Is Your Food Ageing You?
Ageing, another
reason to watch what you eat!
Would you like
some more free radicals with your lunch...? There is
frequent mention these days about 'free radicals' and how
they are constantly attacking the body, causing potentially
serious damage. A free radical is the name for a molecule
that has an unpaired electron. They are a normal by-product
of metabolism and without them you would die.
To put the record
straight, it's the over-production of free radicals that
causes damage to the body. We are advised by nutritional
experts to eat plenty of fruit and vegetables.
This is because
they are rich in antioxidant phytonutrients....substances
that neutralise free radicals and so help protect the body.
One of the
essential tasks of free radicals is in producing energy from
the food you eat. Every time you eat, free radical activity
is intense. The more food you eat, the more free radicals
are formed....and the more antioxidants your body needs to
neutralise them. Big meals are big trouble!
Effective
Antioxidants include vitamins A, C, E; minerals such as
selenium, zinc, and herbs such as aloe vera and grape-seed
extract.
Carbohydrates
and Ageing
Carbohydrates are
root vegetables, pasta, rice, bread, grains, fruit,
pastries, cakes, biscuits, crisps, sweets etc. They are easy
to prepare, filling, tasty and cheap. Most meals are
dominated by carbohydrates, as most of us 'full up' on them.
When you eat carbohydrates you're eating a form of sugar.
Carbohydrates are converted by the body into glucose, which
is either used immediately for energy, or stored in fat
cells.
Carbohydrates
make up an excessive proportion of the diet, add together a
lack of exercise and excess sugar and the inevitable result
is excess weight.
By reducing your
overall carbohydrate intake and reducing the size of your
meals, you reduce your body's exposure to free radical
activity, and, the amount of excess food that gets stored as
unwanted fat. A double bonus!
|
Big meals are too much stress... |
Think about your meals over the
last week... |
|
Food is in abundance - look around the supermarket shelves at
the food mountain! Fill your trolley, take it home and fill
your kitchen cupboards - fill your plate and fill your stomach
till you can barely move... How many times a week do you
overeat? How many free radicals are attacking your body and
accelerating the ageing process? You could choose to eat
less. |
Better still,
keep a food diary for the next week, record each meal by
drawing a plate divided up showing how much protein,
carbohydrate, fat, vegetables and fruit you eat at each
meal/snack. After a week you'll be able to see for yourself
how much sugar you are eating. |
- Source:
Herbalife Today Magazine |
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Weigh up the evidence on fad diets!