Ageing starts to show up pretty much after the age of 25. High pollution levels, toxic substances in food and water, constant exposure to sunlight for long hours and other factors can lead to over production of free radicals that damage the cells of the human body. To reduce the levels of free radicals, it is advised to have 5 – 9 servings of fresh fruits and vegetables, which is a good cource of phytonutrients / phytochemicals.
Phytonutrients are nothing but simply non-nutritive plant chemicals that have protective or disease preventive properties. Some of the well-known phytochemicals are lycopene in tomatoes, isoflavones in soy and flavanoids in fruits. They are not essential nutrients and are not required by the human body for sustaining life. They sure do help the body fights against degenerative diseases of the human body like cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease.
One of the most important groups of phytochemicals are the phytosterols or phytohormones as they are sometimes known. These are plant based sterols that act as precursors to human sterols. They act to modulate the human endocrine system. One of the most important human sterols is Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). This hormone is produced in our adrenal glands and serves a variety of functions. It is often called the 'mother' hormone as it has the ability to convert itself into other hormones such as oestrogen, testosterone, progesterone, and corticosterone, on demand.
After the age of 25, it is believed that the production of DHEA starts reducing. This is one of the reasons for the process of ageing to kick in. We cannot stop this process but we can delay it.
In the book, “Growing younger” by By Bridget Doherty, Julia VanTine, I came across a very important relation between the production of DHEA and the insulin levels of the human body.
What happens is, when you consume high glycemic food such as potatoes, white rice or corn flakes, there is a sudden spike in the blood sugar levels, which leads to increase in the production of cortisol, also called the stress hormone. High insulin levels and cortisol reduces the output of DHEA and the hormones made from it. Hence, it is suggested to opt for foods with low glycemic index.
