January 30, 2024 • 32 mins
Ageing is a complex biological phenomenon influenced by a variety of genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors. A healthy diet is crucial for overall well-being and can contribute to maintaining good health as you age.
In this episode, Renowned integrative nutrition health coach and culinary expert, Gayu Lewis, joins us to share her wisdom about the significant influence of food on health and ageing.
Key discussions revolve around the importance of antioxidant-rich foods in slowing down the ageing process and the urgent need for a shift from calorie counting to a mindful eating approach. The episode also unearths strategies to cut down sugar intake and highlights the integral role of vitamins and minerals in everyday diet. Gayu gives a special note on the underappreciated vegetable – the cabbage – promoting it as a powerhouse of vitamin C.
LISTEN NOW for the following takeaways,
- Understand the nutritional secrets of longevity.
- Specific foods that hold the key to slowing down ageing.
- Gut-brain connection and dietary practices promote a healthy gut for better overall well-being.
- Impact of sugar on ageing.
- Role of vitamins and minerals in defying the ageing process.
- Foods that can help us beat chronic inflammation.
- Impact of lifestyle factors like sleep, stress management, and exercise in influencing ageing.
- Common misconceptions about food and ageing.
- Recommendations to everyone who is interested in reversing their ageing process.
Our guest distinctly marks out the three most important recommendations for a healthy, vibrant, and long life – cooking nutritious meals at home, practising gratitude, and engaging in mental exercise. Tune in to FitnessProChat to explore more about health, and nutrition and embark on a journey to a balanced life.
About the host:
Alok Ranjan is the Founder & Chief at Fiterobic. Fiterobic helps people stay healthy and fit and live a fulfilling life. After leading global marketing function for the past 20 years for Corporate majors like ITC, Tata Communications, and Essel Group and advising global ICT Ministry in Africa and Asia, Alok has set on a journey to empower individuals to become healthy and fit holistically.
Alok is a National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) Certified Fitness Trainer and Certified Nutrition Coach, an American Council of Exercises (ACE) Certified Yoga Expert and a Half-Marathoner.
Connect with Alok at,
Email: alokr@fiterobic.com LinkedIn: ranjanalok Instagram: thealokr Twitter: thealokr
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Because it was even used during the World War times. People had scurvy,
which is a vitamin C deficient.
Cabbage was the highest consumed food in terms of a sort of...
Hi, I am Alok and I'm your host at Fit Aerobic.
Welcome to Fitness Pro Chat, the podcast by Fit Aerobic. Welcome to Fitness Pro Chat by Fit Aerobic.
(00:20):
If you're looking to improve your health and well-being to lead a healthy,
fit and fulfilling life, whether
you're an amateur or a professional athlete, This podcast is for you.
Can we reverse our age with food?
Let's answer this in today's episode of Fitness Pro Chat with Peter Rubin.
Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening to you all. Today,
(00:41):
I'm excited to speak with Gayu Lewis.
Gayu is a health coach who is working to empower everyone, achieve holistic
well-being, and live a vibrant and balanced life.
Welcome to the show, Gayu. Thank you. Thank you for having me here.
Gayu, please help us understand more about you. Why did you choose to become a nutrition coach?
(01:03):
I am an integrative nutrition health coach. And my journey probably began a
long time ago when I was a child, where my mom taught me the secrets of and
the power of food as medicine.
And having a culinary background, I'm a chef by profession. And being a mother
of two, I realized how crucial nutritious meals are for maintaining health and wellness.
(01:27):
My passion for food and its impact on health basically helped me or pushed me
to become a certified integrated nutrition health coach.
And my aim is to empower my clients to make sustainable lifestyle changes.
Focusing on food, fitness, and mindfulness to promote overall well-being. Awesome.
(01:50):
It will be very good to understand from you more from
a science of aging because as we age there
are different reactions some of us
get wrinkles we start to have aches and memory loss and whatnot so how exactly
food can help us to fix these challenges since you are a chef and you are into
(02:15):
nutrition so who would be the better person to ask,
what are the hacks in the kitchen that we should be doing to reverse our age?
You see, aging is a very, very complex process.
After a certain point in your life, your cells start dying and it kind of leads to the aging.
But this process is influenced by various factors, including your genetics.
(02:40):
And most importantly, lifestyle choices. Lifestyle choices like smoking,
drinking, and sun exposure actually makes you age much earlier or look much
older than your real age.
However, the good point is there are certain foods that are known for their
anti-aging properties.
Mainly due to their antioxidant content that they have.
(03:03):
Now, foods rich in antioxidants such as berries, nuts.
You've got green leafy vegetables they can
actually help you fight the free radicals in
your body and reduce the oxidative stress you
know your cells go through yeah and that's potentially slowing
down the aging process and so omega-3 fatty acids which are found in fish you
(03:25):
know like like salmon and and sprouts flaxseed and walnuts are very very baser
for maintaining maintaining the skin elasticity and also reducing inflammation
in the body. Food is always related to calories.
And that's where majority of the people who either want to lose weight or maybe
(03:45):
they want to participate in certain competitions or a sporting event or they
may want to reverse their age.
Everyone wants to be aware about the number of calories they consume every day.
How exactly they should progress or they should start their journey so that
(04:08):
they are not worried on a day-to-day basis about calorie counting.
You know, the calorie counting is a very controversial topic.
I personally do not believe in calorie counting. I believe in eating right and
having a good fitness workout. That's me.
People might completely contradict me who are trying to go for competitions.
(04:30):
But I think the most important, I think something that I tell people is to eat the rainbow.
Try to eat fruits and vegetables from all colors.
They actually have their own properties. They've got so much polyphenols,
which are very, very good. And they can help you with your anti-aging requirements
and effects that you're trying to create.
(04:50):
Like I said, foods rich in antioxidants and vitamins like berries,
healthy nuts and vitamin E in nuts and seeds.
You've got green leafy vegetables, which is high in vitamins and minerals.
Olive oil, it's got amazing monosaturated fats and polyphenols.
Very, very good for your body and for your skin.
And fish. I know a lot of people don't eat fish, but then omega-3 is very good
(05:16):
for your overall health.
I think, and apart from this, if I have to tell somebody, if there's any other
substitute or another thing that I would ask people to add for anti-aging would be collagen.
