One of the primary causes of infections, illness, and aging in your physical body is because of toxins building up over time. Thankfully, your body creates a super-antioxidant called 'glutathione'. It originates in the liver and works to help this vital organ properly function. Essentially, your liver is your chief filtering system in the body. Its role is to screen out potentially harmful toxins and keep your system working in good order. The liver needs to work at optimal levels in order to keep the body well detoxified. If it's not working properly, the production of glutathione is hindered and the risk of higher levels of toxins is present. Therefore, making sure your glutathione production is working adequately will help ensure a few critical functions in your body:
• Neutralizes and dispels heavy metals and toxins from your body.
• Ensures your mitochondria stays in optimal shape. These tiny 'power plants' are in charge of supplying most of the necessary chemical energy to keep your eukaryotic cells in your system properly functioning.
• Maintains and optimizes your immune system and alto protects your DNA from potential harm.
• Helps ward off inflammation, dementia, cancerous growths, heart disease, overall neurological decline and issues generated by other diseases that afflict the body.
• Is well known for fighting mechanisms in your system that trigger the aging process. Overall, glutathione helps in keeping your energy level throughout your body elevated for longer periods of time.
How Glutathione is Produced in Your Body
Although glutathione is naturally found in the body, your body starts to lose the ability to adequately produce it as you inevitably age. Sadly, this process begins soon after your teen years once you hit your early 20s. In general, the production decline occurs at an approximate rate of 10 percent every 10 years. Given that rate, once you reach 60 years old, the amount of glutathione that your system generates will be nearly half the amount that it once made 40 years earlier. This significant drop in production levels will make you feel less energetic as well as more susceptible to getting viruses or common colds.
You Really Are What You Eat
If you seriously wish to optimize your overall health, you'll have to get back to the basics of good nutrition. One that's hopefully specific to your nutritional type since it's all about consuming the right kinds of food in the right ratios for your particular biochemistry.
There's simply no way around it and it might not be very convenient. Also, it could cost you more in the short-term in terms of money as well as the amount of necessary time it takes to buy and prepare good, healthy food. When it comes to taking care of yourself, there aren't any shortcuts on the road to good health.
Today, the need for speed ranks high on most families' priority list. Processed and fast foods are precisely what most hard-working people want just for the sake of speed and convenience. Over time, years of poor food choices can finally take their toll on their health.
Seven Outstanding Superfoods that Reverse the Aging Process
Take a look at the following seven superfoods to incorporate into your diet. Even the most nutritious and healthiest foods aren't best for everyone. Therefore, it's crucial to recognize which foods will best serve your body.
1. Whey Protein
Why is whey protein the very first food on this list when it's a supplement instead of an actual food? Whey has been scientifically proven to enhance your body's storage of glutathione (GHS). The antioxidant glutathione is known for increasing the overall integrity of 'telomeres'. Basically, telomeres are tiny bundles of DNA contained in every cell. As you age, they shorten. Scientists believe telomeres may shorten due to the subsequent damage caused by free radicals.
2. Leafy Greens
Leafy greens including romaine lettuce, collard greens, turnip greens, kale, and spinach are all excellent sources of zeaxanthin and lutein. Research shows that consuming foods rich in these specific antioxidants can substantially diminish your risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma as well as age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Leafy greens like kale and spinach are also chock-full of cancer-fighting antioxidants such as vitamin C, sulforaphane, and beta carotene. If possible, buy organic greens whenever you can. Organic produce is proven to have a much higher overall nutrient content than traditional fresh produce. Generally, traditional produce only has 82 percent of the vital nutrients of fresh, organic produce.
3. Organic Eggs
Eggs are a known superfood. Scientific research has finally ended the ongoing debate - there's no link between heart disease and eating eggs. But, it's important to realize that not every egg is the same. There's a huge difference in nutrition between commercially farmed eggs and authentic free-range chicken eggs. If you can only buy your eggs at your local grocery store, try to at least by organic, free-range eggs. Also, try to avoid omega-3 eggs since they generally come from chickens that were fed lower quality omega-3 fats that were already oxidized.
4. Chlorella
Chlorella is a fresh water algae plant and is frequently called the 'near perfect' food. Arguably, the most vital trait of chlorella is its efficient ability to eliminate your body of destructive heavy metal toxins.
5. Blueberries
Blueberries aren't just delicious, they're literal powerhouses of key nutrition, which is why they're ranked at the top of the list when it comes to fresh fruits and nutritious vegetables. They're packed full of antioxidants that enable your body to neutralize free radicals, which are molecules that can potentially harm brain function and their cells.
6. Broccoli
Broccoli is a rich antioxidant vegetable and a member of the cruciferous family. It's known for its miraculous healing powers and disease prevention qualities. Broccoli has the highest amount of key isothiocyanates (a compound that's fight cancer) of all the crispy vegetables.
7. Garlic
Garlic is by far one of the healthiest foods you can put in your body. Garlic has a key component called 'allicin' that causes garlic's famous pungent smell and flavor. But, it's a very effective antioxidant overall. As your body works to digest allicin in your system it creates sulfenic acid, which is a compound that responds very quickly to harmful free radicals than any other compound.
Garlic poses a triple threat when it comes to infections because of its antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial properties. It's highly effective at destroying antibiotic-resistant bacteria, parasites, viruses, yeast infections, candida overgrowth, an MRSA.
Garlic cloves need to be chopped or crushed in order to trigger the process that works to convert allicin into hard-working, beneficial allicin. Once garlic is cut open, allicin starts to lose its potency and can completely disappear around an hour after chopping it up.
How to Slow the Aging Process
What's the number way of slowing down the aging process in the body? If you don't know, you're not alone. The majority of people don't realize the importance of keeping their insulin levels optimized since insulin is the biggest factor behind aging acceleration. Fortunately, you can keep your insulin levels in check by eliminating or reducing sugars and grains from your daily diet.
Taking this one critical step along with incorporating a nutritious diet and including natural anti-aging foods into your everyday diet, you can dramatically increase your longevity and health overall. Keep in mind that it's best to eat food in its most natural form. Your good health is priceless.