Can anti-aging foods really make the legend of immortality come true?

When people have nothing to do, they like to exchange experiences. Some say that eating more red dates is good for replenishing blood and nourishing qi; some say that they have recently started to eat propolis , and they heard that it can delay aging; and some say that they must buy black chicken to stew, which is the real "elixir of life"... After all, a lot of foods have been pushed into the ranks of "anti-aging". Although we know that these foods are good for health, do people call them "anti-aging" foods? Is it reasonable?

Seeing the "Dongpo Elbow" on the table, some people said: You should eat more of this dish, the pig skin can beautify you ! When seeing the pine nut corn, they smiled and said: "This dish is even better, it can also prevent aging!" Since when, people have put various labels on food, one of which is "anti-aging". There are quite a few foods that are touted as "anti-aging" : peanuts, walnuts, sesame seeds, carrots, tomatoes, soybeans, olive oil, sweet potatoes, corn, wolfberries, black chickens... But if you want to find out the reasons, few people can explain it clearly.

Reasons for Anti-Aging Foods

It is rich in antioxidant ingredients such as vitamin E, vitamin C, carotene and polyphenols , which can prevent excessive free radical reactions in the body. This is one of the reasons why the food is labeled as anti-aging. It is rich in dietary fiber , which can promote intestinal motility, reduce cholesterol absorption and prevent chronic diseases. This is also one of the reasons. It is rich in monounsaturated fatty acids , which can lower blood lipids and blood cholesterol, which is also one of the bases for anti-aging. In addition, being rich in calcium and thus preventing osteoporosis, being rich in zinc and thus enhancing the activity of the enzyme system, and being rich in selenium and thus improving antioxidant capacity are also reasons why the food is ranked among the anti-aging lists.

Scientists have investigated some of the world's longevity areas, trying to find out the special dietary secrets that allow them to live so long. Some like to drink yogurt, some like to eat stewed pork, some like to eat garlic, and some eat corn and sweet potatoes every day. When it comes to diet, there doesn't seem to be much in common. People in other regions also eat corn and sweet potatoes every day, or love garlic and stewed pork, but there are not so many centenarians, which is also difficult to explain by diet. It can be seen that the effect of delaying aging is not necessarily brought about by some special "anti-aging foods".

What Anti-Aging Foods Have in Common

However, it cannot be ignored that all centenarians have one thing in common : they eat fresh and natural food and rarely eat highly processed food; they never overeat , never eat or drink too much, engage in moderate physical activity all year round, and maintain a suitable weight. Perhaps these behaviors are the real secret to anti-aging. In a sense, as long as it is a natural food rich in multiple nutrients and active ingredients, it has an "anti-aging" effect to a certain extent. Centenarians follow traditional lifestyles and cooking methods , and consume these foods in a balanced and appropriate amount in their diet, so they can fully enjoy the health effects of natural foods.

Modern people's dietary misunderstandings

In contrast, modern people have an abundance of food, but have fewer and fewer opportunities to consume food in its natural state, and therefore fewer and fewer opportunities to obtain anti-aging ingredients. Everyone can understand that the same food may have very different physiological effects after different storage, processing and cooking processes. The same corn, if made into puffed food , its nutritional effect will be greatly reduced, and even harmful to health;

The same walnuts , if they are no longer fresh, will suffer a heavy loss of vitamin E; the same peanuts , if fried, will not only lose antioxidant components but also bring about high-temperature oxidation polymerization products of oil; the same sweet potatoes , if made into fried potato chips, will also introduce toxins such as benzopyrene and acrylamide; the same green leafy vegetables , if cooked in a greasy way, will not only increase calories but also lose the function of dietary fiber in cleaning the human intestines. At this point, these "anti-aging foods" can no longer bring the actual benefits of delaying aging.

A study by the American nutrition community shows that nuts can significantly reduce the incidence of cardiovascular disease, but giving people the same dose of vitamin E supplements does not have the same effect as eating nuts directly. Similarly, eating more fruits and vegetables can prevent cancer, but giving people carotene or supplementing with artificially extracted dietary fiber cannot achieve this effect.