Are you getting older before your time?

Today I have a guest blog by Dr. Bonebroth! (Dr. Kellyann Petrucci).

I’ve had Dr. Kellyann on my Couch Talk podcast and my Magic Menopause ladies love her bone broth recipes. So nourishing and alkaline! A perfect fit for my Keto-Alkaline® diet and lifestyle program!

And she has a beautiful message to share with you all today.

I love her thinking…and it is at the core of my key message as well!

Don’t age before your time!

Meet Dr. Kellyann

Dr. Kellyann Petrucci, a board-certified naturopathic physician and certified nutrition consultant, is a weight-loss and anti-aging expert. She is the author of the New York Times bestseller Dr. Kellyann’s Bone Broth Diet and the upcoming book The 10-Day Belly Slimdown. She also is the host of the PBS specials 21 Days to a Slimmer, Younger You and The 10-Day Belly Slimdown. In addition, she is a regular contributor on the Dr. Oz show.

REFUSE TO AGE!

By Dr. Kellyann Petrucci

Are you resigned to looking and feeling older as time goes by? To getting less vibrant, less healthy, and less sexy as each year passes?

If so, here’s my advice: Stop surrendering. Instead, do what I do: Say NO to aging.

Here’s the deal. I’m not talking about agehere—that is, the number of birthdays you have under your belt. Instead, I’m talking about aging. Obviously, you’re going to get older chronologically. But many of the things that people consider to be part and parcel of getting older—wrinkled skin, weight gain, sickness—don’t need to happen.

As an anti-aging specialist, I know that you can prevent these problems, or even reverse them. Here’s my three-part strategy for refusing to age.

CHANGE YOUR VISION

You’ve heard of a self-fulfilling prophecy, right? That’s when you’re so sure that something’s going to happen that you make it happen.

Well, guess what: If you expect to go downhill as you age, it’s more likely for this to happen. A 2015 study, for instance, reported that people who believe in negative stereotypes about getting older are more likely to get sick, be less fit physically, and even walk more slowly.

So take a minute right now to think about how you envision your next decade or two. Do you see yourself getting weaker, heavier, less attractive, less active, less happy, and less healthy? Then you’re telling yourself to do this.

Instead, envision yourself getting even better with each year. Picture yourself getting slimmer, healthier, sexier, happier, and more active. Create a new self-fulfilling prophecy that works for, not against you. Positive energy pulls good things into your life.

Want a little extra motivation? Be like Ernestine Shepherd, who’s 81 years old and a professional model and competitive bodybuilder. She decided at age 56 to stop being a self-described “slug” and get fit—and she’s turned that vision into a reality that’s nothing short of amazing.

MOVE YOUR BODY

It’s no secret that exercise is a big key to staying slim, sexy, and healthy. Now, research is revealing that a type of exercise called high intensity interval training (HIIT) can even stop aging at the cellular level.

According to the study, HIIT does this by increasing the capacity of mitochondria (the “power plants” of cells). In addition, it rejuvenates the cells’ ribosomes, which produce protein building blocks. Study co-author Sreekumaran Nair says, “These things we are seeing cannot be done by any medicine.”

What’s more, HIIT isn’t the only type of exercise that can reverse aging. Strength training can make weak muscles stronger, decrease arthritis pain, improve memory, and prevent bone loss. (It can even reverse age-related bone loss in men.)

EAT AN ANTI-AGING DIET

The most powerful anti-aging medicines aren’t in your medicine cabinet—they’re in your fridge, your freezer, and your pantry. Unfortunately, so are the most dangerous pro-aging villains. So if you’re serious about refusing to age, you need to be smart about what you eat and don’t eat.

The first step I recommend is to eliminate sugar from your diet. When you eat sugar, it reacts with amino acids to create advanced glycation end products (AGES), which cause chronic inflammation and speed the aging process. Also, reduce your intake of grains, which turn into sugar in the body.

Next, get artificial sweeteners and other chemical additives out of your diet. All of these are alien to your body, and they alter your gut bacteria in ways that age and inflame you.

Now, add in anti-aging superfoods. Here are some of the most powerful ones:

COLLAGEN.

Collagen is the main structural protein in your body, and after the age of 20, you lose about one percent of it per year. As a result, you get “saggy, baggy, and wrinkly.” Luckily, you can replace that collagen simply by adding a collagen supplement to shakes, coffee, or other beverages.

BONE BROTH.

Bone broth is loaded with the building blocks of collagen, as well as with glucosamine and chondroitin—the same nutrients many doctors prescribe to keep joints healthy—and inflammation-fighting glycine.

HEALTHY FATS.

Swap out unhealthy seed oils (which are heavily processed and high in pro-inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids) for healthy fats like olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, and pastured butter.

These foods help to build strong cell membranes, balance your hormones, and keep your skin soft and dewy.

LEAN PROTEINS.

These provide your body with muscle-sculpting, fat-burning, anti-inflammatory nutrients like choline, conjugated linoleic acid, and omega-3 fatty acids. Reach for pastured meat, poultry, and eggs and wild-caught fish if you can afford it.

VEGGIES, BERRIES, AND GRAPEFRUIT.

The phytonutrients in vegetables energize your cells and help to remove toxins that age you. Berries are fairly low in sugar and rich in collagen-building vitamin C and other anti-aging nutrients, while grapefruit is brimming with vitamin C, detoxifying limonoids, and fat-burning nootkatone.

THE BOTTOM LINE: AGING IS A CHOICE

It’s true that you’ll change as you get older. The trick is to change for the better, and the power to do that lies in your own hands. So turn negative thinking into a positive vision for your future. Make age-defying HIIT and resistance training part of your lifestyle. Kick sugar and junk foods out of your life, and feed your body anti-aging superfoods that will keep you young forever. It truly is that simple to refuse to age!