Best Foods to Fight Aging

Part of aging gracefully is loving the skin you’re in and what better way to show love than with the foods you eat. Skip the expensive beauty products and make a trip to your local Natural Foods store for these anti-aging foods:

Blueberries: Just one serving delivers more antioxidants than any other fruit or vegetable out there. Antioxidants help protect our skin from sun damage while also preventing wrinkles in the process.

Cod fish: We all know how great fish is for our health, but in addition to having omega-3 fatty acids, which helps fight depression and cancer to name a few, cod contains anti-aging properties, such as selenium – a natural skin protectant.

Cucumbers: With the highest water content of any food and loaded with silica (in the peel), cucumbers are guaranteed to plump up your fine lines and wrinkles. Whenever you can, purchase unwaxed cucumbers so that you can actually consume the peel.

Avocado: Rich in biotin and monounsaturated fats, avocados are great for your skin, hair, and nails.

Pomegranate seeds: The juice in pomegranate seeds contains ellagic and punic acids – they both fight sun damage and preserve the skin’s collagen.

Turmeric: Consider turmeric a regular must-have. It been shown to help prevent cancer, and it contains curcuminoid pigments that turn on genes that enhance the body's own synthesis of antioxidants. Turmeric also protects brain cells and skin cells from free radical damage, improving concentration and slowing the formation of wrinkles and fine lines.

Turmeric's warm peppery flavor adds depth to smoothies, vegetables, and eggs. Add a dash of ground turmeric to an almond milk, banana, and raw honey smoothie, pan-fry organic eggs in coconut oil and toss in ground turmeric, or sauté kale in coconut oil and turmeric.

Hemp Seeds: Before you shriek and hide from tie-dye and Birkenstocks, relax. Hemp seeds are actually good for your skin. They help improve firmness and radiance. They're also the only edible source of gamma-linoleic-acid (GLA), an anti-inflammatory omega-6 fat, which forms part of the membrane that surrounds skin cells. Finally, hemp seeds contain 15 grams of protein per three tablespoons, making it an ideal protein source for individuals following a plant-based diet. The protein also helps to synthesize collagen and elastin, keeping skin firm and supple.

Eat hemp seeds raw as heat will destroy their delicate oils. Toss them over a kale and avocado salad, add them to a mango smoothie for an extra protein boost, or make a raw tabouli salad with hemp seeds, parsley, tomatoes, and lime juice.

Chlorophyll: Need to atone for everything? Welcome to the antidote to your dietary sins. If you drink coffee, chlorophyll helps to negate its acidity. If you drink alcohol, it helps metabolize alcohol faster. If you eat non-organic produce or fish high in mercury, it helps remove these toxins. If you don't do any of these things (Good for you!), it simply enhances your own vitality. Chlorophyll is the green pigment in all green plants, but can be bought in a concentrated liquid form made from nettles or mulberry leaves.

Make chlorophyll water by mixing three tablespoons of chlorophyll to 32 ounces of filtered water. Flavor the drink by adding cucumber and fresh mint. Alternatively, make a green tea smoothie with almond milk, matcha green tea, avocado, chlorophyll, vanilla, and cardamom.


Organic Dark Chocolate: Why is Dark Chocolate Healthy?

Chocolate is made from plants, which means it contains many of the health benefits of dark vegetables as part of your anti-aging diet. These benefits are from flavonoids, which act as antioxidants. Antioxidants protect the body from aging caused by free radicals, which can cause damage that leads to heart disease. Dark chocolate contains a large number of antioxidants (nearly 8 times the number found in strawberries). Flavonoids also help relax blood pressure through the production of nitric oxide, and balance certain hormones in the body.

In fact, cocoa and chocolate products have been used as medicine in many cultures for centuries.




Buy organic!
Laurel ♥