But again, I am not a promoter of supplements to take as tablets.
I prefer people drinking bone broths, which
they make themselves because it's rich
(05:38):
in collagen and collagen is what our body stops helps
producing right and leads to joint pains
and of course in elasticity so substituting
and taking good bone broth rich in collagen is
something that i recommend to everybody and that's not only good for
your skin but amazing for your gut awesome since we are talking about gut and
everything starts with our gut a good gut means a good mind and a healthy body
(06:03):
so it would be great to understand from you the gut brain connection and how
exactly a healthy gut can promote overall well-being.
I know that some people know and some people might not know that there is one
central vagus nerve that connects your gut to your brain and it's a bidirectional communication.
(06:25):
So between both these parties, this is fine, this is fine, this is fine, this is fine.
If either one, there's some issue, that's when we have imbalances in the body
leading to either mental issues or gut issues.
But a healthy gut contributes to a strong immune system, mood is better,
and reduced inflammation.
(06:47):
I think inflammation is underlooked, but it's one of the biggest killers for chronic illnesses.
So if you're able to maintain and manage those. i think uh
consuming prebiotic and probiotic soon
such as you know yogurt i think if you're
able to get yogurt with life culture which is important the pre-packaged yogurt
that you get there is no life culture to try finding a yogurt which is life
(07:09):
culture your feed is very good uh eat high fiber food it can again promote healthy
gut and a good microbiome and that's what you want you know So try to eat something new,
new vegetable every week or every day if possible.
This will keep your microbiome very excited and entertained.
It keeps it more healthy.
(07:30):
And regular consumption of both the prebiotics and probiotics,
they can help influence the aging process positively because it can enhance
the nutrient absorption of the food that you're eating and also reduce the risk
of chronic diseases which otherwise might come with age.
Absolutely. I think that's very well put together. And one of the things that
(07:53):
I come across these days is most of us wants to eat outside.
And the moment we go and have outside food, which is mostly processed,
there is a high probability that we will get more of added sugar,
which will interfere with the nutrient system in the body.
Can you help understand some of the delicious food hacks that people can have
(08:20):
in their diet or that can curb these cravings, especially for sugary products?
They say that sugar has the same effect on your brain as cocaine.
So if you're actually taking sugar, you're as addicted as somebody who's taking cocaine.
So don't try to name shame the person who's a drug addict. You yourself are
(08:43):
not really a drug addict.
That is a harsh reality. I have never liked sugar from my childhood.
I don't have a sweet tooth. which has always helped me kind of not being addicted
to anything sweet people say I'm very lucky that way but a lot of people aren't
they like sugar because sugar gives them the happiness and keeps their mind happy.
(09:06):
Similar like I said you just like what a drug does to you but what happens is
excessive sugar leads to glycation where the sugar molecules they attach to
proteins and they form these,
Very, very harmful compounds, which are called the AGEs, Advanced Glycation End Products.
(09:28):
These compounds are probably the reason that aging gets accelerated.
And it damages your collagen, the elastin, the proteins, everything that makes
your skin firm and elastic.
Now, to curb, it's difficult.
I can tell people, maybe try getting substitutes like stevia or malt fruit.
(09:50):
Like when I bake at home I try to use small
fruit okay in terms of a sweetener yeah or
I mean maybe I would use dates and stuff like
that but I don't have refined sugar in my house I don't have it at home and
the other thing I want to tell people probably a hack that if you could not
avoid having the cake in the office for somebody's birthday they give you a
(10:15):
piece of soup or it it was donut party in the office, anywhere you went and you had.
My one hack would be that try walking 20 minutes post the consumption of the sugar.
That's the easiest hack I would tell, buddy. Why? Because now you consume the sugar.
If you do some physical activity, which is just walking, the sugar that you've
(10:35):
consumed will get used in this activity.
And it's not going to lead to a very high insulin peak. Whereas if you eat that
cake and you sit on your desk and you just walk, working, now this is going
to cause an insulin peak, which again leads to all the whole harmful compounds and stuff like that.
So one hack is, yes, have the cake if you have to have the cake.
(10:57):
But do a 20-minute activity.
Nothing rigorous. I'm not asking for a HIIT workout. Just walking,
which will actually help you a lot.
That helps me to think about and ask you a very important question.
Everyone talks about having a lot of carbs, a lot of proteins or fats.
(11:18):
And amid the chain of these macronutrients of proteins, fats,
and carbs, what gets missed is vitamins and minerals.
So it would be great to understand from you what are some of these food items
that we can consume to have these vitamins and minerals that are age-defying in our life.
(11:43):
People look at the macronutrients and then the micronutrients are the one which kind of gets lost.
If you actually follow eating the rainbow every day, you end up getting the
micronutrients that your body needs.
But I'm saying good quality fruits and vegetables.
But if there are certain vitamins that you might need or minerals that you need, one would be vitamin C.
(12:05):
Because vitamin C helps in boosting collagen production in the body.
So even if you're taking a collagen supplement Try taking the vitamin C Because
it can help in the absorption.
Helps them helps more and again vitamin c
is good for immunity fighting as well so very very good as a
(12:26):
vitamin vitamin e is good for you
know protecting cell membranes and also helps the
cells from oxidative stress that they go through with the free
radicals in your body selenium helps uh
with promoting your immune system it helps your
immune system and then zinc would be
to reduce reduce inflammation in the body and
(12:46):
also help with skin repair okay okay i i
always tell people not to go in for supplements i'm an
anti-supplement person i believe in taking
the right fruits and vegetables and nutrients from them
both are whole foods don't try to come
up with a shortcut i think that's the key absolutely and
since we are talking about supplements so how do
(13:09):
we replace these supplements with certain food item
like you say vitamin c and these days
there are a lot of vitamin c tablets available and everyone is
in the habit of just picking up one putting it in the
water and have and drinking it and believing that they
have got a lot of vitamin c instead what are
the certain fruits where we can find a lot of vitamin c oranges and i would
(13:32):
say they're pretty much overused fruit right now in terms of vitamin c there
are better foods or fruits which people People are not at all aware that they
have more vitamin C than an orange or a lemon.
So could you help us understand more about these fruits?
Since you mentioned vitamin C, the vegetable that has the maximum amount of vitamin C is cabbage.
