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Pomegranate juice. Blueberry powder. And don’t forget beverages and capsules containing the allegedly miraculous acai berry. These so-called superfoods have been identified as anti-aging weapons, but can you actually eat or drink your way to smoother skin?
There are certainly foods that are good for you, and antioxidant foods, which are rich in vitamins including E and C, can help in the fight for healthy skin and longevity in general.
But simply cramming pills, juices and powders with antioxidants into your diet could be counterproductive, said Joanne Slavin, a spokeswoman for the Institute of Food Technologists, an organization of food scientists headquartered in Chicago.
“Everything should be consumed in moderation,” said Slavin, who also is a professor of food science and nutrition at the University of Minnesota. “People think if they throw blueberry extract in a soy drink, they’ll live forever. Blueberries are great, but that has not been proven as true.”
What does work: You might want to punt the powders and extracts.
Eating whole foods, including blueberries, cherries and other fruits and vegetables with antioxidants, is one of the keys to getting the most out of the experience, Slavin said. “We haven’t found many studies where an isolated antioxidant has proven very effective in anti-aging,” Slavin said.
Olshansky says that subtracting some things from your diet can improve your health, and, therefore, your appearance.
“There’s lots of scientific evidence that eating too much fat is bad for you, so that’s an area people can address,” Olshansky said.
“The general rule of thumb is that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”
