If you’d like to be one of those people who looks and feels better with each passing year, here’s how to do it.
Leave a spoonful here and there. Switch to low-cal this and that. Skip a snack now and then. And just eat a little lighter. Research suggests that a diet with roughly 30 percent fewer calories than a typical Western diet could reduce certain signs of aging.
Light(ish) Eaters Live Longer
No one is advocating that people starve themselves, but we all know that the typical Western diet has ballooned out of control, with massive portion sizes becoming the norm. Now, new research on calorie restriction suggests that, to live longer, we need to head back in the other direction. When researchers recently compared a group of light eaters with a group of heavier eaters, the light eaters came out ahead on important markers of aging. Their blood work showed less triiodothyronine (T3) -- a hormone linked to damaging free radicals -- and less tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF) -- molecules linked to body-aging inflammation. Help curb your appetite with this combo idea from the YOU Docs.
How Much Is Enough?
The light eaters in the study averaged roughly 1,800 calories a day, but that calorie count isn’t for everyone. (Use this tool to look up a calorie count that would help you maintain your current weight.) And perhaps as important as not stuffing yourself is making sure you get the right amount of nutrients. The light eaters routinely got 100 percent of the recommended intake of all essential vitamins and nutrients every day. Use this tool to find the best food sources for these essential vitamins and minerals.
Need help eating lighter? Look up delicious, low-calorie recipes in the RealAge Recipe Box.
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