(13:56):
Wow. I'm sure most people would not be aware about it.
Correct. Because it was even used during the World War times.
People had scurvy, which is a vitamin C deficient. increase
cabbage was the highest consumed food in
terms of a sort of that's what they made and they ate but vitamin
c cabbage if you're able to have a bowl of slaw um of course don't have mayonnaise
(14:20):
slaw yeah even with the with lime dressing try to increase cabbage in your in
your diet for vitamin c things like turmeric ginger along with an addition of lemon or orange can help.
Building your immunity, helping in absorption of vitamin C and stuff like that.
So there are a lot of these foods that have anti-inflammatory properties,
(14:43):
which overall help with contributing to anti-aging process.
I keep coming back to the point of eating colorful fruits and vegetables because
they help in combating inflammation.
And if you're able to manage that, you are good to go. I would not pinpoint
on one or two, but the rainbow, that's the key.
(15:07):
Absolutely. It's the rainbow that we should have on our plate.
What role do spices play?
And then there are a lot of spices with absolutely brilliant nutrient qualities
in them, and which very few of us are even aware about the kind of nutrients that these spices have.
(15:28):
So could you help us understand some of the good aspects of the spices?
I come from India. We have a land of spices. We've got so many good spices.
Not only does spices help in flavoring your food, it's got a lot of medicinal
properties like you mentioned.
For example, if you have a stomach pain or an upset stomach or a tooth pain,
(15:52):
the first thing to go for would be to have clove because clove has got anti-inflammatory properties.
So, you know, just chewing on a clove with the oil helps with your tooth pain
that you have, number one.
And second, if you have a bloating or a stomach pain after eating any food,
try chewing on a clove. Okay.
Or maybe try even green cardamom for that matter.
(16:14):
Green cardamom, again, is not only good for your...
It's also a very very good mouth freshener because if
you use artificial mouth fresheners like like
listrin and stuff like that you know what they do is they
actually kill the bacteria in your mouth
which is the good bacteria as well it actually kills that yeah not good so instead
(16:35):
of trying to go for these artificial ones just try chewing on a on a cardamom
so it's got and turmeric i mean like i said it's one of the most popular herb
and now it's gone all the proper all the famous now Now with people making it as a superfood,
they've used it for ages. Have turmeric in your diet.
It's so healthy. It's so good in anti-inflammatory properties, including ginger.
(16:57):
All of these, even taken in small quantities, can help you a lot.
And I think most of these spices eventually will help building your immunity,
which is the key to keeping a healthy heart, healthy lifestyle. Absolutely.
Many people believe that if they eat less, probably they will live longer.
So, is it the right way to reverse aging or what are your thoughts on this?
(17:24):
Intermittent fasting, right? Where you're actually fasting for a longer period
and eventually it becomes a calorie restriction because you have a shorter window
frame and then you're not able to eat that much food.
They have been associated with increased lifespan in a lot of studies.
Yes the concept of eat less live longer basically comes from the idea of periodic
(17:49):
fasting which which does or
can lead to cellular repair because when the body's fasted for a long time.
Has more time to repair the cells which have gone
weak or or need help and it gets
the time to repair those which otherwise the
energy spent in just keep the food.
(18:10):
That you've consumed the process just goes on digestion so the
energy spent on on digestion whereas it doesn't get.
Enough to focus on areas that need attention
so when you do periodic fasting it actually helps to
cellular repair and of course improved
metabolic health now why you
know mindful meal timing and fasting
(18:31):
may contribute to cellular rejuvenation now
it's very essential like for people to approach these
trends carefully and they need
to either consult with healthcare professional especially like
for people who've got specific health conditions like imagine
diabetes or things like that they can't fast for
a longer period you don't absolutely incident drops
(18:54):
and stuff like that so i think it's very important what people
need to understand is that they are individual health is
bio-individual and because it works for somebody
else does not necessarily mean it will work for
you if it works don't just cut
puppy paste somebody else's plan into your
lifestyle and then if it doesn't work
(19:14):
and then you're you know you're just worked up so that's very
very particular but yes fasting does help and
the very very different types of fasting right you've got the 16 hour
fasting then you've got 24 hour fasting which sets the whole fat burning system
in your body the 48 hour fasting is where actually you do the cell rejuvenation
there are multiple different fasting windows but again you need to be careful
(19:39):
of what What works for you and what doesn't?
That brings me to next question.
Apart from food, what are the other parameters that we should consider when
we are trying to make progress towards reversing aging or towards a healthy life?
Number one, sleep. Sleep, sleep, sleep.
(20:02):
I think people do not understand the importance of sleep. Have a good bedtime routine.
Try to keep off social media, phones, at least half an hour before you go to
sleep. Don't look at the school.
It helps your mind. At least good quality amount of sleep.
Now, some people say get seven to eight hours of sleep. Some will say six to nine.
(20:24):
For me, I would not put a number to it. the number
is determined by when you get up are you
feeling fresh or are you still feeling tired if
you're still tired that means you've not slept enough true so
that number can be it it's
it's again individual it can be set based on what your needs
are but sleep prioritize sleep because
(20:47):
if you sleep you'll burn calories if you work out
for two hours a day but you've not slept you're you're not going to lose
any fat period absolutely having sleep is
very very important second would be regular exercise
and again exercise again depending on individual not everyone needs to do a
HIIT workout i think one of the most effective workouts which helps in overall
(21:09):
mind and body is yoga yes uh so it's it's less stressful on the body but it's
got a lot of benefits that the body we get.
So yoga would be one that I would try people to do.
And third would be effective rest management techniques. Try to breathe.
I mean, not breathe if you're out, but actually focusing on your breath will
(21:31):
help you feel very, very calm.
I think one breathing technique that I tell my clients to follow is the 4-7-8 breathing technique,
where you breathe for a count of four, you
hold for a count of seven and then you release for a
count of eight this breath is only done three times
it can take a long time to do but it actually
(21:52):
calms your nervous system down so if somebody's agitated
just do this four seven eight there's a lot of theory based on it so you could
read up but again very very important so these factors you know if you're able
to manage these they will help and work of course you're working with your nutrition
all of this put together will will support your cellular health, help reduce,
(22:12):
you know, diseases and improve your overall mental and physical well-being.
