Anti Aging Foods for Seniors: What to Eat, What to Avoid

By Phil Lancaster

September 30, 2021

anti aging, anti aging for seniors, anti-aging foods, best anti aging foods, worst anti aging foods

The Best and Worst Anti Aging Foods for Seniors

Kids want to look older. Adults want to look younger.

And seniors want to both look and feel younger.

It starts with what you put into your body. In this article, I will be covering the best anti aging foods for seniors and also the worst.

Naturally, you’ll have to modify these if you are lactose intolerant, celiac, vegetarian, vegan or have any other dietary restrictions.

Anti-Aging Keto Breakfast

This is one of the delicious breakfasts from my book 4 Minute Keto. It combines three super foods, salmon, avocado and eggs for a high protein, low carb breakfast that starts your body burning fat for fuel. 4 Minute Keto is published on Amazon but you can get it for immediate download HERE.

The 16 Best Anti Aging Foods for Seniors.

We all want that inner glow that broadcasts your good health to everyone. You can’t really fake it with creams, lotions and serums, though they can help and we will cover the best of them in future articles.

But the inner glow starts with your diet.

  1. Water. So under-appreciated, water makes up most of our body mass and is essential to every aspect of good health. While clearly not a food, it is one of the best ant-aging products that seniors can imbibe. The problem is that as you get older, you simply don’t get as thirsty as you did as a child. So make sure you drink plenty of water. Don’t wait until you’re thirsty. By then, you’re already dehydrated and your cells are drying up. And when you drink, drink a full glass.
  2. Cold-Pressed, Extra Virgin Olive Oil. You can use it in salad dressings and for cooking. Except for butter when I’m scrambling eggs, I don’t use anything else when frying food. Not canola oil, not sunflower oil and not any kind of low-fat oil. You want as little processing in your foods as possible.
  3. Blueberries. Of all the anti aging foods for seniors, blueberries are nature’s antioxidant. They are a major contributor to keeping your cells healthy. Blackberries, cranberries, raspberries and strawberries are great, too.
  4. Broccoli. High in fiber, vitamins and antioxidants, make broccoli your go-to green vegetable. Best steamed and included with a cooked dinner. Vary by substituting spinach or silver beet (great sources of iron) and legumes such as peas and beans.
  5. Yogurt. Truly a super food, yogurt is one of the best anti aging foods for seniors. This is because loss of calcium and bone density can be a serious problem for older seniors, particularly women. Yogurt is a great source of calcium and protein, it’s an aid to digestion but can also help keep your gut healthy. Buy only natural, pot set yogurt, not low fat and never flavored.
  6. Dietary Fiber. Fiber is essential to your body’s well-being. It is key to a good digestive process and the prevention of constipation. You get it from fruit, vegetables and whole grains. An excellent breakfast is natural muesli with a dessert spoonful of yogurt on top, liberally sprinkled with blueberries and topped up with whole, fresh milk.
  7. Avocado. Another super food, delicious avocado is one of the best anti aging foods for seniors. Containing vitamins A, B, C, E and K as well as the mineral potassium, it helps you to shed dead skin cells, promoting glowing, smooth, supple skin. It may help to protect from skin cancer.
  8. Eggs. Eggs have some of almost every nutrient your body needs. One egg has 6 gms of protein and 5 gms of healthy fats. Your body needs healthy fats. Contrary to popular belief, fat does not make you fat. Sugar, especially processed sugar, is the big culprit.Eggs contain vitamins A, B2, B5, B6, B12, D, E and K, as well as folate, phosphorus, selenium, calcium and zinc. Make sure you eat only genuine free-range eggs. With yellower yolks and harder shells, they’re better for both you and the chickens. If we all stopped buying cage eggs, the dreadful practice of battery hens would become uneconomic.They increase the production of HDL (high density lipoprotein) commonly referred to as “good” cholesterol, which can result in a lower risk of heart disease and stroke. For most people, an increase in cholesterol intake simply results in the liver producing less cholesterol to balance it out.
  9. Salmon and Other Oily Fish. Seniors and others should aim for two or three serves a week of salmon, mackerel or sardines for their anti aging and other health benefits. They are a great source of protein and potassium and are high in omega-3 fatty acids, which help your skin retain moisture and look younger.As an anti aging brain food for seniors, they are also loaded with selenium and choline to improve brain function and neurological health.
  10. Watercress. Watercress is a nutrient-dense, hydrating leafy green containing vitamins A, B1, B2, C and K. It can help keep fine lines and wrinkles away by increasing your circulation and the delivery of minerals to your body.
  11. Spinach. One of the best of the leafy greens, spinach is a great source of magnesium, iron and lutein, as well as vitamins A, C, E and K. As a result, it enhances collagen production to keep skin firm and smooth, reduces inflammation (an important component of anti aging foods for seniors) and promotes strong, shiny hair.
  12. Red Bell Pepper. Red bell peppers add a great color to any meal as well as tasting wonderful. But more significantly, they are loaded with anti-oxidants in the form of carotenoids, which are absolutely the best thing to force an aging slowdown.Carotenoids can help protect your skin from sun damage and environmental toxins.
  13. Sweet Potato. This delicious tuber can protect your skin from harmful free radicals to keep your complexion radiant. The beta carotene anti-oxidant is converted to vitamin A, which contributes to softer, youthful looking skin. This makes it one of the best anti aging foods for seniors. It’s an excellent source of vitamins C and E as well.
  14. Tomato. Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad. Tomatoes are high in lycopene, which may offer protection against prostate and lung cancers. Unlike many foods, which are best eaten raw, tomatoes release more lycopene when cooked.
  15. Papaya. Papaya is so good at improving skin elasticity, minimizing wrinkles and helping to shed dead skin cells that its active ingredients are found in many expensive exfoliating products! It’s an antioxidant that’s rich in vitamins A, the B group, C, E and K, as well as calcium, potassium, magnesium and phosphorus.
  16. Nuts. Nuts are high protein and heart healthy. Enjoy a handful as a between meals snack. Mix them up to get a range of benefits. Two of the best anti aging nut foods for seniors are almonds, which are loaded with vitamin E to repair skin tissue and walnuts, whose omega-3 fatty acids preserve the skin’s natural oils. Other nuts include:

