To be young, healthy and beautiful for as long as possible – this is a natural desire of almost every modern person. The section of anti-aging medicine deals with the study of age-related changes in the body and the search for effective methods of preventing aging. But in the search for new methods, it is easy to forget about everyday things that greatly affect our health. And one of those most important things is diet.
Especially for estet-portal.com, Nadezhda Kryzhanovskaya, Ph.D. beauty.
How does diet affect life expectancy
N.K. Life expectancy is made up of several factors: our genes, physical activity, the influence of medicine, that is, the ability to provide assistance, social factors, as well as nutrition, which makes up the largest part – 30-40%.
The best thing we can do for ourselves – not to eat, because the day we stop eating, aging slows down.
A proven method that allows us to slow down aging – it is either fasting or intermittent fasting - intermittent abstinence from food. Once a week, for at least 16 hours, we must refrain from eating food. Some other sources believe that you need to fast 24-36 hours a week. But the most proven method to date to slow down aging is to reduce the number of calories consumed annually, starting at age 40. This is one of the postulates of anti-aging medicine. And already how do you do it: every day reducing the number of calories, or, at least once a week, arranging a day-off for the digestive tract – it's more convenient for someone.
What is the best diet for slowing down aging
N.K. A particularly good diet for slowing down aging is the Mediterranean diet, because it has the perfect balance of animal and vegetable components, a lot of omega-3 fatty acids, fiber and fluid, as well as the diet of the long-lived island of Okinawa, where there is a lot of seafood, small fractional portions and a very severe calorie deficit. From what in our diet can lead to a real life extension – it is the introduction of fruits and vegetables. Recent studies have shown that adding 5 servings of fruits and vegetables to any diet reduces overall mortality, the risk of cardiovascular disease, and slightly reduces cancer mortality by 30%.
It can be a small salad, an apple, a tomato, a red pepper, or other vegetables and fruits. To date, there is a targeted idea that in our daily diet should be 1-1.5 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, 5 servings of vegetables and fruits, 2 liters of water, and at least 1000 mg of omega- 3 fatty acids, of which 400 mg is the essential eicosapentaenoic acid, and then we are in the anti-aging zone.
How do you feel about such food systems as "veganism", "vegetarianism", "raw food"?
N.K. Now the percentage of people all over the world who refuse meat and various animal products is growing. An option that I perceive as an ideal food system – this is lacto-ovo vegetarianism, when we do not overdo it with protein, and, at the same time, we will not be in short supply. Veganism and raw foodism is a fairly radical branch that requires either a very serious illness, or, conversely, good health.
For the average population, I would not recommend such diets, except perhaps as a detox method for 1-2 weeks. And lacto-ovo-vegetarianism, using dairy products and eggs, but only organic, quail, or grown on farms, or the Mediterranean diet – these are the best options. But it is important to remember that everything should be moderate and healthy, because everyone has different genetic needs.
How can eating meat harm the body?
N.K. It is not the protein mass itself that is important that enters our body in the form of a piece of meat, fish or cheese, but its quantity, composition and method of processing. Pork, lamb – that's a lot of fat, and it's not healthy fat. But if, for example, for northern peoples, the consumption of high-cholesterol foods – is a way of survival, then we can afford to eat white meat. In red meat, we often overdo it with a protein load, and this can be seen in the deterioration of kidney function. On the other hand, protein deficiency – even more dangerous, because in a deficiency, normal detoxification cannot be achieved, the immune system works much worse, and we become vulnerable to oncology. Therefore, vegetarianism implies a very reasonable approach to the diet. Protein must be in it! And there is plenty of it in legumes, peas, quinoa, nuts, tofu.
If there is an excess of protein – it becomes a poison for us, with a deficiency of protein – we ourselves become poison to ourselves.
Why does a person want to eat meat so much?
N.K. Meat is more like a habit, because our ancestors survived thanks to it. They didn't have central heating, they didn't have Gore-Tex in their shoes. Everything they could do – it takes a long time to hunt, kill a bear, eat its meat, put on its skin, heat your stove for a long time, and so on. Back then, metabolic processes took place in a completely different way, because our ancestors were in other conditions of survival. In winter, we spend almost all our time indoors, we do not hunt and do not waste energy, and we are in a relative excess of food components. That is why our culture, our civilization has turned against us. Therefore, meat today, as a product necessary for survival, is squeezed out by products that are more useful. We understand that meat can be a useful product, but the fish is better. We can choose!
What about drinking alcoholic beverages? In moderation – Is it still useful or harmful to the body?
N.K. In cardiology, total abstinence from alcohol is equated with cardiovascular risk. That is, teetotalers are more likely to suffer from cardiovascular diseases. First of all, they do not relieve themselves of stress. Moderate alcohol consumption, and this is 300 ml of wine or 50 ml of a strong alcoholic drink, and for men even 100 ml, per day reduces the risk of cardiovascular pathologies by reducing blood clotting and reducing stress on the vascular wall. But it is important to drink alcohol regularly and in such a small amount, and not drink everything in one weekend, and then not drink for a week.
In addition, wine, especially red wine, contains resveratrol, which is one of the top anti-aging drugs. But we must remember that on the day when we drink alcohol, we are not able to break down a single gram of fat, because alcohol is a blocker of the breakdown of adipose tissue. Therefore, if you are on a diet and want to change your figure, alcohol will have to be removed. Alcohol also makes you eat several times more food than you would eat without it, so you need to watch your diet while drinking.
What are the TOP-3 products most often found in the diet of Dr. Nadezhda Kryzhanovskaya, and which, on the contrary, you will not find?
N.K. No matter how trite it is an apple, hazelnut or almond, and, to be honest, pasta, but only from very high quality durum wheat. Since I do not have gluten intolerance, I can include this product in my diet. I use pasta rich in protein, and without any additional fat, do not fill them with any sauces. This does not mean that I eat pasta every day, but I think that this is a very useful product. I want to note: such a diet is what suits me, because I know my body well.
What I can recommend to include in the diet of everyone, based on the top recommendations, is dark blue berries, tomatoes, and cruciferous – all varieties of cabbage, cross-lettuce. But I wouldn’t invest in the top three products in my life, because cheese, various seeds, homemade eggs, mushrooms and many other products are useful. From what I consider unambiguously harmful – these are "garbage" beverages such as diluted fruit nectars and cola, prepared foods, synthetic margarines.
It is better to eat nothing than to eat bad food.
If you add them to your diet, consider that somewhere in the 2-3 times accelerate the aging of your body. They kill you as if you were smoking a pack of heavy cigarettes a day. All garbage, which is easy and quick to prepare, is stuffed with components that are shock to the body. Therefore, it, like any other garbage, must be removed from your diet.
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