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

July 20, 2016

• Are you eating foods that age you?
• How “inflamm-aging” is killing Americans
• Eat your way to a younger and healthier life

If I had to name only one single reason that some people age faster than others, diet would probably be at the top of my list.

Simply put, eating the wrong foods opens you up to chronic inflammation.

Some folks call this “inflamm-aging”. That’s because it’s linked to almost all of today’s top age-related diseases – heart disease, arthritis diabetes, Alzheimer’s, cancer and more. And here in the U.S., it’s run amok.

I place the blame squarely on the American diet.

At the top of the list are processed sugars and refined carbohydrates. Eating these types of foods is like eating poison. They’re void of calories, vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids and other nutrients. And they’re highly inflammatory.

Even if you don’t eat these kinds of refined foods, there are other dangers you may not be aware of.

For example, are you trying to stay healthy by eating more polyunsaturated fats?

These fats are highly publicized as “good” fats. But in this case, like so many others, too much of a good thing can be bad for you.

You see, there are two types of polyunsaturated fats. One of them causes inflammation. The other fights it off.

You probably eat plenty of the inflammatory kind – the omega-6 fatty acids. They account for the majority of polyunsaturated fats in our food supply.

Problem is, they compete with inflammatory-fighting omega-3s to take up space in your tissue. And when they outnumber omega-3s the consequences can be devastating – promoting heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis, autoimmune disease and premature aging.

Today it’s estimated that the average omega-6/omega-3 ratio is about 20 to one. It should be closer to two to one.

Some inflammation-triggering foods high in omega-6 fatty acids include vegetable oils (corn, safflower, sunflower, soy, canola), salad dressings, fried foods and margarines. You can get more anti-inflammatory omega-3s by eating more wild-caught, cold-water fish.

Some Foods Age You – Others Keep You Young

Got milk? If so, you may not want to drink it.

You may not realize it, but your body was designed to quit digesting milk somewhere between the ages of two and five. That’s when it probably stopped producing the enzyme that digests the main sugar found in milk.

As a result, all of those undigested sugars end up fermenting in your colon where they create a state of chronic inflammation.

Tip: Almond, coconut or rice milk are great alternatives to cow’s milk.

What about whole grains? You’ve probably heard they’ll cure all of your ills. But grains these days aren’t anything like they used to be. They’ve been scientifically engineered and hybridized to the point where they’re no longer recognizable to the grains our ancestors ate.

Additionally, many of today’s modern whole grains contain gluten, which can set off autoimmune responses and sensitivities. This makes them a loaded weapon when it comes to triggering inflammation.

Tip: Grains that contain gluten include wheat, barley and rye and should not be a part of your diet. Amaranth, buckwheat, millet and quinoa are much better choices if you want to slash inflammation.

And when we speak of modern foods, let’s not forget about GMOs.

There are all sorts of problems that come with eating altered foods. One of them is the way the high levels of glyphosate in Round-Up ready crops put your gut into an inflammatory state. It also interferes with your liver’s CYP P450 detoxification system and the shitimake enzyme pathway for amino acid metabolism…to name a few.

Farmers use this poisonous chemical to drench crops that are pre-programmed at the genetic level not to die when it’s administered. But that doesn’t mean it’s not dangerous.

When glyphosates from GMO foods enter your body they severely disrupt beneficial bacteria in your gut. This leads to an overgrowth of some very nasty and unhealthy microbes that spark an inflammatory reaction.

At the same time, glyphosates binds to much-needed nutrients in your body and literally strips them away. This means even more inflammation… and less protection against it.

Tip: Any foods with sugar, soy or corn on the label are likely made from GMO crops and should be avoided.

Eat Your Way to a Longer Life

If you’re aging too quickly… if you’re feeling tired, weak, sick or depressed… look at your diet before you do anything else. Then, make some changes.

Now, folks over in the Mediterranean experience much better health than we do here in the U.S. They have a reduced chance of stroke, lower instances of Alzheimer’s disease and less risk of diabetes.

This is why I always recommend eating like a Mediterranean and loading your plate with antioxidant-rich fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices. Nuts, omega-3 rich seafood and olive oil are also important elements of this type of diet.

Keep meat to only about 13% of your diet. And when you choose to eat red meat, opt for grass-fed over grain-fed. It’s much healthier for you. You don’t have to worry about GMO grains being fed to grass-fed animals. Additionally, the meat from grass-fed animals has a much more favorable omega-6 to omega-3 ratio.

SOURCES:

Blasbalg TL et al. Changes in consumption of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in the United States during the 20th century. Am J Clin Nutr. 2011 May; 93(5): 950–962.Simopoulos AP. The importance of the omega-6/omega-3 fatty acid ratio in cardiovascular disease and other chronic diseases. Experimental Biology and Medicine (Maywood). 2008;233:674-688.Itan Y, et al. The Origins of Lactase Persistence in Europe. PLoS Comput Biol. 2009;5(8): e1000491.

Samsel A, et al. Glyphosate, pathways to modern diseases II: Celiac sprue and gluten intolerance. Interdiscip Toxicol. 2013 Dec;6(4):159-184.

Esposito K, et al. A journey into a Mediterranean diet and type 2 diabetes: a systematic review with meta-analyses. BMJ Open. 2015; 5(8): e008222.

Sofi F, et al. Effectiveness of the Mediterranean diet: can it help delay or prevent Alzheimer’s disease? J Alzheimers Dis. 2010;20(3):795-801.

Tyrovolas S, et al. The role of Mediterranean type of diet on the development of cancer and cardiovascular disease, in the elderly: a systematic review. Maturitas. 2010 Feb;65(2):122-30.

Daley CA, et al. A review of fatty acid profiles and antioxidant content in grass-fed and grain-fed beef. Nutr J. 2010; 9: 10.