What particular aspect of growing old do you dread the most? Cancer? Heart disease? Alzheimer’s? Osteoporosis? Each one of theses disorder can be treated, prevented and their progress slowed. All these disease are a part of the aging process. By taking action to slow down your aging, you can help save yourself from premature aging.

The secrets of aging lie deep in your molecular biology. Aging occurs when your cells are continuously bombarded by chemical particles, called free radicals. These free radicals are produced in the body by normal bodily functions like respiration, elimination, digestion etc. Free radicals are also produced by pollution, cigarette, smoke, alcohol intake, eating rancid fats, sugar laden foods, smoke from car exhausts etc. these free radicals damage our cells, and this accumulated cellular damage over the years, precipitates a disease, which further degenerates the body. This is the genesis of aging and all its consequences.

It is common knowledge that very few centenarians are diabetics. Sugar is a sticky substance. When you have extra sugars floating in your blood–stream, the sticky sugar molecules attach themselves to proteins. The sugar–attached–proteins further cross – link, forming a new chemical structure, which starts the de–generation process within the body. It can leads to cataracts, stiffening of joints and sagging skin due to loss of collagen. When the proper functioning of cell is disrupted, the process leads to cancer. When glucose attaches to the protein molecules the end products keep circulating in the blood and have an adverse effect on the blood fats. Therefore, diabetics have a high risk of precipitating heart disease. Excess sugar in the blood is very damaging. Your crucial body organs like the heart, kidney, blood vessels, eyes, skin, and nerves are particularly vulnerable.

When it comes to aging, many of us get concerned only about the outward manifestations of growing order. We worry about weight gain, wrinkles and grey hair. Whilst this is unquestionably important to our self esteem, fats major role apart from making us obese is in making our insides age faster. It stimulates production of millions of free radicals, making your cells cancerous and dysfunctional. The body cannot cope with so many free radicals and the cellular destruction that follows, precipitates as age. Fats get rancid or peroxidised. These lipid hydro peroxide molecules are the ugliest free radicals on the face of the earth. Once inside the body, they go on rampages to destroy cells. They ignite one cell after the other in a chain reaction turning your body cells into malfunctioning junk. They attack the fatty membranes all over your body. Imagine your brain cells being attacked by free radicals on a daily basis, due to consumption of rancid fats. Consuming stuff like a plate full of potato chips, or fried samosas, jelabis, puris, bhajis, fried sev, ganthias, papdis or pastries, in excess, can cause free radical damage to your body. Just as fried chips lying exposed to air begins to get rancid, the fat you consume, also becomes oxidized and you begin to ‘spoil’.

Now that you are acutely aware of what happens when you consume sugar and fat laden foods, you may not be able to enjoy another dessert again. But remember, the idea is not to take the fun out of life. It is wise to live life in moderation and build your resistances and immunity in such a way, that a little bit of sugar and fat taken occasionally, would not make you loose the battle against aging.

I must emphasis that what’s going on inside your body is of vastly greater importance than our external appearance, and if we take care of our insides, that care will be reflected in how we look. Keeping our insides detoxified and clean is the only way to live and remain in good health.