Last week we shared an article about ways to slow down aging. This time health expert JJ Virgin shares the worst foods for aging. Here are the worst offenders:

1. Sugar
I’m sure I’m not the first person to break this news—there just isn’t anything redeeming about a diet high in sugar, especially as you age. There are a few different ways sugar works against your body to exacerbate the symptoms and physical signs of aging.

• It can create insulin resistance. After your body breaks down sugar into glucose and fructose, insulin delivers glucose to your cells to give you energy. But with a diet too high in sugar, your body starts to become resistant to the onslaught of insulin, or a condition known as insulin resistance. It will try to make enough insulin to overcome your body’s resistant response to the insulin it already has, which can lead to conditions like type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease—neither of which help the...

Aging happens to all of us. It’s inevitable. Aging can be due to cells no longer able to function optimally. The environment we live in and our lifestyles can also affect how we age. According to Johnny Bowder, author of The Most Effective Ways to Live Longer, “Only about 5 to 20 percent of the aging process has to do with our genes. The rest has to do with how we treat our bodies, which determines whether, like a light switch, we turn the good genes on and the bad genes off.” Here are 5 ways shared with us by Dr. Amen to avoid accelerating the aging process.

1. Lessen Exposure to Free Radicals
Not unlike the way rust attacks a car, free radicals attack our cells, damage our DNA and accelerate aging. Things to avoid: cigarettes, trans fats, excess sun exposure, charred meats, and pesticides. Though fruits and vegetables are great sources of antioxidants that fight free radicals, try to buy the “dirty dozen” (produce with highest chemical residue) in...