The Science of Slowing Down Aging: How to Hack Your Metabolism
Most people will instantly focus on weight loss when they consider metabolism. However, if you manage to properly hack your own metabolic rate (and there are many ways to accomplish this), this can also help slow down aging!
Metabolism is often associated with weight loss, and for good reason. The rate at which your body burns calories is a key factor in determining how much weight you will lose or gain over time. However, metabolism also plays an important role in aging. The faster your metabolism, the more quickly your body breaks down cells, leading to premature aging. On the other hand, a slower metabolism can help to preserve cells and slow down the aging process.
As we age, our cells gradually break down and become less efficient. This is due to the fact that each cell can only divide a certain number of times before it deteriorates or dies. From age 25 onward, the cells of our metabolic system get older and our metabolic rate naturally decreases by about 1-2% every decade. This means that we burn fewer calories and have to be more careful about what we eat in order to maintain a healthy weight.
While there is no way to completely stop the aging process, there are some things you can do to slow it down. One of the best ways to do this is to increase your metabolic flexibility –– your body’s ability to switch between using fats and carbs as fuel. Here’s how:
1. Shred your body fat.
One advantage of metabolic flexibility is that it makes it easier for you to burn fat more effectively, which is ideal for long-term weight loss. Long into your senior years, a flexible metabolism will keep you trim and healthy.
2. Eating food rich in antioxidants
Antioxidants bind to free radicals and deactivate them, protecting you from cellular damage that ages you.
If you’re looking for foods high in antioxidants, you’ll want to focus on eating plenty of colorful fruits and vegetables. Blueberries, for example, are a great source of antioxidants, as are other berries like raspberries and strawberries. Other good sources include dark leafy greens like spinach and kale, as well as colorful veggies like carrots, sweet potatoes, and tomatoes.
3. Reducing your level of blood sugar
Stabilizing your blood sugar levels can also be accomplished by improving the flexibility of your metabolism.
As you age, your body’s sensitivity to the hormone insulin, which controls blood sugar, decreases. Your blood sugar levels become unstable as a result of high glucose, which causes you to manufacture more free radicals and speed up the aging process.