Which foods keep you younger?
- Fraser Purdey
- Sep 25
- 6 min read
Can Foods Really Keep You Young?
It’s a question we often hear in the shop, can food really help keep you young? People want to know whether what they put on their plate can truly make a difference to how they look and feel as time passes. While there isn’t one holy grail of ingredients that turns back the clock, the food we eat every day does play a big role in how well we age.
In our wholefood shop in Wellington, Somerset, we like to take a deeper look at how nutrition affects the body. If we believe in what we sell, it’s important to explain why eating healthily can benefit you, not just make the claim without thought behind it.
What Happens in the Body as We Age?
Ageing is still not fully understood, but there are four main processes we know about that change how our body works over time:
1. Epigenetics
Epigenetics controls which genes are switched on or off. Your diet and lifestyle can influence this. As you age, certain genes change how they behave, one example being the genes that turn hair grey. Because everyone’s genetic makeup is different, these changes happen at different times for different people.
Lifestyle choices such as diet and exercise can influence epigenetic markers linked to disease [1].
2. Shortening of Telomeres
Telomeres are protective caps on the ends of our chromosomes. Each time a cell divides, the telomeres get a little shorter, much like the sole of a shoe wearing down with every mile walked, until one day your shoe no longer functions as a shoe. Once telomeres are too short, the cell can no longer divide reliably and can die. This leads to slower healing, thinner skin, and other age-related changes. Diets high in antioxidant-rich foods may help protect telomeres from shortening [2].
3. Genomic Instability
Over time, our DNA gets exposed to damage from UV light, pollution, and even natural byproducts of metabolism. Normally, our cells repair this, but as we get older, the repair systems can’t keep up. The build-up of errors makes cells less efficient and can sometimes push them towards diseases such as cancer.
4. Loss of Proteostasis
Proteins inside our cells need to be folded into the right shapes to work properly. As we age, the systems that keep them in order start to weaken. Damaged or misfolded proteins can build up, contributing to visible ageing in the skin and conditions such as Parkinson’s.
Can Healthy Fats Make You Look Younger?
Skin is one of the clearest signs of ageing. This is linked to reduced water retention, slower collagen production, and overall slower skin cell turnover. The first signs often show from around age 25, but lifestyle and sun exposure play a big part in how quickly they appear.
Omega-3 fatty acids, found in foods like flaxseed and walnuts, help skin cells hold onto water, keeping the skin plumper and reducing fine lines. They are also anti-inflammatory, which supports skin health more broadly.
Did you know? Regular consumption of fatty fish has been linked to reduced skin ageing and improved skin hydration [3].
Does Eating Organic Food Keep You Looking Younger?
Organic food is grown without pesticides or herbicides. While conventional food is tested for safety, residues can still be present and may contribute to low-level inflammation and DNA damage over time. Eating organic helps reduce that risk.
Another point is that organic brands tend to be more health-focused, so their products are often better for you overall. For example, Mr Organic Digestive Biscuits that we sell are lower in sugar than many sweet traditional versions of digestives, so even if you are not fully sold on avoiding pesticides and herbicides, you will find health benefits in the above reason. While you should still enjoy them in moderation, organic options often align better with long-term health.
We try and source a lot of organic products as it gives that certainty your products haven't been grown around pesticides or herbicides. The Just Natural Organic range is a great choice, which gives you the selection of essentials, dried fruits, nuts and grains.
Do Supplements Work Better Than Food?
Food is almost always the better choice. Nutrients from whole foods are absorbed more effectively, and you also benefit from the wider mix of compounds that work together, which supplements can’t always replicate. Vitamin C from an orange is absorbed better than an isolated tablet form, partly because of bioactive compounds like flavonoids in the fruit [4]. And often when taking supplements, it's easy to over consume and end up instead with negative effects that over-supplementation can give, such as too much Vitamin D, which raises calcium levels and can then damage the kidneys and heart.
What’s the Best Anti-Ageing Diet Overall?
