By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness

October 15, 2014

• People who look younger tend to live longer
• What’s the secret recipe?
• Top foods for a more youthful you

Did you know people who look younger tend to live longer and have fewer health concerns as they age?

You might wonder how we know this.

Well, it’s a pretty interesting story. Awhile back, researchers conducted a huge experiment. They showed people pictures of almost 2,000 twins who were over the age of 70. All of the pictures were shown out of order, so that each twin’s photo was shown on separate days. Then, they asked the people to guess the age of each twin.

Guess what happened seven years later when the researchers analyzed the health and death rates among the twins?

It turned out the twin who people thought looked younger was less likely to have dementia or other health problems. However, the twin who looked older was more likely to become ill and die first.

What accounted for these differences?

The twins who looked younger and lived longer and healthier lives all had something in common. They had longer telomeres than their older-looking counterpart.

As I’ve discussed before, telomeres are strands of DNA at the ends of your chromosomes that get shorter as you age. The more quickly they shorten, the faster you age.

The good news is there are certain foods that not only help preserve your telomeres, they’re also loaded with nutrients that nourish your skin from the inside out.

Here are some of my favorites…

Green tea is a big winner when it comes to both your telomeres and youthful-looking skin. People who drink three cups of green tea a day have telomeres that are about five years younger than those who don’t drink it. But that’s not all green tea will do for you.

Green tea is loaded with polyphenols like epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) and epicatechin. These antioxidants work to improve the elasticity of your skin – reducing roughness, wrinkles, and redness, while enhancing volume.

If you don’t like green tea, you can always take it in supplement form. Look for one that contains EGCG and is standardized to contain 60% polyphenols. For the most impact, set a goal of 240 to 320 mg. of polyphenols every day.

Fruits that are high in vitamin C are a must-have for younger, smoother-looking skin. Like green tea, vitamin C helps protect your telomeres. It’s even been shown to slow down telomere shortening in skin cells that are located in the upper layer of your skin.

Vitamin C rich fruits and vegetables are also important for the general health of your skin. That’s because it’s found at high levels in both the upper and lower layers of your skin. So it’s not surprising that people who increase vitamin C in their diets have a notable decrease in wrinkles and dry skin.

Cantaloupe, citrus fruits, kiwi, mango and most berries are all good fruit sources of vitamin C. You can also get it from certain vegetables, like greens, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and bell peppers.

For extra support, you can supplement with 3,000 mg. of vitamin C daily split between three doses.

Folate rich foods like dark leafy greens, avocadoes, carrots and squash can help preserve telomeres, too. On the same note, diets rich in fruits and vegetables are associated with greater telomere length.

But that’s not the end of it. Some of these foods are also high in beta carotene and vitamin A. If you aren’t getting enough of these nutrients, it’s a pretty sure thing your skin will become dried out, flaky and acne prone. In fact, one of the first signs of a vitamin A deficiency is rough, dry skin accompanied by raised bumps.

If you don’t think you’re getting enough folate in your diet, I suggest 800 mcg. of activated folic acid (folate from organic, dark-green, leafy veggies), or 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (5-MTHF) daily.

I’ve saved the best for last. It’s the one, single, most essential food for both your telomeres and your skin…

Omega-3 fatty acids found in fish might just be the most important nutrients for telomere support. It not only slows down telomere shortening, it also helps to lengthen them. And this can happen in as little as four months.

These essential fatty acids also have all sorts of skin-protective effects. They reduce signs of aging, decrease inflammation, protect your skin from UV radiation, relieve psoriasis and even improve acne. And the fatty acids EPA and DHA provide plenty of healthy oils to make your skin glow.

Seafood is your best food source of these healthy fats. I recommend always buying wild-caught, and to carefully choose fish with the lowest level of contaminants. Avoid larger fish and those at the top of the food chain (like sharks and swordfish). Instead, go for smaller fish like wild-caught Pacific halibut, mackerel, Alaskan salmon, sardines, herring, rainbow trout and flounder.

If you’re not a fish-lover, you still need to get plenty of omega-3s in your diet. And a good fish oil supplement can provide them.

But don’t buy just any fish oil supplement. They aren’t all created equal. Look for one that contains oil from fresh, wild-caught, deep sea fish. And make sure it’s been molecularly distilled and tested for purity. It should include 1,200 mg. of EPA and 800 mg. of DHA.

Sources:
Christensen K, et al. “Perceived age as clinically useful biomarker of ageing: cohort study.” BMJ. 2009 Dec 10;339:b5262.

Chan R. “Chinese tea consumption is associated with longer telomere length in elderly Chinese men.” British Journal of Nutrition. 2010;103:107-113.

Heinrich U, et al. “Green tea polyphenols provide photoprotection, increase microcirculation, and modulate skin properties of women.” J Nutr. 2011;141(6):1202-1208.

Yokoo S, et al. “Slow-down of age-dependent telomere shortening is executed in human skin keratinocytes by hormesis-like-effects of trace hydrogen peroxide or by anti-oxidative effects of pro-vitamin C in common concurrently with reduction of intracellular oxidative stress.” J Cell Biochem. 2004 Oct 15;93(3):588-97.

Cosgrove MC, et al. “Dietary nutrient intakes and skin-aging appearance among middle-aged American women.” Am J Clin Nutr 2007;86:1225-1231

Paul L, et al. “Telomere length in peripheral blood mononuclear cells is associated with folate status in men.” J Nutr. 2009 Jul;139(7):1273-8.

Marcon F, et al. “Diet-related telomere shortening and chromosome stability.” Mutagenesis. 2012 Jan;27(1):49-57.

Kiecolt-Glaser JK, et al. “Omega-3 fatty acids, oxidative stress, and leukocyte telomere length: A randomized controlled trial.” Brain Behav Immun. 2012 Sep 23. pii: S0889-1591(12)00431-X. [Epub ahead of print].

Kim HH, et al. “Eicosapentaenoic acid inhibits UV-induced MMP-1 expression in human dermal fibroblasts.” J Lipid Res. 2005. 46:1712-20