So, you were talking about this before we actually started this podcast on misconceptions
and there is a plenty of misconception about food.
What are some of the misconceptions that you have
come across and how do you address these misconceptions
(22:35):
for your clients the first one that
always is that you know how aging is just a genetic process you have to age
everyone has to age and my lifestyle choices are not you know have hardly any
impact number one that's the problem your lifestyle choices totally totally
totally impact your aging process so.
(22:58):
Try to identify the wrongdoing in your lifestyle and try to correct.
And for me, like one major would be smoking. And second, which a lot of people do is sun exposure.
Two things affect your looking old very, very quickly.
Second would be about buying expensive supplements or superfoods. True.
(23:19):
Because I paid $100 for this body.
That means the quality is very good and it's going to be doing great to me.
I think that's a misconception again I think
if you're able to eat nutritious food you've
got the you've got enough of the macronutrients needed
to keep you keep you healthy and not age
earlier I think that's these two things
(23:41):
would I would would be my biggest I mean the
funniest ones that I've heard I could very much relate to
it because that helps me to recollect one of
the incidents where I was speaking with one of my friends and
he said he had joined a nutrition program and
the nutrition program asked him
to buy supplements worth almost $500
(24:03):
to keep him away from certain
type of food items or and make him look healthy he
was kind of craving for all the
good things that he was having earlier and he
consulted me and I just said okay so first
thing just do away with all the supplements you don't need that you
just have the food and that is going going to help you a lot eat the
(24:24):
right food supplements you don't need it unless
you have been prescribed by a doctor that you you need
to have certain kind of supplements because your body needs them
to unnecessarily overload your system
with supplements which are in a way they're chemicals right
they're like the chemicals that we are taking inside our
body that this i think i would very
(24:46):
much relate to that misconception which which you.
Talked about so and since you you are a chef i.
Think this is a very important question that.
I should be asking what is your personal go-to
recipe or any nutritional trick that.
You use when preparing meals and probably
this could help a lot of moms or a
(25:08):
lot of males out there will love cooking
and then learn from some of the tricks
that they can use in the kitchen i think instead of
a trick i i'll share share something the
way what you eat is less important than how you eat as well when it comes to
you know having a healthier body in when i cook i i try to ensure that we have
(25:34):
proteins we've got carbs and fats which are important.
Most important is that we always start a meal with a salad or a vegetable starter.
Something that's got an acid in it and it's got a lot of leaves in it or vegetables
that have got fiber in it.
(25:54):
Now, what it does to your body is that when you start eating food which has
got a lot of fiber, it's like trying to, imagine you're trying to push something down a pipe.
If if everything is very soft the food
goes down very quickly into your system but if
there is a lot of more roughage in in
(26:16):
the pipe it will take longer for anything else to
pass through so what happens is when when you eat a lot of fiber initially where
by the time that food reaches your stomach the the sugar that comes out of eating
food there is no insulin spike because Because it takes a long time for the
food to get affected because there's so much fiber sitting there.
(26:39):
And fiber does not break down. So fiber will still come out.
So that's why I always tell people that eat a salad first thing first.
If you do not have access to eating a salad, have a cucumber,
have a tomato, anything.
And don't break it down. Do not grate it. Do not blend it.
I'm i'm someone who's against juicing because
(27:01):
juicing you've taken out all the fiber true as in
the vegetables and it leads to a higher insulin spike eventually so my whole
thing is about managing insulin spikes because if you're able to manage insulin
spikes a lot of conditions in your body can be avoided so that would be my absolutely
people eat healthy food try to cook cook homemade food,
(27:24):
avoid takeout and frozen food and processed food.
If there was something that I wished for things to happen, would be that there
are no processed food in this world.
But that's not going to happen. It's a million dollar business that's there. So that will not happen.
I would recommend people to not buy ready-made food.
Rather, take the effort of cooking.
(27:45):
I know for some people, it's very stressful. But try cooking together with your family.
Try to engage your children while cooking. I think it also keeps them engaged
and becomes a happier process.
And you know exactly then what you're eating and what you're putting in your system.
So that's very, very key. So that would be my advice.
So I have a personal question for you. How does your routine look like?
(28:07):
What keeps you going all around the day?
And what do you do in terms of exercise, the kind of food that you eat?
Could you please share with us?
Like I mentioned, I just turned 40, start of this year. I'm a first of January
born baby. So yeah, big achievement for me this year.
A big milestone. But in terms of what I do, I've always been into fitness.
(28:31):
So my day always, when I wake up, I do a very, very short, quick prayer, meditation,
which is a 10 minute breathing exercise that I do sitting in my bed,
which is basically to thank for the day that passed and to welcome the new day.
That's what I do. Then I get ready, get my kids up and running and going to school.
(28:52):
Post which, I go to the gym. I think gym for me is a place that I completely
relax and it helps me not think about other things that are happening. I'm into crossfit.
It's a good community. It's a lot of fun engagement that happens.
Then, like I said, I cook all my meals at home, including the food that my kids take to their school.
(29:12):
So cooking is a big thing. I come, I make sure I eat my plate.
My plate has to look colorful for me about eating the rainbow then
it's regular work i have i mean i'm
a consultant as well so i do a lot of or i go meet my clients
and things like that evening would be we do an early dinner
in the house that's uh that's in local it's seven o'clock is our
dinner time my kids go to bed at eight i think the
(29:35):
good sleep practices are all good but then
post which my husband and i go for a walk i think about a
20-25 minute walk in the evening and then it just
just wind down where again i don't look at my screen
if anybody calls me post 8 30 there's no
chance i'm going to look at my phone so i don't
look at a screen i again i sit in a room i
(29:55):
do a gratitude journal every night hiking for the day that went went through
awesome and yeah and that's how i basically and i and i do sudoku before i end
what it's go to sleep i think that's that's what i do it's a little funny that's
some mental exercise as well before you go to sleep that's a It's a good way
to tired your brain. Hold on. It looks like.
(30:16):
Yeah, but I sleep early. I sleep at 9.30 and I get up at 5. So that's me. I don't do late nights.
Absolutely brilliant. That brings us to the last question for today's podcast.
And that is, what are the top three recommendations that you would have for
anyone who is interested to reverse the aging process?
