Page 71 - EatingWell Special Edition Superfoods 2019

IN SEARCH

OF THE

ANTI-AGING

DIET

Sharper minds, healthier skin

and more? Certain foods help us live not

only longer but better lives.

BY SUNNY SEA GOLD

T he oldest man ever to live had a motto: “Eat
light to live long.” Jiroemon Kimura, who died

in 2013 at age 116, was from a seaside fishing
and
farming
Kimura’s
home-
Japan.
city
in
town comes as no surprise to Dan Buettner,

the National Geographic explorer who first identified “Blue
Zones”—including areas of Japan, Costa Rica and Greece—as
regions of the world where people live the longest, healthi-
est lives. There are many factors that go into the magic of
these real-life fountains of youth, such as social support,
spirituality and active work, but according to Buettner, diet
is high on the list.
“What we eat affects all of the tissues in our bodies, from
the quality of our skin to the sharpness of our brains,” says

Karen Ansel, M.S., a registered dietitian in Long Island,
New York, and the author of Healing Superfoods for Anti-
Aging. This has a huge impact on whether or when we suc-
cumb to common diseases of aging, such as cardiovascular

67