Cashews
Hazelnuts
Brazil nuts
Macadamia nuts
Peanuts (strictly speaking not a nut but a bean)
Pecans

Make sure you eat your nuts raw, not cooked in some unknown oil or coated in some sugary substance.

The Anti Aging Foods for Seniors to Avoid

Sugar, sugar and sugar. Or chemical sugar substitutes.

Processed sugar is absolutely the worst thing for you. And totally unnecessary. Our ancestors (who were universally not fat) ate no sugar except that found in fruit and vegetables. They ate plenty of animal fat. Sugar is the number one anti aging food for seniors to avoid.

Our bodies require sugar for fuel. But it gets it by breaking down carbohydrates into simple sugar. The resulting simple sugar goes into the bloodstream. The pancreas then releases a hormone called insulin that is necessary to move the sugar from the blood into the cells where it can be used for energy. Without the proper amount of insulin, i.e., if there is too much sugar for the body to process, the sugar stays in the bloodstream and causes damage to the heart, nerves and kidneys. It takes longer for the body to turn some carbohydrates into simple sugar. Thus, the pancreas is not required to release as much insulin as soon, and this is better for the body.

Eating processed sugar is just an addictive habit developed in childhood.

If you take sugar in tea or coffee, try cutting it in half for a week. Then in half again for another week, then cut it out altogether. At first, your tea or coffee will taste bland, but I promise you that after a month or two, it will taste fine. Not only that, but if someone accidentally gives you a tea or coffee with sugar in it, you’ll have one taste and thing “Yuk. How could I ever have drunk that?”

You must eliminate sodas from your diet. They are truly dreadful. Full of sugar (often it its worst possible form, corn syrup) preservatives and artificial flavorings (more chemicals). The low or no sugar alternatives are just as bad. Sodas bear a large responsibility for our children’s obesity epidemic.

Anti Aging Strength for Seniors

We all know the image of the frail old man or the frail old lady who has to be helped to do even the simplest of tasks.

It doesn’t have to be like that.

We’ve covered the best and worst anti aging foods for seniors in this article. In a future article, we’ll address how to stay strong as you age.

Anti Aging Aerobics for Seniors

While you’re welcome to join a seniors aerobics class at your local gym, which can be fun and very social, the important thing here for seniors is to keep moving.

It can be as little as a half hour walk every day right through to more strenuous exercise.

We’ve covered the best and worst anti aging foods for seniors in this article. In a future article, we’ll address how to stay flexible and active as you age.

Take Action

4 Minute Keto Flat Cover

As always, if you do nothing, nothing changes.

The important thing is to take action. Change your diet, start an exercise program, see how many pushups you can do. For example, the difference between doing say, ten pushups and twenty is very little. But the difference between doing none and doing some is infinite. Once you start, you’ll be amazed at how quickly you’ll progress.

It’s motivation that makes you start, but habit that keeps you going.

If you’re overweight, you need to start your anti aging journey by getting it under control. The best way of doing this is the ketogenic (keto) diet. It puts your body into a state of ketosis, where it burns stored fat for fuel. Please have a look at my book 4 Minute Keto.  It's published on Amazon but you can get it for immediate download HERE.

I created 4 minute KETO for those who, like me, wanted to use the keto diet to strip body fat as fast as possible, while at the same time getting fit and healthy.

And it works big time.

When you're in ketosis, your body burns fat for fuel. That fuel can be used for everyday activities, such as breathing and walking around.

But you can torch the fat away by using it to fuel a simple, 4 minute exercise program that anyone can do.

It's all explained in 4 minute KETO, along with tons of delicious keto meal plans.

You can get it with PayPal or credit card for just $14.99.

See also Anti-Aging Foods for Women

and Sex and Seniors.