(30:40):
Take a bath in milk like Cleopatra did.
Number one would be incorporate a
variety of antioxidant rich food
like i said eat the rainbow of fruits and vegetables every day to combat oxidative
stress that your cells go through uh two would be to maintain um a balanced
(31:04):
gut microbiome so include probiotic and prebiotic So that will support your
digestion and immune function.
And third is to adopt a holistic lifestyle approach.
I think combine the good nutrition with exercise, good sleep and stress management techniques.
And that will basically help you optimize health and longevity.
(31:27):
Absolutely. Thank you so much, Gayo. That was brilliant speaking with you.
And thank you so much for your time today.
Thank you. Thank you, Alok. Thanks a lot. It was a great time.
I had a lot of fun. Thank you. That's a wrap.
Thanks for listening to Fitness Pro Chat by Fit Aerobic.
We hope you had key takeaways from today's episode and learned something new.
(31:48):
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Because it was even used during the World War times. People had scurvy,
which is a vitamin C deficient.
Cabbage was the highest consumed food in terms of a sort of...
Hi, I am Alok and I'm your host at Fit Aerobic.
Welcome to Fitness Pro Chat, the podcast by Fit Aerobic. Welcome to Fitness Pro Chat by Fit Aerobic.
(00:20):
If you're looking to improve your health and well-being to lead a healthy,
fit and fulfilling life, whether
you're an amateur or a professional athlete, This podcast is for you.
Can we reverse our age with food?
Let's answer this in today's episode of Fitness Pro Chat with Peter Rubin.
Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening to you all. Today,
(00:41):
I'm excited to speak with Gayu Lewis.
Gayu is a health coach who is working to empower everyone, achieve holistic
well-being, and live a vibrant and balanced life.
Welcome to the show, Gayu. Thank you. Thank you for having me here.
Gayu, please help us understand more about you. Why did you choose to become a nutrition coach?
(01:03):
I am an integrative nutrition health coach. And my journey probably began a
long time ago when I was a child, where my mom taught me the secrets of and
the power of food as medicine.
And having a culinary background, I'm a chef by profession. And being a mother
of two, I realized how crucial nutritious meals are for maintaining health and wellness.
(01:27):
My passion for food and its impact on health basically helped me or pushed me
to become a certified integrated nutrition health coach.
And my aim is to empower my clients to make sustainable lifestyle changes.
Focusing on food, fitness, and mindfulness to promote overall well-being. Awesome.
(01:50):
It will be very good to understand from you more from
a science of aging because as we age there
are different reactions some of us
get wrinkles we start to have aches and memory loss and whatnot so how exactly
food can help us to fix these challenges since you are a chef and you are into
(02:15):
nutrition so who would be the better person to ask,
what are the hacks in the kitchen that we should be doing to reverse our age?
You see, aging is a very, very complex process.
After a certain point in your life, your cells start dying and it kind of leads to the aging.
But this process is influenced by various factors, including your genetics.
(02:40):
And most importantly, lifestyle choices. Lifestyle choices like smoking,
drinking, and sun exposure actually makes you age much earlier or look much
older than your real age.
However, the good point is there are certain foods that are known for their
anti-aging properties.
Mainly due to their antioxidant content that they have.
(03:03):
Now, foods rich in antioxidants such as berries, nuts.
You've got green leafy vegetables they can
actually help you fight the free radicals in
your body and reduce the oxidative stress you
know your cells go through yeah and that's potentially slowing
down the aging process and so omega-3 fatty acids which are found in fish you
(03:25):
know like like salmon and and sprouts flaxseed and walnuts are very very baser
for maintaining maintaining the skin elasticity and also reducing inflammation
in the body. Food is always related to calories.
And that's where majority of the people who either want to lose weight or maybe
(03:45):
they want to participate in certain competitions or a sporting event or they
may want to reverse their age.
Everyone wants to be aware about the number of calories they consume every day.
How exactly they should progress or they should start their journey so that
(04:08):
they are not worried on a day-to-day basis about calorie counting.
You know, the calorie counting is a very controversial topic.
I personally do not believe in calorie counting. I believe in eating right and
having a good fitness workout. That's me.
People might completely contradict me who are trying to go for competitions.
(04:30):
But I think the most important, I think something that I tell people is to eat the rainbow.
Try to eat fruits and vegetables from all colors.
They actually have their own properties. They've got so much polyphenols,
which are very, very good. And they can help you with your anti-aging requirements
and effects that you're trying to create.
(04:50):
Like I said, foods rich in antioxidants and vitamins like berries,
healthy nuts and vitamin E in nuts and seeds.
You've got green leafy vegetables, which is high in vitamins and minerals.
Olive oil, it's got amazing monosaturated fats and polyphenols.
Very, very good for your body and for your skin.
And fish. I know a lot of people don't eat fish, but then omega-3 is very good
(05:16):
for your overall health.
I think, and apart from this, if I have to tell somebody, if there's any other
substitute or another thing that I would ask people to add for anti-aging would be collagen.
But again, I am not a promoter of supplements to take as tablets.
I prefer people drinking bone broths, which
they make themselves because it's rich
(05:38):
in collagen and collagen is what our body stops helps
producing right and leads to joint pains
and of course in elasticity so substituting
and taking good bone broth rich in collagen is
something that i recommend to everybody and that's not only good for
your skin but amazing for your gut awesome since we are talking about gut and
everything starts with our gut a good gut means a good mind and a healthy body
(06:03):
so it would be great to understand from you the gut brain connection and how
exactly a healthy gut can promote overall well-being.
I know that some people know and some people might not know that there is one
central vagus nerve that connects your gut to your brain and it's a bidirectional communication.
(06:25):
So between both these parties, this is fine, this is fine, this is fine, this is fine.
If either one, there's some issue, that's when we have imbalances in the body
leading to either mental issues or gut issues.
But a healthy gut contributes to a strong immune system, mood is better,
and reduced inflammation.
(06:47):
I think inflammation is underlooked, but it's one of the biggest killers for chronic illnesses.
