Anti-Ageing: What to Eat in March for Graceful, Healthy Ageing
March. It may not feel like it right now, but spring is coming. When it comes to eating locally sourced, seasonal food, March could be the most interesting month of the year. You’ll find the tail-end of warming winter produce, and early signs of fresh spring goods.
March is also the month when we will (finally) ship out the very first units of our brand-new brain health supplements Power Up and Unplug (make sure you get your Early Bird pre-order in by the 16th of March). So as we continue our focus on eating for ultimate brain health, this month we add an anti-aging twist. Which foods can we eat right now to help us live a longer and healthier life?5 Anti-Ageing Foods to Eat in March
Purple sprouting broccoli.
Broccoli is good for you, fine. It’s a superb cruciferous vegetable with great depth of nutrition. But add the words purple and sprouting and you’ve got yourself an exceptional powerhouse. Purple sprouting broccoli is an excellent source of sulforaphane – associated with reduced DNA damage. DNA damage is closely linked to aging and cancer. Is your eye-sight dropping? Purple sprouting broccoli is a good source of vitamin A: a key contributor to the maintenance of normal vision. Feeling lethargic? Sprouting broccoli is one of the best sources of vitamin C, essential to good brain function but also to healthy energy levels.Radicchio
Radicchio is an excellent source of folate. A clear mind and healthy brain requires regular doses of folate. Folate also has a role in the process of cell devision, which makes it a winner when combined with the sulforaphane from cruciferous veg like sprouting broccoli.
Watercress
Fierce, peppery Watercress is a nutritional gem hidden in plain sight. A study on watercress supplementation showed reduced DNA damage by up to 24% among other beneficial results in healthy volunteers. Along with sprouting broccoli, watercress is also a cruciferous vegetable that contains sulforaphane, and comes into season in the UK in early spring.Savoy cabbage
A beautiful, tender, and gently flavoured variety of cabbage, savoy is a great option for fussy eaters. Along with good doses of brain-fuelling folate and vitamin C, a generous serving of savoy cabbage packs your entire daily requirements of vitamin K - contributing to the maintenance of healthy bone strength. Vitamin K is fat-soluble, so drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil or organic butter onto your cabbage.
Local Herbs
Basil, chives, dill and sorrel will all start making an appearance at local markets in early spring. Herbs such as these are excellent sources of plant polyphenols, which significantly improve the body and brain’s ability to deal with oxidative stress. More plant polyphenols means better clearing of oxidation, which means more graceful, disease-free ageing and a longer happier life. That’s why we’ve included polyphenol packed plant compounds like Gotu Kola in our Power Up morning blend and Kapikacchu in our evening supplement Unplug. Don’t just take our word for it - a 2013 study published in the Journal of Nutrition found a clear link between high polyphenol consumption and a 30 percent decrease in mortality in elderly adults.Bringing it Together: 3 Anti-Ageing Recipes
SAVOY CABBAGE AND RADICCHIO SLAW WITH BLOOD ORANGE DRESSING
Though not local, blood oranges are perfectly ripe just now, making this an excellent brain boosting, anti-ageing salad for March.PURPLE SPROUTING BROCCOLI WITH CLEMENTINE AND CHILLI
Chilli is a thermogenic, acting as a natural metabolic booster by raising internal temperature. Sounds pretty nice, given the recent temperatures. Try this simple and unusual Nigella Lawson way of preparing your sprouting broccoli.WATERCRESS AND ALMOND PESTO
The incredibly beneficial sulforaphane found in watercress doesn’t deal well with heat. However, the bioavailability may actually increase when the vegetable is blended – because the secretion of sulforaphane is a defence mechanism triggered by the blending, and this can be increased even higher by first freezing the watercress before blending from frozen. For an easy, anti-ageing pesto, blend a generous bunch of (frozen) watercress with some basil, almonds, fresh lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, parmesan and rock salt.