The best approach is balanced eating:
Include all essential vitamins and minerals
Keep sugar, additives, and artificial ingredients low
Avoid alcohol and smoking altogether
Think of it less as a “diet” and more as a long-term pattern of eating. Foods that are whole, natural, and minimally processed put less strain on your body. Over time, this reduces inflammation and supports the systems that slow down ageing. As a general rule, if an ingredients list looks very long on packaged food, it may have some parts to it that aren't good for you.
How Can You Add These Foods Every Day?
Start small and start with snacking. Swap sugary snacks for a handful of nuts (even with small treats of chocolate within to soften the change), and you’ll gradually notice the change in your eating habits spreading into your main meals. Try introducing more whole grains, adding a portion of oily fish a couple of times a week (Fish4Ever are an option that takes sustainable fishing seriously), and including leafy greens with your dinners. It doesn’t need to be complicated, small changes add up over the years. Similar to how small savings in the bank over time add up to noticeable sums. And these eating habits don't just help ageing; adding just one extra portion of vegetables a day can reduce the risk of chronic disease by up to 16% [5].
How ageing, food and diet links in with what we do at Ruxstons
Can chocolate help slow ageing?
It's nice to treat yourself every now and then, and chocolate is a very popular choice to satisfy sweet cravings.
With our background in chocolate production, it makes you realise all the details and benefits chocolate can bring, and in moderation, dark chocolate can be good for health. It’s rich in polyphenols, which are antioxidants that improve circulation, reduce inflammation, and help slow cellular ageing.
Milk and white chocolate, on the other hand, are best enjoyed as treats. They’re higher in sugar, and white chocolate contains no cacao at all, only cocoa butter. If you want something that will hit the right spot for health and taste combined, the Hu chocolate, they are filled with nut butters so actually, not only give various extra healthy nutrients, but can reduce the intensity of the very dark natural chocolate they use.
Where Honey Fits Into Anti-Ageing Foods
One of the most overlooked foods when it comes to slowing the signs of ageing is honey. Natural honey is rich in antioxidants and plant compounds that help protect cells from oxidative stress, one of the main drivers of telomere shortening and DNA damage. Unlike refined sugar, which can speed up ageing by raising inflammation, honey supports the body with enzymes and trace minerals alongside its natural sweetness.
Sedgemoor Runny Honey, A Local Food With Unique Benefits
At Ruxstons, we’re proud to stock Sedgemoor Runny Honey, a natural honey produced on the Somerset Levels that you can’t get anywhere else. The bees forage among the fields and hedgerows of the Quantocks and Blackdown Hills. Because it’s local and unprocessed, it keeps hold of delicate compounds often lost in commercial honeys, and has gone through very few processes to go from the hive to jar. This means you’re not just buying something sweet, you’re buying a food that naturally supports healthier ageing.
The Sedgemoor honey is a very popular option in our shop, and we created a bulk buy honey option so savings could be made as well as more straightforward ordering. When compared to supermarket honey, there is a noticeable difference, especially as it's not uncommon for mass produced and imported honey to be sourced from bees that are fed on sugar water, which leads to tasteless and nutritionally sparse food.
Conclusion
Food can’t stop ageing altogether, but it can help you age as little as possible. A thoughtful, balanced diet allows you to reach your genetic potential for staying healthy and youthful. Eating badly, on the other hand, makes it far more likely you’ll see the signs of ageing much sooner.
The most important thing is consistency. You don’t need to eat perfectly every day, but the habits you form over years are what shape how your body feels and looks.
References
Ornish, D., et al. (2008). Intensive lifestyle changes may affect the progression of prostate cancer. PNAS. Link
Arsenis, N. C., et al. (2017). Exercise, telomeres, and telomerase: More questions than answers? Nutrients. Link
Pilkington, S. M., et al. (2021). Omega-3 fatty acids and skin ageing. Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology. Link
Carr, A. C., & Maggini, S. (2017). Vitamin C and immune function. Nutrients. Link
Wang, X., et al. (2014). Fruit and vegetable consumption and mortality from all causes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. Int J Epidemiol. Link
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