So if you're able to maintain and manage those. i think uh
consuming prebiotic and probiotic soon
such as you know yogurt i think if you're
able to get yogurt with life culture which is important the pre-packaged yogurt
that you get there is no life culture to try finding a yogurt which is life
(07:09):
culture your feed is very good uh eat high fiber food it can again promote healthy
gut and a good microbiome and that's what you want you know So try to eat something new,
new vegetable every week or every day if possible.
This will keep your microbiome very excited and entertained.
It keeps it more healthy.
(07:30):
And regular consumption of both the prebiotics and probiotics,
they can help influence the aging process positively because it can enhance
the nutrient absorption of the food that you're eating and also reduce the risk
of chronic diseases which otherwise might come with age.
Absolutely. I think that's very well put together. And one of the things that
(07:53):
I come across these days is most of us wants to eat outside.
And the moment we go and have outside food, which is mostly processed,
there is a high probability that we will get more of added sugar,
which will interfere with the nutrient system in the body.
Can you help understand some of the delicious food hacks that people can have
(08:20):
in their diet or that can curb these cravings, especially for sugary products?
They say that sugar has the same effect on your brain as cocaine.
So if you're actually taking sugar, you're as addicted as somebody who's taking cocaine.
So don't try to name shame the person who's a drug addict. You yourself are
(08:43):
not really a drug addict.
That is a harsh reality. I have never liked sugar from my childhood.
I don't have a sweet tooth. which has always helped me kind of not being addicted
to anything sweet people say I'm very lucky that way but a lot of people aren't
they like sugar because sugar gives them the happiness and keeps their mind happy.
(09:06):
Similar like I said you just like what a drug does to you but what happens is
excessive sugar leads to glycation where the sugar molecules they attach to
proteins and they form these,
Very, very harmful compounds, which are called the AGEs, Advanced Glycation End Products.
(09:28):
These compounds are probably the reason that aging gets accelerated.
And it damages your collagen, the elastin, the proteins, everything that makes
your skin firm and elastic.
Now, to curb, it's difficult.
I can tell people, maybe try getting substitutes like stevia or malt fruit.
(09:50):
Like when I bake at home I try to use small
fruit okay in terms of a sweetener yeah or
I mean maybe I would use dates and stuff like
that but I don't have refined sugar in my house I don't have it at home and
the other thing I want to tell people probably a hack that if you could not
avoid having the cake in the office for somebody's birthday they give you a
(10:15):
piece of soup or it it was donut party in the office, anywhere you went and you had.
My one hack would be that try walking 20 minutes post the consumption of the sugar.
That's the easiest hack I would tell, buddy. Why? Because now you consume the sugar.
If you do some physical activity, which is just walking, the sugar that you've
(10:35):
consumed will get used in this activity.
And it's not going to lead to a very high insulin peak. Whereas if you eat that
cake and you sit on your desk and you just walk, working, now this is going
to cause an insulin peak, which again leads to all the whole harmful compounds and stuff like that.
So one hack is, yes, have the cake if you have to have the cake.
(10:57):
But do a 20-minute activity.
Nothing rigorous. I'm not asking for a HIIT workout. Just walking,
which will actually help you a lot.
That helps me to think about and ask you a very important question.
Everyone talks about having a lot of carbs, a lot of proteins or fats.
(11:18):
And amid the chain of these macronutrients of proteins, fats,
and carbs, what gets missed is vitamins and minerals.
So it would be great to understand from you what are some of these food items
that we can consume to have these vitamins and minerals that are age-defying in our life.
(11:43):
People look at the macronutrients and then the micronutrients are the one which kind of gets lost.
If you actually follow eating the rainbow every day, you end up getting the
micronutrients that your body needs.
But I'm saying good quality fruits and vegetables.
But if there are certain vitamins that you might need or minerals that you need, one would be vitamin C.
(12:05):
Because vitamin C helps in boosting collagen production in the body.
So even if you're taking a collagen supplement Try taking the vitamin C Because
it can help in the absorption.
Helps them helps more and again vitamin c
is good for immunity fighting as well so very very good as a
(12:26):
vitamin vitamin e is good for you
know protecting cell membranes and also helps the
cells from oxidative stress that they go through with the free
radicals in your body selenium helps uh
with promoting your immune system it helps your
immune system and then zinc would be
to reduce reduce inflammation in the body and
(12:46):
also help with skin repair okay okay i i
always tell people not to go in for supplements i'm an
anti-supplement person i believe in taking
the right fruits and vegetables and nutrients from them
both are whole foods don't try to come
up with a shortcut i think that's the key absolutely and
since we are talking about supplements so how do
(13:09):
we replace these supplements with certain food item
like you say vitamin c and these days
there are a lot of vitamin c tablets available and everyone is
in the habit of just picking up one putting it in the
water and have and drinking it and believing that they
have got a lot of vitamin c instead what are
the certain fruits where we can find a lot of vitamin c oranges and i would
(13:32):
say they're pretty much overused fruit right now in terms of vitamin c there
are better foods or fruits which people People are not at all aware that they
have more vitamin C than an orange or a lemon.
So could you help us understand more about these fruits?
Since you mentioned vitamin C, the vegetable that has the maximum amount of vitamin C is cabbage.
(13:56):
Wow. I'm sure most people would not be aware about it.
Correct. Because it was even used during the World War times.
People had scurvy, which is a vitamin C deficient. increase
cabbage was the highest consumed food in
terms of a sort of that's what they made and they ate but vitamin
c cabbage if you're able to have a bowl of slaw um of course don't have mayonnaise
(14:20):
slaw yeah even with the with lime dressing try to increase cabbage in your in
your diet for vitamin c things like turmeric ginger along with an addition of lemon or orange can help.
Building your immunity, helping in absorption of vitamin C and stuff like that.
So there are a lot of these foods that have anti-inflammatory properties,
(14:43):
which overall help with contributing to anti-aging process.
I keep coming back to the point of eating colorful fruits and vegetables because
they help in combating inflammation.
And if you're able to manage that, you are good to go. I would not pinpoint
on one or two, but the rainbow, that's the key.
(15:07):
Absolutely. It's the rainbow that we should have on our plate.
What role do spices play?
And then there are a lot of spices with absolutely brilliant nutrient qualities
in them, and which very few of us are even aware about the kind of nutrients that these spices have.
(15:28):
So could you help us understand some of the good aspects of the spices?
I come from India. We have a land of spices. We've got so many good spices.
