A few weeks back I told you about my favorite supplements to boost weight loss and help you shed those pounds. This time I want to tell you about what I take to stay looking and feeling young. I can’t tell you how many times I have been told I look way younger than my actual years. It’s a humble-brag, I know, but it does show that what I’m doing for myself every single day really works. I’m in my late 30s and I get mistaken for someone in their early 30s – and who doesn’t want that?! Vanity aside, why you want to look a decade younger is because you want to be biologically youthful regardless of whatever your chronological age might be, so you have the best chance to live your healthiest and happiest life TODAY, right now.
Living in your FLO turns back the biological clock so that your body, your fertility, is actually younger than your chronological years. From my experience, many women experience a body and a fertility that is actually functioning at a point that is older than their chronological years. They feel tired, look older than they should, can’t work out with the stamina and ability they want, and feel slower. We should not expect or assume this will happen to us in our late 30s, 40s or even 50s. We can keep producing buoyant hormones for many more years if we make a conscious effort to live in a hormone-supportive way. I have helped many women reverse this through my Flo Living protocol. And, of course, when your insides are younger, your outsides look younger.
Aging occurs chemically when we have too much oxidative stress on our cells, we don’t have enough access to key micronutrients required for all parts of the body to function optimally, and when we start to make smaller concentrations of all of our hormones. This is aging on the inside, and we see it on the outside in the quality of our skin, how funky our periods and hormones feel after 35, our sex drive, our muscle tone, our weight, our mental clarity, diminished fertility, and even our mood! If you want to stay youthful biochemically-speaking – the sooner you get back into your FLO the better. “Anti-aging” (although I hate that term as it’s not scientifically possible) so let’s say – “age defying” is built into the FLO protocol. This is why following this hormone-supportive way of eating and living can help you get pregnant in your 40s and slow the process of perimenopause.
Just as there is weight loss supplement industry, there is an anti-aging supplement industry. A quick search this morning showed me there are companies telling women to shell out some $600 for a bottle of pills they say will reverse the aging process! I find this shocking. It does reveal, however, the demand and need for products that help us to look and feel younger. A cursory glance at the ingredients in those $600 supplements tells me this is not the miracle you’re looking for.
So I wanted to share what I consider to be the best researched and most effective supplements for their age-defying properties and to save you money too!
My favorite age-defying supplements
- Blueberries. Not strictly a supplement I know (although it is available in supplement form as an extract), but just as simple and easy to eat every day. Blueberries are a great source of resveratrol and other anti-oxidants. This phytonutrient fights damage to your DNA, which is a central source of the symptoms of aging, and slows tissue aging. In testing on insects and animals blueberry extract has even been shown to increase longevity. Studies on people have shown that blueberry extract improves the appearance of aging skin.
- Collagen. Most women don’t have enough collagen in their diet. You can take this in pill form like: Biocell Collagen with Hyaluronic Acid, or a powder to add to your smoothies or even by being really dedicated to drinking bone broth. What’s great about collagen is how quickly you see and feel results with this one. This actually helps your skin regenerate and as such increases suppleness and fullness. It will also prevent those aches and pains that can come with aging.
- CoEnzyme-Q10. This supplement is mitochondria supportive, promoting their regeneration and overall function. Mitochondria are a part of every cell in your body – they’re your cell’s digestive system essentially – which convert glucose into a usable fuel. Again, this supplement prevents DNA damage (a primary source of the symptoms of aging). It fights free radicals which contribute to DNA damage and cell death. This will slow the aging process and, some claim, increase longevity.
- Vitamin D. A high intake of vitamin D protects telomeres, which are the “caps” on the chromosomes that make up our DNA. Research from Stanford University shows that the key to reversing the aging process is preventing DNA damage via shortened telomeres or telomere erosion. The condition of our telomeres has a direct impact on the aging of our cells and therefore the aging of our bodies. There are supplements out there that call themselves “telomere lengthening” supplements (this is what can cost upwards of $600!). Most of the claims are bogus. It’s better to use food and supplements that prevent your telomeres from erosion and shortening, rather than trying to do what might be impossible, at least for now.
- Vitamin B12. Known as the energy vitamin B12 can give you back that youthful energy, exuberance and vibrance. It’s important to note that if you’ve recently come off the Pill you may find you’re deficient in this vitamin as it’s one that the Pill depletes the most. Your body needs this to convert the food you eat into glucose for fuel.
