Food helps you to stay young for a long time.

     There are foods that give you youthful skin, shiny hair, and pearl-white teeth.

Even if you lead a fairly healthy lifestyle – no smoking, little sun exposure, adequate sleep and time to relax – time’s effects on your body are unavoidable. But you have the ability to slow down that process.

The right diet can do more than lose weight. If staying youthful is on your to-do list, try these healthy foods:

* Lemon juice.

Puffiness and dark circles may indicate that you were having too much fun the night before, but it can also indicate a health problem: dehydration. Salty food, alcohol, exercise, hot weather and simply not drinking enough water can cause inflammation, leading to poor skin tone.

Give your body a boost right away: Cut out some citrus fruits (including the skin) and soak them in a cool water bottle. After that, you should diligently drink this water every day.

* Lean beef.

Weekly cuts can keep your nails strong, and a beef meal can do the same. A diet rich in protein, iron and zinc is the key to healthy nails. You will get all three nutrients from a small serving of lean red meat.

Recent research in the European Journal of Dermatology has looked at nail growth over the past 70 years. Accordingly, protein in the diet makes a difference in nail health.

* Tomato .

The reason for low rates of melanoma in regions like the Mediterranean – where people love sun exposure – has to do with diet. Antioxidant-rich foods, especially dark-colored fruits and vegetables, can help counteract the oxidizing effects of ultraviolet rays.

A study published in the British Journal of Dermatology said that participants who ate 5 tablespoons of tomato powder (concentrated fresh tomatoes) per day showed 30% higher resistance to sunburn.

In tomatoes, there are carotenoids and antioxidants that help the body fight the aging process of skin cells.

* Yam .

A diet rich in healthy fruits and vegetables. Researchers found that people who ate a lot of red and orange vegetables every day had healthier skin.

It is hypothesized that the improved skin is the result of disease-fighting compounds known as carotenoids that give those plants color. Few foods are rich in beta-carotene – which is converted to vitamin A in the body – than sweet potatoes. A whole sweet potato contains the right amount of beta-carotene that the body needs.

* Mushrooms .

One of the causes of premature gray hair is lack of copper. Your body needs copper to produce pigments for your skin and hair, and shiitakes are one of the best food sources. Just half a bowl of mushrooms is enough to provide 72% of the copper needed each day.