Nutrients that Delay Aging
As you age, your body's ability to process nutrients decreases, which means you need to increase your intake of certain vitamins and minerals to stay strong and healthy, and to delay the signs of aging.
While you can get your vitamins and minerals in supplements, your best sources are fresh fruits and vegetables. They provide these nutrients to your body in a more potent form, and your body absorbs more than it would from supplements. Because juice offers a fresh, concentrated version of nutrients, juicing is one of the best ways to fight aging.
Contrary to common knowledge, the action of free radicals isn't all unhealthy. Most of it is generated by many normal, life-sustaining biochemical reactions that are usually quickly neutralized by the body's built-in free radical scavenging compounds. Only when they multiply out of control do free radicals pose a threat to health and longevity.
Fortunately, by consuming an adequate amount of antioxidants in fresh fruit and vegetable juice, you can ward off the free radical damage that causes chronic degenerative diseases and premature aging. The best known antioxidants for fighting free radicals include vitamins A, C, and E; alpha lipoic acid; and carotenoids.
Those Amazing CarotenoidsMany fruits and vegetables get their vibrant yellow, orange, and red hues from nutrients called carotenoids, the nutrients in plants that are responsible for their color. They include carotenes, which are found in yellow and orange vegetables, and zanthophylls, which are found in green ones. Although they are also found in abundance in leafy greens, the large amount of chlorophyll in these vegetables drowns out the bright colors.
Studies show that carotenoids help strengthen the immune system and may also help prevent heart disease, stroke, certain cancers, and some vision problems, including cataracts and age-related macular degeneration.
Scientists have discovered more than 500 carotenoids, but only about 10 percent of them are in the foods we eat. The carotenoid family includes alpha and beta-carotene, crytoxanthin, lycopene, lutein, and zexanthin, many of which were not well known or even discovered until recently.
Alpha lipoic acid is a potent antioxidant that plays a metabolic role in the body's conversion of food into energy. In addition, it enhances the healthy effects of glutathione and vitamins C and E. Foods rich in alpha lipoic acid include red meat and brewer's yeast. If you're a vegetarian, you can find alpha lipoic acid supplements that are free of animal products in your local health food store.
Healthy greens like spirulina, chlorella, barley grass, and green tea — all easy to add to your homemade juices — are loaded with life-extending nutrients and antioxidants that support your immune system, ward off disease, and foster wellness and longevity.
Twenty to fifty times more potent than vitamin C and E, proantho-cyanadins (PCOs) are powerhouse antioxidants found in plants and vegetables that may reduce levels of bad cholesterol (LDL) and help prevent hardening of the arteries.
Amazing Vitamin CVitamin C is an essential nutrient and a powerful antioxidant that can help reduce the incidence of Parkinson's disease. It may also reduce cardiovascular disease by raising the level of good cholesterol (HDL) and reduce oxidation of bad cholesterol.
Studies show that vitamin C also helps prevent cataracts, lowers blood pressure in borderline hypertension, and helps prevent many types of cancer. Vitamin C is also a top antiviral agent that helps fight infections, colds, influenza, mononucleosis, hepatitis, and chicken pox.
Although the entire vitamin B family helps reduce aging, chlorine is one of the most essential B vitamins for preventing premature mental aging. Chlorine is an essential part of a neurotransmitter in the brain that's responsible for normal brain functioning.
Anti-Aging Minerals, Herbs, and Other NutrientsThe trace mineral selenium is essential for anti-aging and longevity because it protects the body from dysfunctions of the immune system and helps prevent certain cancers.
Perhaps the biggest super herb for youthfulness is ginkgo biloba. This powerful antioxidant stimulates blood circulation to the brain and the extremities. It also increases the brain's tolerance for oxygen deficiency, wards off oxygen deprivation to the heart, and prevents nerve damage from toxic chemicals.
Vitamin K, a fat-soluble vitamin, is beneficial in preventing bone-related disorders like osteoporosis. It also reduces disorders of the heart and blood vessels, helps prevent stroke and Alzheimer's disease, and reduces the incidence of arteriosclerosis.