Always remember, that once you have the right information about how your body really works, you can start making health choices that finally start to work for you! You can do this – the science of your body is on your side!
to your FLO,
Alisa
Good things come in threes:
I want to hear from you!
First, do you feel you’re aging too fast?
Second, are you in perimenopause?
Third, everyone you know is hormonal – spread a little good ovary karma and share this article on social 😉
Feeling Frazzled, Bloated, and Unsexy?
If you’ve noticed more distance between cycles…or some periods are light and some are super heavy…your sex drive is flat…and you’re more moody in general (anxious, depressed, or both)…and especially if you’re in your mid 30’s and up…
Your hormones may be aging faster than they should. But you can start reversing this process by adding one key micronutrient that you’re likely missing.
Get your free report: The Magic Missing Micronutrient to Get Your Sexy Back.
Thank you so much for this guide. I’m curious about daily intake of these supplements to really experience a difference. I’m 29 and a vegetarian – I recognize that I need to take a B12 supplement but since I don’t know how many Micrograms I should have, I just take a B complex. And how much vitamin D is appropriate in a northern climate (Toronto, Canada)? Thank you so much! Love your site.
Hi Kaylee,
To know how much of a supplement to take, please have your blood levels checked!
Alisa
No offense Alisa but I don’t think there is a discernible difference between what an early or late 30s person looks like. You look great. But really this anti-aging thing is silly, especially when it’s discerning in such a small age range. I have always looked about 10 years younger than I’m “supposed to”. When I was 41 and went back to university many people thought I was 27. I put that down to me getting my skin more from my maternal grandmother than my paternal one. My early white hair (started dying it at 36) was covered with dye. Wrinkles and grey hair are more genetic than anything else. I actually can’t wait until my hair is fully white and I can look like those fabulous women in their 50s 60s and 70s rocking natural gray hair: there is nothing like it. You can look vital and healthy and beautiful at any age and with wrinkles or white hair. I love your nutrition and lifestyle advice but please don’t be telling young women that they need to try to look younger than they are. Don’t be telling anyone that they need to look younger than they are. There are far more important things in life and women have way too many judgements and opinions pushed on us as it is.
As a young woman, I didn’t feel this article was hitting me over the head with trying to look younger but rather encouraging ways to care my health so I feel young (in the sense that my body functions well) AND the bonus is I will look young.
Thanks for the tips and info about how these nutrients work!
“Aging occurs chemically when we have too much oxidative stress on our cells…”
Is “oxidative” an adjective for stress in general?
If not and it is a pert ocular type, what is “oxidative” stress? How do we create it? What are other types of stress? How do we create them?
Hi Alisa! I really appreciate your newsletters and tips. I like your five supplements to reverse aging. I would simply add that wherever possible it’s best to get nutrients from food, for bioavailability, absorbability, and also synergy between nutrients. CoQ10, which the body is supposed to manufacture on its own (unless we’re taking statins and depleting CoQ10 along with vitamin D) can be found in organ meats, especially hearts, as can B12 which is abundant in good grass-fed red meats. Yeah, yeah nobody wants to eat unusual foods or even red meat or make their own bone broth, but I love when you write what foods we can consume to get the nutrient naturally, with taking a supplement as the next best thing.
Do you need to supplement b12 with something else for absorption?
Hi Alisa,
I love blueberries, but how much should I eat daily to get the most out of this delicious fruit? Also, I’m taking B1, B6, B12 in one supplement pill but I am not sure if I’m getting enough B12 that my body needs. Thanks for sharing!
I’m 29 and I take collagen and blueberries regularly. I don’t know if they could make me younger but they did make me healthier. I also think regular exercise and a good mood every day is the key for anti-aging. With the efforts both outside and inside, our body will enjoy a great state for a long time!
Hi,
Thanks for sharing this informative post. I am advised by my dermatologist to take supplements with collagen and CoQ10. These supplements are really effective to my skin because of the benefits it gives aside from the anti aging property.
Hi, intake of collagen supplements is the best anti aging ever.together with frequent exercises…
Hi how do I get rid of stomach fat at the age of 54 because I lost weight but now my stomach looks like an accordion with the fat I am having a hard time getting rid of.
How do I get these supplements like blueberries and collagen