Do you think people eating paleo/low carb look younger?
 

I was reading what Vilhalmur Stefansson wrote, about how he thought the Inuit people looked older than they should once they reached a certain age...for example, he thought that at 60, they looked more like our typical 80. At first I figured it was due to the harsher climate, which would weather the skin, but he mentioned something about how the girls and women never go outdoors...(did I understand that correctly?)

I've been wondering if this could be due to the fact that the Inuit probably didn't worry about how they looked as much as other cultures (even at that time), in which people spent a lot of time/money trying to look more attractive/younger/whatever. Although, I am trying to keep an open mind about the reasons of why the Inuit looked older.

I do recall that in the 1970's, when there were a lot of vegetarians (at least where I lived) I thought that a lot of them looked sort of weary and older...(although that didn't stop me from trying to be somewhat of a vegetarian myself :blush: , becuz at that time I really believed it was best for the planet...) My point is, I think that being a vegetarian ages a person a little faster, at least once they have hit around 30 or so.

But I would think that logically, eating the paleo diet we were meant to eat, it should keep us looking healthier/younger for longer....? I don't know enough people eating paleo, or even just low-carb, in my everyday world to make any intelligent generalizations. What do you guys all think?

Read up on AGEs. Basically sugar binds to protein and causes rapid aging. I can believe vegetarians look older, they produce more of these than even regular eaters. Low carb eaters would be even less.

The Inuit lived in spaces with a lot of indoor smoke (from oil lamps and cooking fires) then were outside in harsh conditions.

One probably needs to eat paleo for a long, long time before you could really tell. For me it has only been a couple of years.

all I know is the Atkins diet took 10 yrs. off my looks. I have been considering going paleo but I don't want to rock the boat...Atkins has worked great for me.

I know I look much younger than 45. When I had my checkup, my doctor thought it was a typo! Most people that hear my age question it. My skin is in great shape and very soft and healthy looking. When I was a vegetarian for a few years, I looked a lot older. I was pale with dark circles, very tired, my skin was awful looking, dry, splotchy. I love what paleo does for me, inside and out!
Ann

What Nancy said about the indoor smoke. They used fat for fuel which produces a lot of smoke, and the dwellings aren't particularly well ventilated.

I have no clue about paleo making me look younger. I'm only 24 as it is. :D I've had a lot of people think I'm a high schooler though (like when I was getting my hair done for my wedding, some other ladies in the salon asked me if I was getting it done for the prom). I attributed that to genes though, as both my parents also look younger than their age.

Way back when I was in high schoo (Nixon was President) I remember my girlfriend told me there was a vegetarian in one of her classes that looked a lot older. (she meant he didn't look well, not "hey this dude can get us beer") :yum:

I don't know about vegetarians, but I can always recognize a vegan. They look so pale and anemic.

The other day I was in a health food store to buy some vitamins. A man who looked like a vegan was asking the saleswoman whether they have some vegetarian cat food. I thought to myself: "How cruel! Feeding vegetarian food to a cat! Why have a cat at all if you refuse to feed it its natural diet?"

Apparently, Paul McCartney feeds his pets a vegetarian diet.(rolling my eyes)

To me, Vegans and some Vegetarians look wan and yellowish-grey...(so do smokers)I also notice that hard core carnivores also have a harsh look to them.

The people with the healthiest glow (IMO) are omnivores who get lots of fat in their diet and stay hydrated and exercise without getting too thin.

Sugar and carbs actually messes with your collagen.

"It is already known that sugar and easily digestible carbohydrates can cause weight gain, feed cancer cells, cause type 2 diabetes (as well as heart disease and possibly dementia), but now the British Journal of Dermatology has added dry, saggy, wrinkled skin to the list of sugar's evils."

http://wifezillasway.blogspot.com/2...t-wrinkles.html

How do you know it was Atkins and not simply losing the weight? Being fat ages most people.

AAAHHH! My previous years of ignorance are starting to catch up with me! :bash:

If it was the Atkins diet which helped her to lose the weight, isn't it the same? OT but... I don't know much about PSMF, though I've read a bit about it. I understand it's very low-fat. Have you been on it for long?

No, it isn't the same. She attributed the self-reported change in her looks not to the fact that she lost weight, but the manner in which she lost weight.

My PSMF is not low-fat. I am almost done with it, and have done it since last September.

Well, here's my two cents.

Last night, as a matter of fact, I met some friends I hadn't seen in 5 years. They were shocked. Asked me, "How come you're getting younger and we're getting older?" I've had many many people say I've dropped pounds AND years

NOW. A few years ago I lost 133 pounds on a zero-fat diet. I became wrinkled in my face and people CONSTANTLY told me I looked ill.

It's low carb. I don't know the science behind it, but it seems to keep the elastin in your skin.

This is anecdotal. While anecdotal evidence can be used to form a hypothesis, it can never be used to support a theory. Remember that claims for magnet therapy and homeopathy are based on anecdotal evidence.