Many anti-aging products are all about firming skin and minimizing wrinkles. But how you age on the inside is way more important. Even if you already take a yoga class and have forced yourself to eat more kale, there are so many simple habits that can help.
Dr. Lucia Aronica, a Stanford lecturer and researcher specializes in educating others on how to understand their unique genetic makeup to live their best lifestyle. You might say she knows the secret to slowing the aging process. Or even reversing it.
The end result? You live longer and feel better while you do it. It starts by incorporating these habits into your lifestyle little by little.
Too much highly processed food, like processed snack foods, deli meats and anything else with a lengthy list of unpronounceable ingredients can negatively impact heart health and lifespan.
There's no need to go completely plant-based to improve your heart health. Just replace red meat with oily fish, lean cuts of meat or vegetarian meals with lots of high-protein beans and legumes, such as lentils, white beans, black beans and garbanzo beans.
The more fresh, whole foods you eat, the better. Even swapping out red meat a few times a week will help.
Are you ready for this? A mocha cookie crumble frappuccino at Starbucks contains a cringe-worthy 54 grams of sugar. None of their other blended drinks are much better, and even a flavored latte can push your daily sugar intake over the recommended limit. The same goes for sodas and sweetened ice teas.
The American Heart Association recommends keeping your sugar intake under 32 grams per day for women and 36 grams per day for men. Artificial sweeteners can also increase cravings for sugar, so it's best to limit diet drinks as well.
Even if you think you're eating healthy foods, like whole grain cereals and wheat bread, so many products on U.S. shelves contain added sugar. Ketchup, salad dressing, bottled smoothies, peanut butter, dried fruit and granola bars all hide a surprising amount of added sugar.
Since elevated sugar intake contributes to weight gain, high blood pressure and chronic inflammation, knowing how much sugar you're really eating each day is a must.
Don't buy into marketing gimmicks. No matter how fit the woman on the label looks, check the list of ingredients and nutrition facts on the back. Even prepackaged soups can have added sugar.
Keep your eyes peeled, and look for products with little, if any, added sugar. It's also a good idea to avoid products with more than five ingredients on the label.