Eternal Youth

In the name of feeling like a kid again, I listened to a TED talk the other day on aging. It was fascinating and shed some light on the whole process. We all do it. You’re doing it right now! Some people do it faster that others… but why? 
Can it be stopped? As long as you’re alive, probably not. It is the process of living that actually causes aging. Let me explain more…

 The short answer to ‘what is aging’ is simply… METABOLISM. The long answer is more involved. My explanation will fall somewhere in the middle :)

 

Aging seems to be an accumulation of metabolic waste/toxins. If you’re anything like me, your first thought might be “great! I’ll just avoid anything toxic and I’ll officially be Benjamin Buttoning”. Toxins, however, are everywhere. Even in a bubble with fresh air and fresh water your body will be exposed to toxins. The very process of being outside in the sunlight, eating and digesting food and even breathing, creates toxins. First, let's quickly differentiate between digestion and metabolism. 

 In digestion, excrement is created by your GI tract. During the actual act of metabolism (appropriately distributing and dispelling things from the body) metabolic byproduct is created- specifically free radicals. If you eat foods that are very simple to digest, you will likely have a more simple GI excretion. You metabolism will still be running and producing the same toxins (free radicals) that it would if you were eating a cheese burger with fries. The difference is with, say, fruit, your metabolism is only working for a fraction of time to excrete the waste (30 minutes), while with a burger and fries, your metabolism is working overtime to do so (it takes 4 hours+!!). So, more free radicals as opposed to less. SO, more compounds that age the body as opposed to LESS. 

The other benefit from healthy, low gastrointestinal impact eating, ie fruits and veggies, is that they contain elements that combat this metabolic byproduct. Free radicals wreak havoc in the body by stealing electrons from other elements and creating imbalance. They limit cells from regenerating and carrying out their essential functions. Overtime, their accumulation leads to many age associated diseases like cancer, Alzheimer's and more. Phytochemicals (antioxidants are phytochemicals), which are found in abundance in fruits and vegetables, counter the effects of free radicals. Essentially, they diffuse these little time bombs. 

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What’s really amazing to think about is that before the food industry and the availability of fast, 'anytime' snacks and meals we were really just surrounded by vegetation. Fruits and vegetables. The perfect match for our bodies. Where our digestion creates toxins, this food balances things out. Meat does not do this, dairy does not do this, grains do it on a much smaller scale. Fresh fruits and vegetables literally complement our metabolism in a yin and yang way that creates a clear cut answer to what foods are best suited for humans.

So back to aging. As I mentioned before, even if you eliminate toxins from your world completely (very difficult to do), your body will still naturally produce them just by being alive and metabolizing. Keep in mind that you’re metabolizing right now. Your skin metabolizes the sun, turning it into vitamin D. Your intestines and stomach metabolize water. Your lungs, effectively, are metabolizing oxygen into CO2 RIGHT NOW. As we speak, you are creating free radicals in your body and you are aging.

Knowing all of this, we can again ask the question: can we stop the aging process? The answer- no. Not as long as we are living as this is by definition active metabolism. Not all hope is lost for you youth seekers. We CAN slow down the process. Yes, we can eliminate unnecessary toxins like perfumes, dyes, lotions, beauty products, exposure to chemicals and the like. We can also work on limiting our own metabolic waste in two ways. The first, quite simply, is by eating healthy foods. When we eat foods that don’t challenge and prolong the digestive process, our metabolism is not overly active and does not create excessive byproducts. For example, it will take your body about 30 minutes to fully metabolize one, 100 calorie, banana. If you choose 100 calories of red meat, it will take your body about 4 hours to fully metabolize the same amount of food. Without the fiber and water content of fruit, meat is sluggish in our system and requires much more metabolic work to be passed through. The whole time your body is metabolizing it is creating metabolic ‘exhaust’.

The second way to limit metabolic waste can be controversial, but I assure you, it’s normal and in fact healthy. It is what every doctor, dietician, naturopath and grandparent has been telling us to do all along. Eat when you are hungry and stop when you are full. Just like that. By choosing nutrient dense fruits and vegetables, not only are you limiting the amount of time your body takes to metabolize food, but you are also providing the most nutrients possible in fewer calories which stimulate the metabolism for the shortest amount of time. You can achieve maximum nutrition without over eating, which is the goal of a healthy metabolism.

All of the longest lived cultures around the world follow this practice. They eat predominantly plants and in moderation. Over eating is not subscribed to by any of the world’s “Blue Zones” (longevity hotspots throughout the world). The grains they eat are very easy to digest (rice) and meat/animal products are a once-a-week indulgence at best. Many of these cultures shun over eating. It is a sign of gluttony and leads to poor health. The Okinawans, for example, have an age old phase “hara hatchi bu”… eat until you are 80% full.  Sometimes this might be a lot, and some days, a little. The point is that they are listening to their bodies, not their cravings.

There it is. Your abbreviated guide to eternal physical youth. To recap, the secret formula seems to be as follows:

1.       Avoid external toxins if you can.

2.       Choose foods that are quick to metabolize to limit the amount of natural toxins that are produced.

3.       Choose foods that contain antioxidants to combat the natural effects and toxins of metabolism.

4.       Avoid over eating or eating when you are not hungry. This adds unnecessary metabolic stress and creates unnecessary metabolic toxins.

Cheers!