\n<\/p>\n
One of the challenges with the sheer availability of food in today\u2019s world is that lots of us end up spending many of our waking hours eating. Whether it\u2019s full meals, snacks or desserts, scientists have found that it\u2019s not uncommon for us to be mindlessly grazing at some point during all of our 16 or so waking hours.<\/p>\n
The problem? As soon as this food hits the bloodstream in the form of glucose, it initiates the release of the hormone insulin. This in turn activates a switch present in every one of our cells, which is responsible for driving cell growth and proliferation.<\/p>\n
We need this mechanism to survive, but too much cell proliferation can be a bad thing. It leads to more random mutations in your DNA and, over time, a greater likelihood of cancer, as well as fuelling the growth of a damaging form of internal fat known as visceral fat.<\/p>\n
As Eric Verdin, president and CEO of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging in Novato, California, points out, our bodies need time away from eating to have a chance to focus on repair. He says: \u201cThere is a lot of evidence for this \u2013 12 hours fasting and repairing, and 12 hours eating and building is more conducive to healthy ageing.\u201d<\/p>\n
You may not have heard of advanced glycation end products, or AGEs, but these toxins are responsible for pretty much every aspect of the ageing process that we\u2019re familiar with, including wrinkles, stiffness, cataracts, loss of heart elasticity and even Alzheimer\u2019s disease.<\/p>\n
double quotation markTwo of the biggest dietary features associated with immune ageing are higher consumption of saturated fat and lower consumption of fibre<\/p>\n
AGEs are formed during a chemical process called glycation, where sugars in the body react with proteins or fats. They\u2019re best known for turning collagen \u2013 the protein that gives our skin its youthful elasticity \u2013 into a drier, stiffer form. \u201cAGEs change protein structure and, at the same time, cause a large amount of inflammation,\u201d says Jaime Uribarri, a kidney doctor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, and one of the world\u2019s leading experts on AGEs.<\/p>\n
Glycation happens more often when there\u2019s an excess of sugar in the bloodstream, which occurs when we eat sweets containing a rapidly absorbed simple sugar called fructose or easily digestible refined carbohydrates such as white rice, white pasta and pizza dough.<\/p>\n
AGEs can also be created within foods \u2013 particularly those containing a lot of protein and fat, such as meat, cheese and fish \u2013 when they are grilled, barbecued or fried at high temperatures. Researchers such as Uribarri are concerned about the long-term health impacts of eating lots of bacon, for example, as one of his studies found that just three slices of bacon fried for five minutes contain 91,577 AGEs, compared to just 23 AGEs in a tomato.<\/p>\n
To limit the accumulation of AGEs in our bodies, it\u2019s recommended to eat more whole grains such as brown rice, while Uribarri suggests trying to do more slow-cooking and stewing rather than grilling.<\/p>\n
Saturated fat \u2013 mostly found in animal products such as red meat, cheese and ice-cream \u2013 is broken down into ceramides. These have been shown to be capable of reprogramming immune cells in the gut into a more inflammatory state. This can lead to the gut wall becoming more leaky or permeable, making it more likely that microbes and toxic metabolites could leach into the bloodstream. Over time, this can accelerate the ageing of the immune system.<\/p>\n
The good news? Scientists have found that our guts can handle a certain amount of saturated fat, as long as we\u2019re also consuming sufficient amounts of fibre and omega-3s, for example from oily fish. These foods actively help to resolve gut inflammation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve found that two of the biggest dietary features associated with immune ageing are higher consumption of saturated fat and lower consumption of fibre,\u201d says Niharika Duggal, an assistant professor in the University of Birmingham\u2019s department of inflammation and ageing. Scientists specialising in ageing say we should be consuming the equivalent of 1g of omega-3s per day \u2013 which could be achieved by eating one mackerel fillet or two to three salmon fillets once a week \u2013 as well as at least 40g of fibre (present in whole grains and legumes).<\/p>\n
<\/span> Photograph: Agata Pec\/The Guardian<\/p>\n If you\u2019re interested in wellness, you\u2019ve likely come across NAD+, a molecule that plays a critical role in how our cells generate and manage energy. While there\u2019s now a vast industry based around NAD+ supplements, our bodies make it naturally when we consume vitamin B3, found in foods such as turkey, tuna and anchovies.<\/p>\n This is just one example of the importance of optimising your intake of B vitamins to age well. The body uses them to make chemicals called methyl donors, which give it the ability to turn certain genes on or off at the right times. For example, ensuring that certain key tumour suppressor genes are kept turned on, defending us against cancer. Without sufficient methyl donors, this process becomes less well controlled as we age.<\/p>\n Not getting enough vitamin B12, which is found in foods such as salmon, tuna, beef, eggs and dairy products, can also make you more likely to develop a leaky gut, and even precipitate memory loss and slower brain processing speeds. This is one of the reasons why, if you\u2019re over 50 and experiencing signs of cognitive decline, it\u2019s particularly important to ensure you\u2019re not deficient in vitamin B12.<\/p>\n We all need a certain amount of protein in our diet, but balance is everything. In recent years, epidemiologists have become increasingly concerned that too many people are getting a high dietary acid load from their food.