Not only does spices help in flavoring your food, it's got a lot of medicinal
properties like you mentioned.
For example, if you have a stomach pain or an upset stomach or a tooth pain,
(15:52):
the first thing to go for would be to have clove because clove has got anti-inflammatory properties.
So, you know, just chewing on a clove with the oil helps with your tooth pain
that you have, number one.
And second, if you have a bloating or a stomach pain after eating any food,
try chewing on a clove. Okay.
Or maybe try even green cardamom for that matter.
(16:14):
Green cardamom, again, is not only good for your...
It's also a very very good mouth freshener because if
you use artificial mouth fresheners like like
listrin and stuff like that you know what they do is they
actually kill the bacteria in your mouth
which is the good bacteria as well it actually kills that yeah not good so instead
(16:35):
of trying to go for these artificial ones just try chewing on a on a cardamom
so it's got and turmeric i mean like i said it's one of the most popular herb
and now it's gone all the proper all the famous now Now with people making it as a superfood,
they've used it for ages. Have turmeric in your diet.
It's so healthy. It's so good in anti-inflammatory properties, including ginger.
(16:57):
All of these, even taken in small quantities, can help you a lot.
And I think most of these spices eventually will help building your immunity,
which is the key to keeping a healthy heart, healthy lifestyle. Absolutely.
Many people believe that if they eat less, probably they will live longer.
So, is it the right way to reverse aging or what are your thoughts on this?
(17:24):
Intermittent fasting, right? Where you're actually fasting for a longer period
and eventually it becomes a calorie restriction because you have a shorter window
frame and then you're not able to eat that much food.
They have been associated with increased lifespan in a lot of studies.
Yes the concept of eat less live longer basically comes from the idea of periodic
(17:49):
fasting which which does or
can lead to cellular repair because when the body's fasted for a long time.
Has more time to repair the cells which have gone
weak or or need help and it gets
the time to repair those which otherwise the
energy spent in just keep the food.
(18:10):
That you've consumed the process just goes on digestion so the
energy spent on on digestion whereas it doesn't get.
Enough to focus on areas that need attention
so when you do periodic fasting it actually helps to
cellular repair and of course improved
metabolic health now why you
know mindful meal timing and fasting
(18:31):
may contribute to cellular rejuvenation now
it's very essential like for people to approach these
trends carefully and they need
to either consult with healthcare professional especially like
for people who've got specific health conditions like imagine
diabetes or things like that they can't fast for
a longer period you don't absolutely incident drops
(18:54):
and stuff like that so i think it's very important what people
need to understand is that they are individual health is
bio-individual and because it works for somebody
else does not necessarily mean it will work for
you if it works don't just cut
puppy paste somebody else's plan into your
lifestyle and then if it doesn't work
(19:14):
and then you're you know you're just worked up so that's very
very particular but yes fasting does help and
the very very different types of fasting right you've got the 16 hour
fasting then you've got 24 hour fasting which sets the whole fat burning system
in your body the 48 hour fasting is where actually you do the cell rejuvenation
there are multiple different fasting windows but again you need to be careful
(19:39):
of what What works for you and what doesn't?
That brings me to next question.
Apart from food, what are the other parameters that we should consider when
we are trying to make progress towards reversing aging or towards a healthy life?
Number one, sleep. Sleep, sleep, sleep.
(20:02):
I think people do not understand the importance of sleep. Have a good bedtime routine.
Try to keep off social media, phones, at least half an hour before you go to
sleep. Don't look at the school.
It helps your mind. At least good quality amount of sleep.
Now, some people say get seven to eight hours of sleep. Some will say six to nine.
(20:24):
For me, I would not put a number to it. the number
is determined by when you get up are you
feeling fresh or are you still feeling tired if
you're still tired that means you've not slept enough true so
that number can be it it's
it's again individual it can be set based on what your needs
are but sleep prioritize sleep because
(20:47):
if you sleep you'll burn calories if you work out
for two hours a day but you've not slept you're you're not going to lose
any fat period absolutely having sleep is
very very important second would be regular exercise
and again exercise again depending on individual not everyone needs to do a
HIIT workout i think one of the most effective workouts which helps in overall
(21:09):
mind and body is yoga yes uh so it's it's less stressful on the body but it's
got a lot of benefits that the body we get.
So yoga would be one that I would try people to do.
And third would be effective rest management techniques. Try to breathe.
I mean, not breathe if you're out, but actually focusing on your breath will
(21:31):
help you feel very, very calm.
I think one breathing technique that I tell my clients to follow is the 4-7-8 breathing technique,
where you breathe for a count of four, you
hold for a count of seven and then you release for a
count of eight this breath is only done three times
it can take a long time to do but it actually
(21:52):
calms your nervous system down so if somebody's agitated
just do this four seven eight there's a lot of theory based on it so you could
read up but again very very important so these factors you know if you're able
to manage these they will help and work of course you're working with your nutrition
all of this put together will will support your cellular health, help reduce,
(22:12):
you know, diseases and improve your overall mental and physical well-being.
So, you were talking about this before we actually started this podcast on misconceptions
and there is a plenty of misconception about food.
What are some of the misconceptions that you have
come across and how do you address these misconceptions
(22:35):
for your clients the first one that
always is that you know how aging is just a genetic process you have to age
everyone has to age and my lifestyle choices are not you know have hardly any
impact number one that's the problem your lifestyle choices totally totally
totally impact your aging process so.
(22:58):
Try to identify the wrongdoing in your lifestyle and try to correct.
And for me, like one major would be smoking. And second, which a lot of people do is sun exposure.
Two things affect your looking old very, very quickly.
Second would be about buying expensive supplements or superfoods. True.
(23:19):
Because I paid $100 for this body.
That means the quality is very good and it's going to be doing great to me.
