Anti-aging Nutrition: Beat the Clock with These Drinks
With no proven effective way of stopping the aging process, those of us concerned with the toll time takes on our body’s functioning and features have to turn to how we care for our body to slow the process. While there may be no magic potion, there are drinks you can make part of your nutrition plan that will provide anti-aging properties, strengthen the body and offer beauty benefit as well. Here are three that are hot in 2017, and for good reason: they deliver antioxidant and healing properties that improve your immune system and benefit your skin, nails and hair.
Bone Broth
Bone broth is enjoying a moment in the spotlight, but we’ve always known it to be a drink that offers healing and strengthening properties: remember your grandmother’s chicken noodle soup? Chances are that delicious broth was made by boiling chicken bones to release the beneficial marrow from inside.
Bone broth’s rich mineral composition strengthens the immune system. It contains beneficial collagen, which helps heal the lining of the gut and which strengthens and improves your skin and hair. Bone broth also contains a healthy serving of glycine, proline and glutamine. Glycine has been shown to slow the effect of aging. Proline supports the production of collagen, which aids in tightening the skin to avoid wrinkles. Glutamine helps remove toxins from the body, supports the immune system and aids the body in producing an essential antioxidant. As we age, our store of glutamine can deplete and when the body needs to tap into reserves, it has a drying effect that can be seen in the tone of our skin (muscle tissue thins, skin loses elasticity).
Red Wine
If a glass of wine at the end of a workday is your go-to for relaxation, you will rejoice in the news that a glass of red wine is actually good for you - from lowering cholesterol, supporting your heart to fighting cancer and stabilizing blood sugar. Red wine also has anti-aging benefits, thanks to it’s healthy dose of antioxidants called polyphenols, like resveratrol. Resveratrol acts to protect the body from damage by engaging a healthy inflammatory response, which can act to protect the skin from the effects of aging. Some of the effects of red wine can also be found in the very reason we turn to it after a long day: putting your feet up with a glass promotes relaxation. Stress has a lot of impact on the tone of our skin, and health of all our organs. So raise a glass, but be sure to practice moderation: one glass a day for women is recommended, and two glass for men.
Collagen Protein Powder
You may be familiar with collagen in skin care products for improving tone and suppleness. Ingestible collagen powder also has similar effects. Collagen is an insoluble protein, the most abundant in the human body and what holds the whole body together. As we age, our body’s production of collagen slows and the effects of aging can be directly tied to this reduced output - wrinkles, sagging skin. Women who consumed collagen once a day for eight weeks saw notable improvement in their skin’s elasticity and moisture. By fighting the loss of elasticity, collagen can also reduce cellulite and stretch marks.
Collagen is found in bone broth, but can also be ingested in a power form. This can be dissolved in warm or cold drinks for easy consumption.
Fight time with these powerful elixirs and reap the rewards of that glow from the inside out. Drink up to better aging!