Eat Your Age: How to nourish your body for every stage of life.
Ageing is a fact of life, and the ways our bodies change as we get older can be both surprising and fascinating (if not always 100% appreciated).
As our bodies change on the outside and in, we need different vitamins, minerals and nutrients to support our general well-being. However, while many of us happily construct our skin care regimes based around age, we don’t often take the same approach when it comes to tailoring our diets.
Knowing what vitamins and minerals you may need is a smart way to support your body as you age. Add in to that the extra benefits and boosters offered by targeted supplements, and you can tailor what you eat to fit you for the future.
Our Head of Nutrition, Lorraine Perretta, shares her tips and advice on how to tailor your diet to your age for optimal health and wellbeing.
When you're in your 20's: Think as you eat
Eat consciously. And by that, I mean, understand how foods impact your health. Think about what you’re eating and don’t just eat randomly. You should aim to eat some protein every time you eat, and only have sugary foods as a treat: not as a way of life. Make sure you consume a wide a variety of fruits and vegetables every day. Your body is young and healthy, but it is never too early to start taking supplements. A good multivitamin, (such as Skin Vitality) with an extra vitamin C (Skin Vit C+) and an omega 3 with 6 (found in Skin Omegas+) are a good basic programme.
When you're in your 30's: Power up your antioxidant protection
From the age of 26 the body appears to become less efficient at fighting free radicals (caused by factors such as pollution and UV exposure) so by age 30 it’s time to focus on antioxidant rich foods, as well as a supplement programme that contains a separate antioxidant for added support.
Antioxidants include lycopene (red foods: think tomatoes), lutein (green vegetables: broccoli, spinach and kale) and beta carotene (orange and yellow foods like carrots and yellow peppers). Other popular antioxidant rich foods include berries: such as blueberries, raspberries and goji berries, and even dark chocolate.
Look for supplements which feature these types of ingredients, as well as additional minerals and vitamins with antioxidant properties. The Advance Nutrition Programme’s Skin Antioxidant for example, contains bilberry, turmeric, green tea and grape seed extracts.
When you're in your 40's: Give your body a boost
Our digestive systems become less efficient as we age, so by our 40s we’re not as good at breaking down the foods we eat. As a result, nutrients and vitamins don’t absorb as well. To help counteract this, firstly, chew foods really well. The advice is to chew each mouthful 30 times before swallowing. This gives your stomach the best opportunity to break down the food in preparation for absorption.
Many women find that at this age they may begin entering the menopause or experiencing menopausal symptoms. Even if you’re not experiencing these symptoms, I recommend you look at your caffeine sugar and alcohol consumption. Reduce these substances to “treats” and make sure they haven’t become a way of life. Those women who have a couple cups of coffee or tea, plus some biscuits and a chocolate, and then a glass of wine in the evening every day, can find that they suffer more with menopausal symptoms than women who keep these to a minimum.
When you're in your 50's: Bones and energy
My favourite anti-ageing supplement is Coenzyme Q 10, often written CoQ10. Although our body can make this nutrient itself, we become less efficient at producing it as we age and by age 50 most people need a bit of help. CoQ10 is important for energy at the cellular level. This means the nutrient is fundamental at the most basic level. Not only does CoQ10 help with energy, it also helps reduce wrinkles, supports heart health and even aids eyesight.
When you're in your 60's+: All of the above!
If you’ve been doing all the above, you should already be feeling half your age! But it’s never too late to start taking your nutrition seriously. Get started by incorporating all the advice in the above ages.
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