Heart Health

Are you at an age where you are concerned about heart health? You might like my article Healthy Heart Diet Foods List.

Better Skin

Do you want better skin in 7 days? Please check out The Best Anti Aging Skin Care Products.

You might also be interested in the Wikipedia article on extending the human lifespan.

Your Thoughts or Questions on Anti-Aging Foods for Seniors

I love to hear about what my readers think.

If you have any thoughts or questions about this topic, please leave them in the Comments section below.

Phil Lancaster

About the author

Phil is a septuagenarian who believes in an enjoyable, healthy lifestyle through exercise and healthy eating. His website is all about helping others to look and feel younger.

The Aging Slowdown website covers diet, exercise, skin care, sexual health, your immune system. stress relief and better sleep. For those moving into retirement and concerned about income and lifestyle, there's an entire section devoted to creating an online business at any age.

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  1. Important topic Phil. Very important. I am more conscious now than ever before about what I eat and what impact it will have on my health, not only today, but also 20-30 years down the road.

    Keep writing please and keep spreading the message. I become truly sad when I see seniors eating food I wouldn’t eat even if I was paid to do so. Processed food. Fast food. Food that has no place as nutrition.  

    1. Thank you, Lars. Yes, I totally agree.

      So much of it is just habit. I literally feel nauseous when I walk past a fast food outlet and smell the over-processed, over-cooked, greasy stuff that overweight patrons are filling themselves up with.

      That sensitivity comes from not eating the stuff. As you say, wouldn’t eat it if they paid me.

  2. I have been a lacto-vegetarian, drinking goat’s milk, for over forty years, plus I do strenuous Kundalini Yoga Kriyas, all which keep me looking much younger than my 67 years. People cannot guess my age 🙂 ! I am very healthy and very rarely get sick. My body clearly tells me what to eat and what not to eat. I plan on living a long time, for I was Durga, Mary Mother of Jesus and integral to the lineage of the Sikh Gurus.

    Blessings to all,
    Guru Prem Kaur Khalsa

    1. Thank you for those thoughts. Your lifestyle would be regarded as extreme by many Westerners, but it clearly works for you. I totally agree with the concept that your body tells you what to eat (and what not to).

      May your plan of living a long time bear fruit.

      My own mother enjoyed her life until the age of 102.

  3. It’s not as easy to slow down the aging process but since I write about health on my website I understand how these foods can help in slowing down the aging process.

    I love and eat every one of these foods and I know they are very healthy for you.I drink so much water that I should be a fish! I know how good it is for you.

    Many other things such as olive oil, eggs, avocado, and fish for instance I never ate before.My diet sure has changed since being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

    I want to be healthier and slow down the aging process at the same time!How do you handle ordering foods when dining out?

    1. So many people now suffer from Type 2 diabetes. Have you found that your healthy diet helps to keep it under control?

      With regards to dining out, I’m fortunate in that I don’t have either a big appetite or a sweet tooth. So I don’t order either an entrée or a dessert.

      This allows me to focus on the main course, which will be typically grass-fed rump, or fish or lamb or pork, done in some special way. Then I add freshly steamed vegetables to it.

      It’s usually a great meal with that huge advantage – Cooked by someone else.

      The thing I have to watch out for is drinking too much. When you’re in a social environment, it’s very easy for the glasses of wine to mount up.

  4. Hi Phil,

    Thank you for posting this article. Like many people I’ve been caught up in the moment of working and have not taken the time to really think about my diet. This has brought so many thoughts to mind and makes me want to look into it more. Thanks again for posting this and continue to do so. The world needs more articles like this to open peoples eyes to the truth of our diets.

    David

    1. Thanks, David. It’s so easy to get caught up in the day to day. Then not exercising becomes a habit, grabbing pre-prepared becomes another and before you know it, you’re old, unfit and unwell. The only time to stop that cycle is now!

  5. Phil, this is a well written article.  I like the way it’s organized.  At my age, 58, I’m not considered a senior yet, however, I am a proud card carrying AARP member.  In 2003 I started the Atkins diet and did it for about 3 years.  I did lose 50 pounds but now I’ve gained it all back and then some.  I’m not much of a soda drinker and I try to eat two servings of fresh fruit every day.  I also enjoy almonds and cashews.  My down fall is bread, bread bread.  i exercise 5 to 6 times a week.  

    I’ve taken notice of the foods you have suggested and will attempt to add some of these into my diet.  Now if I can just cut out the SUGARS.

    Nice article Phil!

    Cal

    1. Thanks for your thoughts, Cal. Losing 50 lbs on the Atkins diet is a big achievement and even though you’ve put it all back on, you at least know it can be done.

      It sounds as if you are on the right track. My advice would be to try Keto for a week, two if you can manage it.

      You may find it difficult, as it will totally remove bread. But I suspect your bread habit is just that -a habit.

      Try my 4 Minute Keto book. It does include a recipe for Keto bread.

      I’m putting together some free diet and exercise resources as well and will send you the links when they’re available.

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