Curry Favors
A compound in curry seasoning may help stave off Alzheimer's disease.
Early research indicates that curcumin, an ingredient in curry spice, may help inhibit the buildup in the brain of certain proteins that have been associated with Alzheimer's disease. Curcumin also is believed to possess powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
Hidden Health
Even though most holiday fare isn't likely to make the top-ten list of healthiest foods, some good things are hiding under those glazes and creams.
A serving of squash or sweet potatoes will add beta-carotene to your diet. Cranberries and fruit-based mincemeat fillings offer fiber and potassium. And the pineapple on your baked ham has enzymes that aid in digestion. This holiday, focus on the good things and enjoy your meals with friends and family.
RealAge Benefit: Eating a diverse diet that is low in calories and high in nutrients can make your RealAge as much as 4 years younger.
Remorseless Morsels
Not all holiday treats are a dietary transgression.
Roasted chestnuts are one holiday custom that's easy on your conscience because, unlike other nuts, chestnuts are low in fat. A one-ounce serving of roasted kernels contains less than a gram of fat. What's more, chestnuts provide you with a serving of several important nutrients, such as potassium and vitamin C.
RealAge Benefit: Eating a low-fat diet--and eating healthy unsaturated fats when you do eat fat--can make your RealAge as much as 6 years younger.
Prickly Business
Is cold winter weather putting a damper on your diet? Take a mini-vacation to the desert by treating yourself to prickly pear cactus fruits.
This fruit of the desert is a low-calorie, low-fat source of several important trace minerals, including calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, and potassium. More importantly, adding an exotic fruit or two to your weekly menu can help make your diet both healthy and fun.
RealAge Benefit: Eating a diverse diet that includes 4 servings of fruit per day can make your RealAge as much as 4 years younger.
Bean Counting
A hill of beans may be worth a great deal to your heart.
Eating four servings of beans per week may lower your risk of heart disease 22% more than eating only one serving of beans per week does. Whether you fill up on navy, pinto, black, or white beans, not only will your heart be healthier, but also you'll get a boost of potassium, calcium, magnesium, and fiber.
RealAge Benefit: Eating a high-fiber diet can make your RealAge up to 3.5 years younger.
Whole-Grain Fullness
Choosing bulkier breads for your sandwiches might be the trick to staying lean.
A recent study revealed that hearty, whole-grain breads with a coarse texture and high fiber content received the highest scores on a satiety test. In the study, people tended to feel fuller longer, and also ate less later on, when they filled up on whole-grain breads instead of highly refined "white" breads.
RealAge Benefit: Maintaining your weight and body mass index at a desirable level can make your RealAge as much as 6 years younger.
Do your eyes a favor and make blueberries a favorite fruit.
Research suggests that compounds in blueberries may help protect against potentially sight-damaging inflammation and oxidative stress. These processes could contribute to conditions such as poor night vision or macular degeneration.
RealAge Benefit: Eating a diverse diet that includes 4 servings of fruit per day can make your RealAge as much as 4 years younger.
Winter Vitamin Watch
If the darker days of winter have you holed up indoors, make sure you're getting enough vitamin D.
Regular sun exposure helps your body synthesize vitamin D. With the lack of sunlight during winter months, it is more important than ever to get your daily dose of vitamin D through diet or supplements. Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium, a nutrient important for bone health.
RealAge Benefit: Getting 1,200 milligrams of calcium and 400 IU of vitamin D daily can make your RealAge as much as 1.1 years younger.
If you want to lower your triglyceride levels, get some fat from finned food sources.
Studies suggest that eating fish regularly is associated with lower levels of blood fats such as triglycerides. The omega-3 fatty acids in fish appear to be responsible for the triglyceride-lowering effect. Losing weight if you are overweight and exercising regularly also can help keep your triglyceride levels under control. RealAge Benefit: Reducing your total cholesterol to 160 mg/dl or lower can make your RealAge as much as 1 year younger
Tofu for Your Ticker
If you've been hesitant about trying tofu in the past, it may be time to give it a go. Eating more tofu and less meat could be good for your heart.
In a recent study, two groups of people ate similar diets, but the participants in one group ate 290 grams (about a cup) of tofu per day while the participants in the other group ate 150 grams of lean meat per day. After one month, the tofu group had significantly lower total cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Lower blood-fat levels could translate into lower heart disease risk over time.
RealAge Benefit: Eating a diet low in saturated and trans fats can make your RealAge as much as 6 years younger.
Improved cholesterol levels and better heart health are not the only benefits of eating soy. Preliminary reports suggest soy may help dull pain, too.
