5 age-fighting power foods and nutrients

As nurses, we’ve all come across a few patients who look nowhere near their age—and we’d love to know their secret. In a bid to look great and keep ourselves healthy, it’s easy to get overwhelmed with so much “stuff” out there. Even nurses can have a tough time with the pitches and claims!

In order to help you make sense of what’s being sold, we decided to look at five of the more realistic and expert-backed helpful hints.

1. Stock up on wine and chocolate.

Most of us have heard news about red wine being good for us in moderation—very encouraging for wine lovers! Red wine has resveratrol. According to some research, resveratrol appears to reduce damage to blood vessels, reduce LDL cholesterol and prevent blood clots. There are also claims that resveratrol can inhibit the growth of some types of cancer cells. Dr. Mehmet Oz, who was made famous by appearing on Oprah Winfrey’s show, agrees. He says resveratrol triggers something (we don’t know what yet) in the human body that prevents cells from aging.

Resveratrol can be found in some foods, such as peanuts and cranberries, but scientists don’t yet know if the amount of the substance in these foods is enough to warrant eating them for the resveratrol.

One entrepreneur, Malcolm Nicholl, has taken the resveratrol idea and run with it. He and his wife have developed a product called the Wine Time Bar. His company offers two flavors of bars—Chocolate-Raspberry and Rich Dark Chocolate, Dates and Almonds—which include an amount of resveratrol equivalent to 50 glasses of wine. According to Nicholl, the bar provides all the benefits of red wine “without the hangover.”

It’s certainly an interesting concept for nurses who love chocolate!

2. Grandma was right about fish oil.

It used to be that a teaspoon of cod liver oil was supposed to cure you of all that ailed you and prevented much more than that. In fact, maybe it’s because of cod liver oil that you’re now a big, strong nurse.

Mom and Grandma were ahead of their time in believing that cod liver oil was healthy. The news of all its benefits has recently become mainstream. Fish oils are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which are thought to decrease blood pressure and triglycerides. According to Joseph C. Maroon, MD, professor and Heindl Scholar in Neurosurgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, “The omega-3 molecule is essential for the proper functioning of every cell membrane in our body and therefore proper levels of omega-3 support both proper cell function and disease avoidance.”

If you hate fish or just don’t eat enough of it, you can get your daily requirements in a supplement. Dr. Maroon says it’s important to look closely at the labels because not all supplements are created equally.

“The key to fish oil supplementation selection is looking at the label to determine the amount of EPA and DHA, the active ingredients that are actually in each capsule,” he explains. “Typically, generic capsules will say they are 1 gram in size and yet only contain about 300 mg of mixed EPA and DGA. Typically, the accepted dose for EPA and DGA is between 1,000 mg and 3,000 mg, and so if you were taking 3,000 mg per day, that would be 10 capsules. That’s a lot of oil.”

Dr. Oz weighs in on omega-3 use, too. On his show, he says that taking omega-3 regularly helps you stay younger because it helps:

●     Fight wrinkles (makes you look younger!)

●     Protect your vision

●     Alleviate acne

●     Boost the brain