10 Anti-Aging Foods From Around The World

Anti-aging is not so much about stopping aging from happening — that's just impossible — as it is about growing older with grace and good health. You can do this by simply swapping some items in your refrigerator with these easy-to-buy staples. But for those who are a little bored with these foods and would like to shake up their anti-aging diets with less common, more exotic fare, we recommend looking to the longevity secrets of cultures around the globe. We have compiled a list of 10 delicious anti-aging foods and diet hacks from all over the world.

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Foreign anti-aging treatments are great to consider, because most of them have been practiced for hundreds of years. Residents of Costa Rica's Nicoya Peninsula often live past the age of 90. Japan has a high number of centenarians. Many cultures don't rely on overpriced wrinkle-reducing creams or supplemental chews, but on natural ingredients that are often delicious as well as efficacious. If you are worried that you won't know how to find or use these ingredients, fear not: (almost) every slide includes easy-to-follow recipes from our archives.

Some of the foods on this list are surprisingly indulgent, like wild blueberry grunt, which gets its name because when early settlers to the New World used cast iron pots to cook, the sound of blueberries simmering sounded like grunting pigs. Some of these items, like dandelions, are rather sharp in flavor, but their health benefits are completely worth the bitterness. Not every item on this list will be entirely unfamiliar, especially one particular elixir that you most likely have in your cabinet.

We came up with this list using a few different methods. First, we saw what other outlets had to say about certain foods and researched additional information about the items we picked. Two books came in handy: Dr. Perricone's 7 Secrets to Beauty, Health, and Longevity and 50 Secrets of the World's Longest Living People by Sally Beare, which we recommend to anybody interested in world cultures and health.

Let's not get any older reading this prelude. Here are the world's secrets to staying and looking healthy.

Aloe Vera Juice

For younger-looking skin, Deepshikha Aggarwal, one of India's top nutritionists, suggests diluting aloe vera juice with water and drinking it 20 to 30 minutes before your day's first meal. We suggest drinking aloe vera with green tea.

Dandelions

The dandelion is perhaps the most nutrient-rich plant in the world. Ojibwa Indians used it for heart health, as it is a blood purifier that helps prevent heartburn, heart attacks, and strokes by thinning blood and reducing cholesterol. Drink it as a tea, cook with its leaves, or use it in a salad.

This article was originally published on March 6, 2015