The way you look and your skin appearance depends very much on what food you eat. It is the same as with teenagers and you tell them not to eat too much chocolate and sweets because they will cause spots. Well it is the same when you get older your skin can look older if you do not eat well. As the saying goes ? beauty comes from the inside?. So eating the right foods is very important. Look to replace the refined foods in your life with wholegrain foods, such as white bread for whole wheat bread or white rice with brown rice. Nowadays you can find such an array of wholegrain foods in the shops that it is easier than ever to substitute for the more refined foods. The reason being that white flours and sugars have a high calorific values but little nutritional value.

     Look to eat more salads and vegetables as they have high nutritional values but are very low in calories. Most vegetables contain vitamins and minerals essential for healthy skin, eyesight and help prevent disease. Vitamin C will help prevent premature aging and can be found in tomatoes, oranges, spinach, cabbage and other fruit and vegetables.

     The body also requires both protein and fat but you have to be careful that you do not eat too much saturated fat, which is not good for you. Meat and dairy products are a good source of protein but they do also contain saturated fats. Eating low-fat dairy products can help towards limiting the amount of saturated fat that you eat. Proteins can also be found in beans (legumes), some vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower and spinach and in wholegrains such as rice.

     The body also requires certain fats such of monounsaturated fats and omega-3. Good sources of monounsaturated fats are avocados, olive oil, hazelnuts, brazil nuts and almonds. Omega-3 can be found in fatty fish such as salmon, rainbow trout and kippers but can also be found in certain vegetables such as broccoli, dark salad leaves and parsley.

     All fats are fattening so if you want to lose weight than these need to be eaten in small amounts. Omega-3 fatty acids have been found to enhance nerve transmission and increase serotonin levels (the happy hormone) and so help in long term memory and learning abilities as you grow older.

     Carbohydrate foods are great for the brain, nervous system and muscles because they have an ability to release energy slowly and maintain blood sugar levels. Carbohydrates such as wholegrains ? brown rice and beans are great but refined carbohydrates such as white rice and table sugar release energy too quickly giving blood sugar spikes.

     Eating a healthy balanced diet will not only help you to look younger but will also help you to lose weight if you have a few extra pound to shed and consequently that will also help you to younger.