Anti-ageing with green living

Contact with harmful chemicals is a constant feature of daily life. However, you can limit your exposure to this melting pot of environmental pollutants by making green living choices that can assist with anti aging by keeping the body healthy and looking younger for longer.

Toxins and aging
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are the gases and chemicals we breathe in every day; they emanate from lighting, computers, fabrics and furniture. VOCS remain trapped inside homes, cars and buildings, where they circulate and are breathed into our bodies again and again, entering the bloodstream, brain and nervous system.

Links are now being made between indoor pollution and certain cancers, respiratory illness, immune system changes, allergies and behavioural and learning disorders. The burden of eliminating these chemicals from your body and the damage they cause to your genes and the components of your cells can lead to premature aging.

Getting natural sources of air to your home by opening a window is beneficial for improving air quality. Indoor plants are also an obvious green living choice you can make to naturally filter the air, which will assist with your own anti aging and longevity in the process.
 

How can green living choices help anti aging?
Regular chemical exposure from foods, cosmetics, medicines and more can have a range of effects. There are some green living, toxin-free alternatives you can try to promote health and longevity.
 

Green living cleaning products and sprays: Try green living cleaning options that will help reduce indoor chemical pollution. Use natural alternatives such as lemon, eucalyptus oil, bicarb soda and vinegar.
 

Green living food choices: The food we eat contains various pesticide residues from agricultural production. Make a green living choice by purchasing organic food and drinking filtered water to reduce your exposure to pesticide residues and pollutants. Choosing organic meats and dairy foods will also reduce your exposure to pesticide residues and harmful substances used in intensive animal farming, such as antibiotics.
 

Plastics: Another major source of toxin exposure is the plastics used in food production, packaging and general household furnishings.
 

Heavy metals: Increased concentrations of heavy metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium and aluminium within our bodies have been linked to several age-related diseases, such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, as well as various types of cancer. Thus, limiting our exposure to toxins could potentially have a number of anti aging benefits.
 

How toxins age you
Even low or moderate levels of synthetic chemicals can cause health effects in some people with sensitivities.

Health problems can include:
Poor liver function: Your liver function influences your aging process.
 

Genetic damage: a number of age-related diseases, including Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and some aspects of heart disease and cancer, are believed to be caused by the damage produced by free radicals to your DNA and cells. Therefore avoiding toxins that may contribute to this can potentially have anti aging effects.
 

Mitochondria damage: Mitochondria are the powerhouses within your body cells. The DNA found within mitochondria is highly susceptible to damage from free radicals, which is believed to be the main route by which exposure to environmental pollution leads to mitochondrial damage.
 

Making green living choices can limit your exposure to toxins and their aging effects. There’s also a number of dietary choices you can make to protect against environmental pollutants. Many of these have anti aging properties.
 

Foods to protect against toxins and that have have a number of anti aging properties include blueberries, beetroot, sprouts, goji berries, brazil nuts, broccoli and turmeric.