Five steps to stay young - stop eating like this

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What you eat matters not only for your health but also your appearance. Here is a list of food hang-ups that can age you from the inside out and tips for breaking the habits.

On April 5, Care2, a green living online community, added to healthy living magazine Experience Life's list of food habits that can age you, namely fast food, sweets, carbohydrate overload, waiting until you're famished to eat and eating while stressed.

According to Experience Life, "nutrition, not age, determines the body's internal chemistry, and that chemistry determines, in large part, the quality and resiliency of virtually every organ, cell and system in the body."

"Everything from the condition of your skin to the quality of your bones, brain and connective tissue is determined in part by what you eat. As a result, your eating habits are a major determinant in how quickly you begin to see and feel the effects of aging."

Fast foods
Trans fats cause internal inflammation and lead to the body's inability to regenerate organs and shorten your longevity.
Tip: avoid products with hydrogenated" or "partially hydrogenated" oils.

Sugar
The body is unable to break down large amounts of sugars and in the process makes you look older by creating wrinkles. The "sugar molecules gum up the collagen in your skin which makes it less elastic, makes it wrinkle faster, and means it won't heal as quickly if it's damaged, " said Shawn Talbott, PhD, a nutritional biochemist and author.
Tip: avoid refined sugar - look to honey, maple syrup and agave.

Carbohydrate overload
Similar to sugar, excess carbohydrates stress the body but also create yo-yoing - a burst of sugar followed by insatiateness. This can age the body by leading to type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome and heart disease.
Tip: eat a diet rich with complex carbohydrates including legumes, vegetables and 100 percent whole grains.

Waiting until your famished to eat
The hormone ghrelin is released when your brain senses it's hungry. It can take 30 minutes to normalize your ghrelin levels and will most likely trigger overeating and can lead to obesity.
Tip: keep healthy snacks on hand, don't wait until the hunger pangs trigger your ghrelin.

Eating while stressed
Sometimes it is more about how and where you are eating. Cortisol, a stress hormone, can prevent digestion, impact the stomach's acidity levels preventing nutrient absorption and make you more apt to make unhealthy food choices and overeat.
Tip: try to relax while you eat and not multi-task

For more information on how to stay looking young and healthy, go to: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/four-food-habits-that-age-you.html