We all know that the foods we eat affect us on the inside, as well as the outside. But did you know that there are certain foods that will make you feel and look older? There are five foods groups that have various mechanisms that actually change how you age. We’ll be giving you a little insight to each of them here.

5 Foods You Should NEVER Eat

1. Refined grains

Refined grains include anything made from white flour: baked goods, pastries, breads etc. These refined grains can spike insulin levels, which is a pro-inflammatory hormone that can cause devastation to both how you look and what’s going on inside of your body. So, avoid refined grains as much as possible.

 

 

2. Fried or charred foods

Fried or charred foods are responsible for something called AGE, or advanced glycosylated end products, which are responsible for binding up tissues and cells that make things internally stiffer and causes aging. Avoid anything fried or charred at any cost.

 

 

3. Sodas and juices

Sodas and juices are basically just sugar that spikes insulin levels, changes growth hormone levels and cortisol levels, and hormonally make you age at a much more rapid pace. Sodas and juices should be avoided wherever possible. They can be easily replaced with water or natural teas.

 

 

4. Anything in a box or bag

Now, this is a big food group. Imagine yourself walking through a market or a grocery store, going through the middle aisles, and seeing all of those boxes and bags. They’re full of ingredients that if you read them, you cannot (oftentimes) pronounce them. Those ingredients are associated with aging. They’re also typically very high in trans fats and partially hydrogenated oils. Trans fats and partially hydrogenated oils are preservatives to keep these foods on the shelves, but they age you. The body cannot process them in way that is healthful, so you should try to shop on the periphery of the grocery stores. Get fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy products, meats, cheeses, and avoid things in boxes and bags.

5. Seafood

Number five comes with a caveat. It’s seafood. You have to be very mindful about how you choose your seafood. Wild Alaskan salmon is wonderfully effective to slow down the aging process, but if you choose certain seafoods that are laden and loaded with high mercury, cadmium, and arsenic levels, then you change the metabolism of your cells and mitochondria which affects how you age. Watch out for seafood that is high in mercury and other heavy metals, and be especially cautious about shrimp and salmon. Avoid bigger fish like swordfish, shark, and king mackerel. Because these fish are in the higher echelon of the ocean food chain, this means that they ingest all the heavy metals that the smaller fish (aka their prey) eat.

These are the five food groups that you should avoid, or consume with caution. These are the food groups that will affect how you age, and make you look and feel older.

I encourage you to share this with your friends and your loved ones, because I believe in the original meaning of the word doctor, docēre, which is a teacher.

So I post videos each and every week to make sure that you have the tools and the information that you need to live healthy and to live optimally well.

Thanks so much. I’m Dr. Ryan Shelton.