<\/p>\n This is essentially because we tend to consume a lot of protein, added salt and phosphoric acid (a common preservative and flavour enhancer in ultra-processed foods), which the body metabolises into acidic substances. However, we tend not to eat sufficient dietary potassium \u2013 which we can get from various fruits, vegetables and dried herbs (the drying process helps concentrate the minerals present) \u2013 to counterbalance all these acids.<\/p>\n double quotation markAgeing researchers advise us to focus on eating twice as much fruit and vegetables as protein with each meal<\/p>\n This places increasing stress on the kidneys, the body\u2019s main acidity regulator, and over many years this has been linked with a variety of chronic health conditions. \u201cAs your kidneys fail, your ability to get rid of these acids goes down, so the problem gets progressively worse,\u201d says Lynda Frassetto, a kidney specialist and a professor at the University of California, San Francisco.<\/p>\n Ageing researchers advise us to focus on eating twice as much fruit and vegetables as protein with each meal.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a very good argument to suggest that omega-3s \u2013 found in oily fish and available as relatively low-cost supplements \u2013 are one of the most potent anti-ageing tools of all.<\/p>\n As well as helping resolve gut inflammation caused by saturated fat, they are involved in numerous health-promoting functions around our body, from maintaining brain and heart health to retuning the immune system. They\u2019re even involved in regulating muscle mass across the course of your life. Ageing science has shown that getting enough omega-3s can prevent an age-related condition called anabolic resistance, which impairs our body\u2019s ability to build new muscle fibres from dietary protein, accelerating the onset of frailty.<\/p>\n While consuming the equivalent of 1g of omega-3s per day has been linked with slowing biological ageing, most of us don\u2019t come close to getting enough.<\/p>\n Alzheimer\u2019s Research UK has previously highlighted studies showing that people who consume more phytochemicals \u2013 found in brightly coloured fruits and vegetables \u2013 are at a lower risk of cognitive decline.<\/p>\n Take passion fruit, for example. Two years ago, I attended a conference where Norwegian ageing scientists presented data suggesting that regularly consuming these fruits may be protective against brain ageing. Similar discoveries have been made relating to pomegranates, strawberries, grapefruit, tomatoes and various teas.<\/p>\n But why? Ageing experts believe that when our bodies metabolise these fruits, they may rev up the brain\u2019s immune cells, prompting them to work more efficiently to clear toxins and promote repair.<\/p>\n Finally, think about when you tend to eat your biggest meal of the day. If that\u2019s dinner \u2013 as is the case for most people \u2013 you may want to try switching to a bigger breakfast or lunch and a smaller evening meal, at least some of the time.<\/p>\n When we eat big meals at night, it\u2019s not only more disruptive for our sleep \u2013 a vital time for our body to carry out important repair \u2013 but we\u2019re also consuming a large number of calories at a time when our metabolism is at its most sluggish.<\/p>\n \u201cOur insulin sensitivity is much better in the first half of the day,\u201d says Satchin Panda, a professor at the Salk Institute in San Diego, California. \u201cThis allows us to manage [the blood sugar rise after eating a meal] much better.\u201d<\/p>\n Dr Cox\u2019s perfect longevity menu<\/strong><\/p>\n This menu is low calorie and nutrient dense. It concentrates the protein-heavy meals in the first half of the day, when your metabolism is at its most efficient. It contains two portions of leafy greens, which are rich in vitamin K and also important for minimising dietary acid load. The lunchtime mackerel will provide a heavy dose of omega-3s, and the walnut snack will provide other micronutrients. Finally, it contains 40-50g of fibre, which will help nourish your gut and immune system.<\/p>\n Breakfast Lunch Dinner Snack <\/span> Photograph: Agata Pec\/The Guardian<\/p>\n The Age Code by David Cox is published by HarperCollins <\/em>at \u00a322<\/em>. To <\/em>support the Guardian, order your copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" You\u2019re eating all day long One of the challenges with the sheer availability of food in today\u2019s world is that lots of us end up spending many of our waking hours eating. Whether it\u2019s full meals, snacks or desserts, scientists have found that it\u2019s not uncommon for us to be mindlessly grazing at some point<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":48716,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[4754,2003,1725,37,445,6200],"class_list":{"0":"post-48715","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-ageing","9":"tag-diet","10":"tag-food","11":"tag-health","12":"tag-thought","13":"tag-wellbeing"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48715","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=48715"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48715\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/48716"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=48715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=48715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=48715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}You\u2019re not getting enough B vitamins<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Your diet is too acidic<\/strong><\/h2>\n
You\u2019re consuming too few healthy fats<\/strong><\/h2>\n
You\u2019re missing out on<\/strong> immune-stimulating phytochemicals<\/strong><\/h2>\n
You\u2019re eating too much at night<\/strong><\/h2>\n
So what should I eat?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
<\/strong>Egg, spinach and mushroom muffins (or you could try these savoury muffins<\/em>)<\/p>\n
<\/strong>Smoked mackerel salad (try Nigel Slater\u2019s version<\/em>)<\/p>\n
<\/strong>Chickpea, spinach and coconut curry with brown rice, served with cauliflower (Check out Rukmini Iyer\u2019s twist<\/em>)<\/p>\n
<\/strong>1 medium pear with 3 tbsp walnut halves. Two cups of green tea<\/p>\n