September is Healthy Aging Month – the perfect time to turn the spotlight on our functional nutrition coach Christina Sandok, owner of Prescribe Nutrition, and her Wellbeats Anti-Aging Foods class.

Christina became a certified functional nutritionist after years of struggling with her own health issues. “Realizing that food can play a tremendous role in healing was inspiring to me,” she says. She became a regular Wellbeats Nourish class instructor when we introduced our nutrition category.

Christina acquired Prescribe Nutrition from two nutritionists who founded the business. “We help people make sustainable changes that will lead to a lifetime of feeling good. We want to strip away the diet culture from nutrition and just focus on real foods.”

With these goals in mind, Christina’s Anti-Aging Foods class shares the following 8 Strategies for Healthy Aging*:

1. Fast

• Fasting has been shown to have incredible anti-aging benefits due to its ability to stimulate autophagy. Autophagy is the process of killing off old, dead, or damaged cells in the body in order to create new, healthy ones.

2. Eat a low-sugar diet

• Limit added sugars … natural sugar found in fruit is okay.
• Hyperglycemia, which is high blood sugar, can lead to diabetes, low bone density, wrinkles, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Christina adds: “Maintaining steady glucose levels is a true key to anti-aging. In fact, wearable glucose monitors are a big trend right now as they help raise awareness of how the body responds to meals.”

3. Choose healthy fats

• Avocado, olives, olive oil, nuts, seeds, and fatty fish are good options.
• Avoid trans fats and processed oils like canola oil since these increase free radicals and can damage cells and hormones.

4. Eat more leafy greens

• Leafy greens are an amazing source of calcium and vitamin K, which are good for bone health.
• They also help detoxify the body and keep your cardiovascular system healthy.

How? “Add an extra helping of leafy greens to a smoothie, toss a bunch into a stir fry, or have a big salad for lunch,” says Christina.

5. Eat more fruits and veggies

• They are a great source of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and fiber which are good for improving heart health, preventing cancer, and more.

6. Eat high-fiber foods

• Eat more fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, legumes, and whole grains.
• They will help keep blood sugar stable, clear toxins, and lower cholesterol.

7. Take it easy on alcohol

• Limit alcohol to one serving a day for women and two for men.
• More than that can lead to adverse health effects like poor bone health, certain cancers, sleep disruption, and depression.

8. Non-food anti-aging practices

• Stay active
• Lower your stress
• Get enough restful sleep
• Have strong social networks

To clarify and add some color to #8 above, Christina adds:

• Sleep at least 8 hours each night.
• Spend time outdoors. “Nature has a way of reducing blood pressure and stress.”
• Fill your plate with lots of REAL foods. “Foods that are living = vitality.”
• Stay hydrated! “Water is key to maintaining the skin’s elasticity, but it’s easy to confuse hunger with fatigue and dehydration. Drinking 8 to 10 glasses of water each day is helpful, but also focus on hydrating foods such as fruits and vegetables.”
• Move your body every day.
• Surround yourself with people who bring you joy.

*Always seek the guidance of your physician or other qualified health professionals for any questions you have regarding your health or a medical condition.