Balanced diet for anti-aging

A balanced diet is currently one of the core anti-aging methods with the lowest cost, no side effects, and the most abundant evidence-based evidence. Its effect on delaying aging of internal functions can never be replaced by external products.

In the past two years, I helped several friends who are over 35 years old in the Internet industry adjust their diet. One of them is a girl who works in operations. She used to stay up late every day to catch up on projects, and every meal was milk tea and spicy hot pot. The C-reactive protein (inflammation indicator) on the physical examination report was more than twice as high. Her face was always sallow, and her nasolabial folds were deep and she looked five years older than her peers. They just adjusted her diet without asking her to take any supplements or go on a diet. Three months later, she went for a physical examination. The inflammation index dropped directly to the normal range. Colleagues in the same department all asked her if she had secretly taken Thermage.

Of course, when it comes to anti-aging through diet, there are quite a lot of differences between different academic schools and folk practices. For example, the Mediterranean diet pattern, which is endorsed by the most research data, has been rated as the best dietary structure for ten consecutive years. Decade-long cohort studies have also confirmed that people who adhere to the Mediterranean diet for a long time have a 30% lower risk of cardiovascular disease and a 25% slower rate of cognitive decline. The real anti-aging effect is here. But from my experience, there are very few ordinary people who can persist for a long time. After all, they are required to eat virgin olive oil every day and eat deep-sea fish three or four times a week. For inland salary-earners, both the purchase cost and the cooking difficulty are a bit high. There are many people who insist on eating for two months and then give up.

There is also the calorie restriction pie that has been popular for many years. To put it bluntly, it means eating 70% to 80% full. Long-term calorie restriction in the laboratory can extend the life span of mice by 30%. It sounds very tempting, but when it is actually applied to humans, there are many side effects. I have seen many little girls eat less than half a bowl of rice at a time in order to fight against aging, and dare not touch carbohydrates. After half a year, their aunt ran away, lost their hair, and turned gray. The fight against aging was not seen, and the body collapsed first. Not to mention the now popular 16+8 intermittent fasting. Some people say they have very good energy during the day after eating, and they don’t have to worry about it at work. Some people are so hungry that they feel dizzy in the afternoon and can’t even concentrate in meetings. Individual differences are so huge that there is no “standard answer that suits everyone”.

I have been doing nutritional consulting for so long. To be honest, my advice to ordinary people has never been based on strict academic standards. If you can really stick to a balanced diet for a long time to resist aging, there are not so many restrictions. The core thing is: don’t let your body be in a state of chronic inflammation for a long time. Don’t think that “inflammation” is a big deal. If you drink milk tea and eat high-fat takeaways every day, you have recurring acne on your face, are prone to constipation, and are inexplicably tired in the afternoon, these are actually mild manifestations of chronic inflammation. If you leave it alone for a long time, it will accelerate the oxidative damage of cells. Of course, you will age faster than others.

A girl told me before that she ate cold salad every day in order to resist aging. She insisted on having period pain for two months and had to take leave. Later, I asked her to replace raw green leafy vegetables with blanched ones, add two slices of ginger in winter, replace half of the white rice with whole grains such as oats and quinoa, and eat deep-sea fish twice a week. You see, there is no need to copy Western dietary patterns, what is most important is what suits your own physique.

There is also a very controversial statement on the Internet, saying that animal protein will accelerate aging, and you must be vegetarian to be healthy. I have to say, this statement is really too absolute. Indeed, studies have shown that excessive red meat intake can increase inflammation levels. It is a good thing for young people to appropriately reduce red meat and eat more white meat and soy products, such as high-quality protein. However, for those over 65 years old, insufficient protein intake will accelerate muscle loss. After suffering from sarcopenia, they will have difficulty walking and their immunity will decline, which will make them age faster. My grandma is 78 years old. She used to be afraid of eating meat because she had high blood fat. She fell down twice a year. Later, she listened to me and told me to eat an egg every day, half a catty of milk, and a piece of chicken breast every two days. Now she can go downstairs for a walk and visit the vegetable market without any problem, and her energy level is much better than before.

Don’t think of a balanced diet too complicated. You don’t need to go through any fancy anti-aging meals when you get home from work. You can prepare a qualified meal in 15 minutes: steam the multigrain rice in advance and freeze it in the refrigerator. Take it out and heat it for two minutes. Pan-fry pangasius, stir-fry broccoli, and add a small orange. The cost is only a dozen yuan, which is much healthier than ordering a heavy oil takeaway that costs 30 or 40 yuan. There is no need to ask yourself to eat this way every day. Four or five meals a week are enough. It is perfectly fine to go out with friends to have hot pot and a cup of milk tea on the weekend. After all, a good mood is also part of anti-aging. If you worry about what you eat every day, you will be stressed and accelerate aging, which is not worth the gain.

Many people always ask me if there is any shortcut to anti-aging. To be honest, there is really no shortcut. The anti-aging supplements you spend thousands of dollars on are of no use if they are high in sugar and oil. A balanced diet is easy to say, but it is really effective if you stick to it. If you stick to it for half a year, you can feel the changes when you look in the mirror and touch your own condition. It is more reliable than any fancy concept.