FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Kudos to WAG’s own anti-aging expert Dr. Erika Schwartz, who recently did a people-on-the-streets-of-New York segment for “Extra” that focuses on foods and practices that keep you more than young at heart.

“People from Canada, Germany, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey came to ask questions, and they loved it probably even more than I did and I had a blast,” she says.

Here are some of the foods/practices Dr. Erika discussed with passers-by.

“So we compared cottage cheese to goat cheese. Dairy is aging. After the age of 30, your body is on an overload of dairy and casein, a protein found in dairy that wreaks havoc on our insides. So best to switch to less cheese and if you must, only goat or sheep.

“Room temperature water versus ice water. After workouts and in general, room temperature water keeps us younger, because cold water causes blood vessels to constrict and even has been known to cause heart attacks.

“Beer or wine. Beer ages us more, because the oats in it ferment and bloat us. Wine in moderation contains resveratrol, an antioxidant that protects the brain and gets rid of free radicals.

“Whole wheat bread versus rice crackers. Aging brings about gluten intolerance, causing us to bloat and become unable to digest our food. Wheat is full of gluten, and you don’t need to get the diagnosis of gluten intolerance to thrive without it. De-bloat with rice crackers, which do not contain gluten and keep you younger.

“Pretzels versus popcorn. Popcorn. Pretzels are full of junk and gluten, and they bloat you as you get older. Popcorn without butter or oil is just paper-like and fills you up without causing any problems. Good for dieting but even better for anti-aging.

“We looked at dark lettuce versus light lettuce. Dark leafy vegetables contain more antioxidants and digest more easily, thus allowing more hormone production time than iceberg lettuce. You stay young-looking and your skin looks better when you eat dark leafy greens.

“Broccoli or string beans? Broccoli contains minerals and iodine, which help your thyroid make hormones that keep you young and healthy-looking. String beans are good, but they don’t have as much to offer hormonally.

Washcloth versus a brush for showering. Use a brush to scrub your skin in the shower. The skin is the largest organ of the body, and hormones are made there. If you scrub it, you stimulate blood circulation and you get fewer wrinkles and lessen the likelihood of undesirable growths on your skin.

“Steak or pasta with red sauce for dinner. Steak is better. The same enzymes digest protein and starch and if you want to stay young and trim and not get a spare tire around your waist, you better not eat starches at night and don’t mix meat with starches either. Hormones are made at night and protein helps make hormones and helps you sleep better so you look a lot better in the morning then if you had pasta, which makes you look bloated.”

Look for Dr. Erika’s tips on “Extra” during May sweeps. You can always contact her at Erika@drerika.com.

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