Researchers have long studied caloric restriction and other anti-aging diet modalities that extend lifespan and healthspan in laboratory animals for nearly 100 years. Such diets may offer evolutionary conserved mechanisms of action with potential to extend healthy lifespan in humans.
These results demonstrate the potential to alter biological age through diet. Diets rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and legumes while lacking trans fats, sodium, sugary beverages or red or processed meats could prove more effective at decreasing aging than others.
1. Eat a Healthy Diet
As the old saying goes, “you are what you eat.” Not only are some delicious foods filled with powerful antioxidants that provide powerful health benefits, they may also contain powerful anti-inflammatories to eliminate free radicals and inflammation in the body and thus protect blood vessels against damage that could otherwise lead to heart disease or strokes as well as promote healthy skin and strengthen the immune system.
Dieting to ensure optimal health involves eating a diet low in sugar, salt, saturated fat and trans fats. A nutritious diet should consist of plenty of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy and protein sources such as lean meats, beans, nuts and seeds as well as low levels of added sugars and sodium (salt).
Researchers used longitudinal questionnaire data to examine the relationship between eight dietary patterns and healthy aging among 105,015 people over 30 years of follow up. Healthy aging was defined as living to age 70 without chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes or arthritis.
Findings showed that following a healthy eating pattern was associated with greater odds of healthy aging, while diets high in ultraprocessed food and eating away from home had lower odds. Furthermore, women experienced greater benefits from following such diets.
Studies on the anti-aging effects of food have generally fallen into two broad categories: caloric restriction (CR) and iso-caloric nutrient restriction. Some diets, like intermittent fasting and fasting-mimicking diets, fall under this latter category as participants consume 20-40% fewer calories than control groups; other diets like Mediterranean cuisine (rich in healthy fats) can more accurately be described as iso-caloric nutrient restrictions.
2. Exercise Regularly
Are You Seeking an Anti-Aging Strategy? Exercise could be just the solution! Studies have proven that regular physical activity can slow the natural aging process and even reverse some effects, improving mood, sleep quality and energy levels along the way. Furthermore, exercising regularly reduces heart disease risk as well as diabetes risk while improving bone density while helping you to achieve and maintain a healthier weight.
Researchers recently conducted a groundbreaking study where they revealed how consistent aerobic exercise could rejuvenate muscle stem cells in mice, and potentially humans as well. This could potentially pave the way to drugs which reverse aging processes in people. However, note that its effect can quickly dissipate after even just one week of inactivity; so sustained exercise should remain key for maximum benefits.
Anti-aging exercises that work best are squats, standing calf raises and climbing stairs. These exercises target all parts of the lower body – such as the hamstrings, glutes and quadriceps muscles – as well as strengthening bones, improving balance and coordination and providing greater endurance levels compared to natural aging processes.
3. Get Enough Sleep
Sleep is an integral component of an anti-ageing strategy, and should be managed accordingly. Achieve optimal health requires maintaining consistent bedtimes and wake-up times with enough restful quality restful sleep every night to maintain proper bodily functioning. Sleep has been demonstrated to increase muscle mass, decrease age-related muscle loss (sarcopenia), improve glucose tolerance, decrease inflammation and positively influence biomarkers associated with biological aging; additionally consuming plant foods rich in sulforaphanes and carotenoids which promote muscle health while decreasing inflammation can help delay biological aging processes as well.
4. Reduce Stress
Long-term chronic stress has devastating repercussions for your mental and physical wellbeing, increasing illness rates and hastening cellular aging processes. Furthermore, studies have discovered that prolonged severe stress increases biological age while making us feel older than we actually are.
Under pressure, your body releases adrenaline which helps you remain focused and strong during an emergency situation. But long-term stress can increase cortisol levels which in turn break down collagen, impair skin elasticity and promote wrinkles – leading to early mortality rates as well.
Glycation, or sugar’s effect on proteins, can contribute to stress-induced glycation – ineffective proteins become sticky with sugar which causes their effectiveness to dwindle over time and contributes to cell damage and aging. You can reduce stress by opting for foods low in sugar while limiting processed food consumption; drinking green tea contains antioxidants which protect against oxidative stress while helping you sleep better at night.
Eating healthily can reverse aging by slowing the rate of biological aging and helping you feel younger. The key is following a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, unsaturated fats, nuts and legumes while cutting back on trans fats, sodium intake, sugary beverages and red or processed meats – as research conducted by Cell has found this group has lower risks of healthy aging.
5. Drink Water
As is widely recognized, drinking enough water is vital to good health. But some may be surprised to discover that proper hydration could actually slow or reverse the aging process – studies show those who drink more water tend to have lower risks of chronic diseases and die younger than those who don’t drink as much h2O.
National Institutes of Health study published in eBioMedicine examined fluid intake by 11,000 people over 30 years. Their researchers discovered that those with higher levels of sodium (which increases as hydration levels decline) are more likely to suffer from diabetes, heart disease, lung disease and inflammation – making sodium an “indicia of biological aging associated with increased risks of premature mortality and burden of chronic disease,” according to an NIH release.
People with serum sodium levels greater than 142mEq/L had a 39% increased risk of biologically outliving their chronological age; those with lower serum sodium levels had 21% reduced risk. Although this study is observational in nature, previous laboratory research has demonstrated that restricting water intake shortens mouse lifespans and causes organ damage.
To stay hydrated, aim to drink at least eight cups of water daily as part of a balanced lifestyle that also includes coffee, tea, milk, juice and sports beverages. For added flavor you could try cucumber, lemon or lime slices and strawberry fruit pieces in your water to customize its taste according to Campbell. She advises taking advantage of morning bathroom trips so as to stay on track with daily hydration goals throughout the day.
