Aging and Food:
What if aging was intrinsically tied to what we eat every day? I sincerely hope not, as my top ramen fueled college days are hardly what I had in mind when my body decides whether it’s had enough and goes on strike. Kidding aside, I think we can all agree and the research certainly backs up the claim that what we eat affects how we age and how quickly we begin to see signs of cell deterioration. I firmly believe that our body will always try its best, but assault after assault of chemically-laden food will eventually take its toll.
An argument I often have with myself while deciding the merits of processed cheese food as a cracker topper is “what harm can this little amount do?” “I’m going to get old anyway, might as well refrain from the stress if having to cut a hunk off an ACTUAL block of aged cheddar” In theory, I suppose even the most hardcore wellness gurus would say that a small amount of Franken food won’t age you overnight however the reasoning behind it just might.
To clarify, we oftentimes consume less than whole foods because:
1. We don’t have time
2. We don’t feel like doing ALL that work
3. We don’t have access to a super trendy farmer’s market right at that second
4. We actually LIKE the taste of cheese out of can…it conjures up memories of backyard camping and Labor Day picnics.
What all of these excuses tell me is that the bigger picture is that we don’t connect the dots between the food we eat and ageing. We are not giving our bodies the respect it deserves. What we eat right this second is simply too far away from its damaging collective effects to motivate us to change our habits.
You and I both know that that eating fresh, healthy food will do wonders for our overall ageing; however we are not in the habit of caring for our bodies in the long-term as we should. Ageing is not something we really consider until it starts to happen. By then our boxed food habits are well into effect and we cannot turn back the hands of time. So, I’m going to feed this body vibrant food that is full of life (most of the time) so that the onslaught of ageing isn’t sped up by my careless ways and Labor Day throwbacks.
