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The fourth lifestyle to reverse aging is through your diet and nutrition. There are a few ways where meals and diet can slow down or reverse aging. Firstly, control the timing of your meals. - I will be introducing the concept of intermittent fasting. Secondly, control the contents of your meals - lean towards more fruits and vegetables and less meat. Thirdly, control the way you cook - cook with lower temperature and less oil.

First concept - Time your meals to incorporate some form of fasting. Scientists have long known that dietary calorie restriction in non-primate animals slows aging while maintaining good health and body functions.Rats and mice fed 30-50% fewer calories shows various physiological health benefits, lower incidence of chronic diseases and up to 50% increase in length of life. Therein lies the concept of intermittent fasting. Basically, intermittent fasting refers to a dietary plan where you alternate periods of eating with periods of fasting. When we fast - our body switches from utilising sugar and Carbohydrate from the food we eat to utilising fat stored in our body - this will help burn fat and reduce obesity.

The 3 most widely studied intermittent fasting regimes are
a) alternate day fasting, where you fast for one day and eat the next day
b) 5:2 fasting where you eat 5 days a week and fast 2 days a week
c) A daily time-restricted feeding where you only eat within a window of 4-8 hours a day. For example, you only eat from 10am-6pm everyday and fast for the rest of the 16hours.

Second concept - Control the contents of your meal.The benefits of dietary restriction can also be found by changing the macro nutrient profile to reduce meat intake without any changes to calorie level. Lets use the popular Mediterranean diet as an example. The Mediterranean diet has been associated with longer telomeres and therefore reduced aging. It can also help lower the risk of heart disease.

It may be challenging to have a Mediterranean diet daily in Singapore.So let me just introduce two concepts to make it easier for you to have a healthier diet.The quarter quarter half strategy made famous by Singapore’s health promotion board and the 3-5-7 healthy heart principles. Firstly , what’s a quarter quarter half strategy. Fill up 1/4 of your plate with healthy protein like lean meat, fish or plant based protein like tofu. Next , fill up the next 1/4 of your plate with whole grain : ideally this portion should include brown rice or wholemeal bread. Unfortunately when eating out, its hard to find brown rice, so white rice would be an alternative in the Asian context. Lastly, fill up 1/2 of your plate with fruits and vegetable. Aim for 2 servings of fruits and 2 servings of vegetables per day.

So then, what’s the 3-5-7 healthy heart principles? 3 highs : high in fibre, high in whole food and high in plant based protein. Again consume plenty of fruits and vegetables, soy products, beans and legumes. Whole lean meat and avoid processed ones like bacons and sausages. 5 lows: low in alcohol, fat, cholesterol, salt and sugar. 7: Eat 70% full - always aim to eat till you are only 70% full

Third concept - Control the way you cook. Foods cooked with high heat develop toxic compounds called Advanced glycation end products or AGEs for short. AGEs can contribute to hardening of the arteries, stiff joints, wrinkles, and more. AGEs are found in high quantities in processed foods such as American cheese, fast food and dark colas. Try substituting them with low-fat cheese, dried fruit, fruit juice and air-popped popcorn. Also cook your food at lower temperatures.

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