Anti-aging and Dr. Oz on Oprah

Did you happen to catch Oprah today? I happend to hit the gym at 4pm today and caught Dr. Oz on Oprah talking about staying young -- that is a topic of interest as I am starting to look very tired in the mornings, even with a good night's sleep. He just put out a new book and was detailing some of his strategies for staying young -- I loved the recommendations for keeping your house free of toxins. I can't wait to tell my husband that I am not crazy when I ask him to take his drycleaning out of the plastic bags right away and drive with the windows down to air them out. He also had recommendations on diet, he recommended vit D supplements, and high antioxidant foods. The vit D supplements may make sense given that new research finds that there is vit D deficiency in many of the elderly who live in the North -- for those of you in sunnier states, direct sunlight for 15 minutes a day takes care of your vit D needs. Also, eating high antioxidant, fresh foods is a great way to take care of yourself -- luckily, Mother Nature loves antioxidants and if you eat your 5-10 veggies a day, you are probably getting a good amount of antioxidants. Great antioxidant foods include -- berries, citrus fruits, grapes, nuts and seeds, dark green veggies, onions, garlic, whole grains, and yes, cocoa and chocolate. Dr. Oz also talks about calorie restriction as a way to slow aging, although there is some research on this subject, we do not know all the possible effects of essentially starving your body. For most moms not eating enough food can have a detrimental impact on your mood, energy level, and ability to think clearly, as well as modeling good eating behaviors for your kids. Also, most people when cutting down on calories, may cut out several important foods needed for long-term health. If you determine that calorie restriction is something you want to try -- talk to your physician and get a referral to a dietitian so they can help you do it in a healthy way.
My advice on staying young, aside from not smoking, using sunblock and exercising, is to eat a healthy, balanced diet everyday with --
- 10 servings of fruits and veggies,
- only whole grain carbs,
- at least one serving of beans and nuts a day,
- only low fat meats and low fat dairy,
- and very important --- leave lots of room for laughter and play time with your family and friends.
If you want to read more about Dr. Oz's recommendations or take his stay young quiz, click here.