

Whole-grain cereals, organ meats, chicken, egg yolk, and garlic.

Selenium, found in these foods, plays a key role in making the skin healthy. It is a sulfur-like mineral that lessens the oxidative damage of skin cells. It also helps in regulating the thyroid hormone and helps prevent hypertension, cancer, and stroke. Selenium is often added to antioxidant vitamins.

Easy Move

If you think looking younger is difficult, there’s not much to worry. The easiest move you can make is to include more fruits, vegetables, fish, and whole grains to your daily menu. Control yourself from eating foods stuffed with much cholesterol, sodium, and calories. What you get is a healthier body and a younger-looking you.

Well, if you think it’s too early to look old, better think twice. It just doesn’t feel good to be called older than you really are.

And if you think you’re too old to look young, you’re never right. You can stop aging right at your plate, and even prove that "looks can be deceiving."