Most important points to consider while selecting foods that will help you with general well-being and anti-aging benefits are:
- You should include all macronutrients in your diet. These are protein from plant or animal source, carbohydrate and fats from fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts & seeds. Abstaining from any one food group does not bring you any benefits and is rather harmful in long run.
- Protein should be smaller in serving as compared to carbohydrate. It can be animal or plant based protein. Make sure to avoid processed products as they will have harmful additives.
- Carbohydrate should be from whole grains which are less processed like brown rice, quinoa, millets, legumes & lentils. Fresh and seasonal fruits and vegetables should be consumed raw, partly cooked/ seasoned with accompanying dietary fibre called roughage which will give you healthy gut. Try as many colourful fruits and vegetables as you can to get you sufficient dose of polyphenols which are antioxidants. Avoid very sweet fruits like melons and starchy vegetables.
- Include fats from seeds and nuts. Avoid deep frying and refined oils. Stick to cold pressed oils. Include whole nuts like almonds, walnuts, pine nuts and seeds like pumpkin, sunflower seeds. Consume oil rich seeds like flax and Chia daily.
- Include variety of flavourful spices in your diet ranging from black pepper, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, start anise, nutmeg, mustard seeds, asafoitida, cumin, turmeric, ginger, mint, oregano, rosemary, basil etc
- Include fermented foods in your diet but make sure they are as fresh as possible like apple cider vinegars, traditional pickles, curd, Kombucha, Majority of store bought yogurts in supermarkets are devoid of any live culture.
- Avoid or have limited intake of refined flour, trans fats and high salt and added sugar based products like chips, cookies, traditional savouries, sauces, packaged drinks, sauces etc. These products will be disbalanced from nutrition point of view. They will also carry synthetic additives when store bought. These can be harmful in long run. When purchasing products in stores be mindful to avoid any artificial colours, flavours, synthetic sweeteners and preservatives as these have not been studied for their long tem effect on human health.
- Avoid charred food products like burned food, charred meat etc as these can result in several carcinogens. Avoid food in contact surfaces like low quality aluminium, plastic and disposables.
- Avoid re-heating food multiple times and try consuming freshly cooked meals as much as possible.
- Source dairy and meat products from a responsible source/dairy which avoids antibiotics and hormones