Case in point, last month I went to a memorial for an old friend who had just passed. She was a very popular lady who brought a lot of people together. So over the years, I became acquainted with many people through her. Many of these people were also at her memorial. Now I hadn’t seen most of them for close to ten years, but it just struck me that most of them looked at least ten to twenty years older than they actually are. Of course, there were a few who looked exceptionally young and vibrant. But for the most part, the majority of people looked old, frail and very fragile. Instead of looking older, but vibrant and alive, they just looked old, as if they were aging prematurely.

Now don’t get me wrong, I know that we all must get older, but there’s a difference between getting older and aging prematurely. The physical body does age, but it can be a graceful, instead of a drastic, process. It’s like a houseplant. When you don’t water it and give it good food and light, it can shrivel up and die almost overnight. However, when you water it regularly, make sure that it gets adequate light and change the soil occasionally, that same plant will last for years.

Most scientists now agree that aging is, at least in part, the result of accumulating damage to certain molecules—such as proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids (DNA and RNA)—that make up our cells. If enough molecules are damaged, our cells will not function as well, our tissues and organs will begin to deteriorate, and eventually, our health will decline. So in many respects, we appear to age much like a car does: Our parts start to wear out, and we gradually lose the ability to function. Of course, this can be a slow gradual process, or it can happen quite rapidly, leading to premature aging.

But are we just at the mercy of our predestined fate or can we take charge of the entire aging process, thereby, at least slowing the rapid decline of our cells, tissues and organs?

In the rest of this article, I will explore the relationship between our lifestyle choices and the degree to which our bodies decline both in looks and function.

Is it your Genes or your lifestyle that causes premature aging?

In talking with some people, many of them have resigned themselves to the “fact” that they’re getting old and that’s just the way it is. But is that really the case? It’s true that as we get older things just don’t work the way they use to. But is this a function of aging or lifestyle?

Let’s look at a few examples. Your body produces various hormones that help to regulate a myriad of functions. When you’re young, hormone production is high. As you get older, however, hormone production drops off causing a decline in the body’s ability to repair itself and keep functioning at top form.

Another example is cellular waste. Your working cells produce a lot of waste. Over time, this waste accumulates because your cells make more than they can get rid of. Unfortunately, the build up of cellular waste can affect their ability to function and slowly lead to their death.

While these are naturally occurring processes that happen with an aging body, the rate at which they occur depends on the raw material that the body has access to. Let’s take the case of free radicals; remember those? Free radicals are unstable molecules roving around your body, ready to pounce on healthy cells. They are produced as part of the millions of chemical reactions your body performs to sustain life. Your body also produces them in response to environmental toxins such as excessive amounts of cigarette smoke, toxic air and food toxins.

Can free radicals lead to premature aging?

It is a widely held belief in the scientific community that excessive free radical activity accelerates the aging process at the cellular level. From premature wrinkling of the skin, to arthritis, cancer and heart disease, excessive free radical activity is believed to be the primary culprit. Is it true that based on our DNA that some of us are predestined for certain diseases?

Yes, that is the case. However, just because we are predestined for certain conditions based on our genes, oftentimes, most of those genes remain dormant until other conditions (such as poor lifestyle choices) cause them to be expressed.

In the case of excessive free radical activity, which ultimately leads to a pre-disease condition called oxidative stress, it is our lifestyle choices that ultimately take us down this path because free radicals can easily be neutralized by the body’s antioxidant defense system. Unfortunately, the body cannot produce these antioxidants. It has to get them from the fruits and vegetables that we eat.

Antioxidants are molecules that can safely interact with free radicals and terminate the chain reaction before vital molecules are damaged. The most widely known micronutrient (vitamin) antioxidants are vitamin E, beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, and vitamin C. The body cannot manufacture these micronutrients so they must be supplied in the diet.

The bottom-line

We all must get older, but premature aging is a result of poor lifestyle habits. Like a car, if you take care of the body, you’ll be able to rack up the miles and still remain functional into old age.

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Your brain on food

The past decade has been a very exciting time for brain researchers because new technologies have enabled them to see exactly what’s going on in the brain and which areas are activated by food, drugs, or just thinking about food and drugs. Recent studies have validated what most of us proponents of a whole food diet have been teaching for years; not all calories are created equal.

In fact, a recent study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported that sugary foods and highly processed carbohydrates activate the same region in the brain, the nucleus accumbens, associated with cravings and rewards that are also activated by drugs and alcohol. Consequently, each time you eat these foods the brain releases dopamine, a chemical that mediates pleasure and reward. The end result being that over time you will unconsciously be drawn to these same foods like an addict seeking his next fix.

This is a process that can often spiral out of control very quickly because highly processed high glycemic foods often cause a spike in blood sugar. The body then secretes insulin to remove the excess sugar from the blood, which quickly leads to low blood sugar (you crash). Each time you have a bite of these processed foods your brain will light up like a Christmas tree and your pleasure centers will be activated. In addition, the brain will store this little “chunk” of information for future usage. And guess when it is most likely to use it? Yes, you’ve got it. After you’ve crashed and is experiencing low blood sugar.

The bottom line is that the more you eat highly processed sugary foods, the more you will crave them because your brain will push you to eat more of them. The end result is that you are often unconsciously drawn to those foods not because you lack willpower, but because your brain is like a three year old sugar addict with the power to compel you to do its bidding.

Add sugar to high fat foods such as ice cream, cupcakes and doughnuts and you are doomed to junk food heaven because there are so many powerful hormones working against you. First, sugary foods increase your levels of ghrelin, a hormone that stimulates appetite and increases cravings. Secondly, the more sugar you eat the more dopamine your brain releases. And dopamine is a neurohormone that regulates pleasure and memory, which explains why people become addicted to sugary high fat foods.

The “trick” to eating better

The beautiful thing about the brain is that the same mechanisms that it uses “against” you can also be trained to work “for” you. I put “against” in quotes because your brain can’t tell the difference between good and bad. It acts based on the information it gets from a myriad of neurotransmitters.

So how do you “trick” your brain into doing what’s in your best interest? Simple, by using the same food triggers it uses to develop cravings for sugary foods.

In a study published in Nutrition Action Canadian newsletter, one of the researchers reported that the first foods that someone sees at a buffet usually influences what he/she takes, even if they don’t end up taking that particular food. For example, if you see a bowl of fruit first, you are more likely to eat more fruits and less eggs and beacon. On the other hand, if eggs and beacon are the first things you see, then you are more likely to eat more eggs and beacon than fruit. Is that crazy or what? And you thought you had free will and willpower, think again, your brain is in charge.

So here’s the simple trick or “hack” that you can use to eat healthier with very little effort. Serve the healthiest foods first. Not with or after the other stuff. Start your meal with a fruit or vegetable salad. Then eat the other stuff.

To trigger healthier choices throughout the day, keep a bowl of fruit on the coffee table, at your desk, or anywhere you can see it often. You should also keep the healthiest options at eye level in the refrigerator and pantry.

The bottom line

I hope now you have a better understanding of how your brain controls your habits and the fact that your brain responds to food in the same way that it responds to drugs and alcohol. Fortunately and unfortunately, it is very easy to “hack” your brain into doing what you want. You just have to know how to do it.

If you’re READY to get healthy again, please JOIN my Facebook Group: The Lifestyle Cure

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