I think that's a misconception again I think
if you're able to eat nutritious food you've
got the you've got enough of the macronutrients needed
to keep you keep you healthy and not age
earlier I think that's these two things
(23:41):
would I would would be my biggest I mean the
funniest ones that I've heard I could very much relate to
it because that helps me to recollect one of
the incidents where I was speaking with one of my friends and
he said he had joined a nutrition program and
the nutrition program asked him
to buy supplements worth almost $500
(24:03):
to keep him away from certain
type of food items or and make him look healthy he
was kind of craving for all the
good things that he was having earlier and he
consulted me and I just said okay so first
thing just do away with all the supplements you don't need that you
just have the food and that is going going to help you a lot eat the
(24:24):
right food supplements you don't need it unless
you have been prescribed by a doctor that you you need
to have certain kind of supplements because your body needs them
to unnecessarily overload your system
with supplements which are in a way they're chemicals right
they're like the chemicals that we are taking inside our
body that this i think i would very
(24:46):
much relate to that misconception which which you.
Talked about so and since you you are a chef i.
Think this is a very important question that.
I should be asking what is your personal go-to
recipe or any nutritional trick that.
You use when preparing meals and probably
this could help a lot of moms or a
(25:08):
lot of males out there will love cooking
and then learn from some of the tricks
that they can use in the kitchen i think instead of
a trick i i'll share share something the
way what you eat is less important than how you eat as well when it comes to
you know having a healthier body in when i cook i i try to ensure that we have
(25:34):
proteins we've got carbs and fats which are important.
Most important is that we always start a meal with a salad or a vegetable starter.
Something that's got an acid in it and it's got a lot of leaves in it or vegetables
that have got fiber in it.
(25:54):
Now, what it does to your body is that when you start eating food which has
got a lot of fiber, it's like trying to, imagine you're trying to push something down a pipe.
If if everything is very soft the food
goes down very quickly into your system but if
there is a lot of more roughage in in
(26:16):
the pipe it will take longer for anything else to
pass through so what happens is when when you eat a lot of fiber initially where
by the time that food reaches your stomach the the sugar that comes out of eating
food there is no insulin spike because Because it takes a long time for the
food to get affected because there's so much fiber sitting there.
(26:39):
And fiber does not break down. So fiber will still come out.
So that's why I always tell people that eat a salad first thing first.
If you do not have access to eating a salad, have a cucumber,
have a tomato, anything.
And don't break it down. Do not grate it. Do not blend it.
I'm i'm someone who's against juicing because
(27:01):
juicing you've taken out all the fiber true as in
the vegetables and it leads to a higher insulin spike eventually so my whole
thing is about managing insulin spikes because if you're able to manage insulin
spikes a lot of conditions in your body can be avoided so that would be my absolutely
people eat healthy food try to cook cook homemade food,
(27:24):
avoid takeout and frozen food and processed food.
If there was something that I wished for things to happen, would be that there
are no processed food in this world.
But that's not going to happen. It's a million dollar business that's there. So that will not happen.
I would recommend people to not buy ready-made food.
Rather, take the effort of cooking.
(27:45):
I know for some people, it's very stressful. But try cooking together with your family.
Try to engage your children while cooking. I think it also keeps them engaged
and becomes a happier process.
And you know exactly then what you're eating and what you're putting in your system.
So that's very, very key. So that would be my advice.
So I have a personal question for you. How does your routine look like?
(28:07):
What keeps you going all around the day?
And what do you do in terms of exercise, the kind of food that you eat?
Could you please share with us?
Like I mentioned, I just turned 40, start of this year. I'm a first of January
born baby. So yeah, big achievement for me this year.
A big milestone. But in terms of what I do, I've always been into fitness.
(28:31):
So my day always, when I wake up, I do a very, very short, quick prayer, meditation,
which is a 10 minute breathing exercise that I do sitting in my bed,
which is basically to thank for the day that passed and to welcome the new day.
That's what I do. Then I get ready, get my kids up and running and going to school.
(28:52):
Post which, I go to the gym. I think gym for me is a place that I completely
relax and it helps me not think about other things that are happening. I'm into crossfit.
It's a good community. It's a lot of fun engagement that happens.
Then, like I said, I cook all my meals at home, including the food that my kids take to their school.
(29:12):
So cooking is a big thing. I come, I make sure I eat my plate.
My plate has to look colorful for me about eating the rainbow then
it's regular work i have i mean i'm
a consultant as well so i do a lot of or i go meet my clients
and things like that evening would be we do an early dinner
in the house that's uh that's in local it's seven o'clock is our
dinner time my kids go to bed at eight i think the
(29:35):
good sleep practices are all good but then
post which my husband and i go for a walk i think about a
20-25 minute walk in the evening and then it just
just wind down where again i don't look at my screen
if anybody calls me post 8 30 there's no
chance i'm going to look at my phone so i don't
look at a screen i again i sit in a room i
(29:55):
do a gratitude journal every night hiking for the day that went went through
awesome and yeah and that's how i basically and i and i do sudoku before i end
what it's go to sleep i think that's that's what i do it's a little funny that's
some mental exercise as well before you go to sleep that's a It's a good way
to tired your brain. Hold on. It looks like.
(30:16):
Yeah, but I sleep early. I sleep at 9.30 and I get up at 5. So that's me. I don't do late nights.
Absolutely brilliant. That brings us to the last question for today's podcast.
And that is, what are the top three recommendations that you would have for
anyone who is interested to reverse the aging process?
(30:40):
Take a bath in milk like Cleopatra did.
Number one would be incorporate a
variety of antioxidant rich food
like i said eat the rainbow of fruits and vegetables every day to combat oxidative
stress that your cells go through uh two would be to maintain um a balanced
(31:04):
gut microbiome so include probiotic and prebiotic So that will support your
digestion and immune function.
And third is to adopt a holistic lifestyle approach.
I think combine the good nutrition with exercise, good sleep and stress management techniques.
And that will basically help you optimize health and longevity.
(31:27):
Absolutely. Thank you so much, Gayo. That was brilliant speaking with you.
And thank you so much for your time today.
Thank you. Thank you, Alok. Thanks a lot. It was a great time.
I had a lot of fun. Thank you. That's a wrap.
Thanks for listening to Fitness Pro Chat by Fit Aerobic.
We hope you had key takeaways from today's episode and learned something new.
(31:48):
Don't forget to download and subscribe so you don't miss the next episode.
And leave us a rating and review on your favorite platform.
In the meantime, reach out to us on Instagram at Fit Aerobic or through our
website, fitaerobic.com.
And remember, failures will only make you strong and better learned.
Take care, stay healthy, and live a fulfilling life with Fit Aerobic.
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