Your skin is a reflection of what’s going on inside your body. So, eating certain foods can actually improve your skin, prevent eye wrinkles and other visible signs of aging, and many other health benefits.
Now here are two items that I have no problem fitting into my diet:
Dark Chocolate
When it comes to chocolate, the dark the better. This is because dark chocolate is rich in cocoa phenol, which helps to lower blood pressure, and antioxidants, which fight free radicals that cause signs of aging, heart disease and other illnesses.
As tasty as it is to pair dark chocolate with a tall glass of cold milk, it’s actually better to eat dark chocolate alone. According to Italy’s National Institute for Food and Nutrition Research report on WebMD, “…milk may interfere with the absorption of antioxidants from chocolate…and may therefore negate the potential health benefits that can be derived from eating moderate amounts of dark chocolate.”
Red Wine
Let me preface by saying that if you currently don’t drink any alcohol, the American Heart Association does not recommend that you start drinking alcohol to prevent heart disease. Studies have shown that red wine’s heart health benefits look promising, but there are many other ways to keep your heart healthy.
When consumed in moderation, wine’s alcohol content can thin the blood and raise “good” (HDL) cholesterol, decreasing your risk of heart disease and certain cancers. What sets red wine apart is its non-alcoholic phytochemicals, flavanoid and resveratrol, which act as antioxidants and are found in high concentrations in red wine. This is because red wine is fermented with the grapes’ skin, which contain high levels of reservatrol. White wine, on the other hand, is fermented from the pressed juice of the grape without the skin, so it contains less resveratrol. In addition, flavanoids and resveratrol have been shown to reduce inflammation and prevent blood clots in arteries, and studies have indicated that resveratrol may inhibit tumor development in some types of cancer and may help in the treatment of neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s.
In 2008, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that resveratrol in red wine has anti aging properties, because it activates sirtuins, proteins in the body that prolong cell life by protecting cells from damage. Research is still being conducted on this topic.
Remember, both dark chocolate and red wine are only healthy in moderation. To reap the most benefits, you should have no more than one 5-ounce glass of red wine a day and one 100-gram serving, or about 3.5 ounces, of dark chocolate a day. Also, remember to balance out the calories. A 100-gram serving of dark chocolate is around 480 calories, and a 5-ounce glass of wine is about 120 calories, so you’ll need to cut those calories out somewhere else. If you consumer more than the recommended amount, your health benefits decrease and the risks increase.
Cheers to your health!
Today more and more people get fond of anti aging creams and skin care products. It seems like a miracle. But none of them fully realizes what these creams actually do. They give your skin a healthy look, but the skin does not get younger from that. In short don’t hurry to get expensive products, hurry for a healthy life!