In animal studies, moderate blood levels of phytoestrogens appeared to reduce sensitivity to certain kinds of pain. Phytoestrogens are plant compounds found in high concentrations in soy and soy products. A diet that includes moderate amounts of soy may be helpful particularly to people suffering from chronic, painful inflammation or swelling.
RealAge Benefit: Eating a diverse diet that is low in calories and high in nutrients can make your RealAge as much as 4 years younger.
Want instant gratification? Make olive oil a regular part of your diet for one week.
In a study, just one week of adding olive oil to the diet caused noticeable changes in the cholesterol profiles of study participants. After seven days, the bad cholesterol molecules in the study participants' bloodstreams became more stable, making the molecules less likely to oxidize and cause blockages.
RealAge Benefit: Eating a low-fat diet--and eating healthy unsaturated fats when you do eat fat--can make your RealAge as much as 6 years younger.
Extra, Extra
Are you satisfied with 100%? When it comes to the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of vitamin C, you probably shouldn't be.
A serving of orange juice may deliver 100% of the RDA of vitamin C, but the RDA is only 75-90 milligrams. You need much more vitamin C than that for optimum health. Increase your intake by adding a vitamin C supplement to your diet, or by eating more vitamin C-rich fruits and vegetables, such as strawberries and red bell peppers.
RealAge Benefit: Getting up to 1,200 milligrams of vitamin C per day from food and supplements can make your RealAge as much as 1 year younger.
When it comes to low-calorie, high-nutrition sources of potassium, zucchini takes the cake.
One medium zucchini contains as much potassium as a medium banana, about 450 milligrams. However, a medium zucchini will add less than 30 calories to your diet, while a banana adds over 100 calories.
RealAge Benefit: Eating a diverse diet that includes 5 servings of vegetables per day can make your RealAge as much as 4 years younger.
Something to C
Taking your daily vitamin C supplement may help keep cataracts from clouding your vision.
In a recent study, participants who took at least 350 milligrams of vitamin C per day were 50% less likely to develop cortical cataracts compared to participants who took less than 140 milligrams per day. Cortical cataracts affect vision by clouding the outer layer of the lens of the eye.
RealAge Benefit: Getting up to 1,000 milligrams of vitamin C per day from food and supplements can make your RealAge as much as 1 year younger.
If you're searching out the pepper with the most vitamin C, head toward the red hues.
Sweet red and yellow bell peppers contain almost twice as much vitamin C as green bell peppers. An ample supply of vitamin C in the diet has been credited with reducing the risk of stroke, one of the most common causes of death and disability in the United States.
RealAge Benefit: Getting 1,200 milligrams of vitamin C per day from food and supplements can make your RealAge as much as 1 year younger.
Old News: Although nuts are valued for protein, vitamins and minerals, they are too fatty, caloric, and salty.
Latest News: Recent studies show that nuts can help prefvent heart disease. They are rich in unsaturated fats, including monunsaturated fats, as well as vitamin E, fiber, folic acid, and other B vitamins. Choose unsalted nuts, and don't eat huge amounts. Add nuts to salads, cereals, and rice dishes. Walnuts are especially rich in heart-healthy oil.
Turning back the clock starts on the inside, and a folic acid supplement can help.
Research confirms that folic acid may help make your arteries younger. In a study, when people took a folic acid supplement every day for one year, the blood vessels lining their arteries became more elastic. Stiff arteries can be a sign of aging and disease.
RealAge Benefit: Getting a total of 700 micrograms of folate per day in food and supplements can make your RealAge as much as 1.2 years younger.
Do you want to avoid painful ulcers? Fortify your efforts with a few florets of broccoli.
A recent study revealed that compounds found in broccoli may help to inhibit a certain type of bacteria that is associated with ulcers. In laboratory analysis, the chemical sulphoraphane, found in broccoli, killed the common ulcer-causing bacteria called Helicobacter pylori.
RealAge Benefit: Eating a diverse diet that includes 5 servings of vegetables per day can make your RealAge as much as 4 years younger.
HDL on My Mind
If you want to keep your mind sharp as a tack, keep your body fit as a fiddle.
New research reveals that having healthy levels of HDL, the good kind of cholesterol, may help to ward off dementia in your golden years. Regular exercise is one of the best ways to increase your blood levels of HDL. Increasing your intake of unsaturated fat, while lowering your intake of saturated fat, also has been shown to boost HDL.
RealAge Benefit: Exercising regularly can make your RealAge as much as 9 years younger
Tasty Paste
Add tomato paste to one of your meals this week and your lungs might breathe a sigh of relief.
Tomato paste is a rich source of both vitamin C and magnesium, two nutrients recently credited with helping to keep lungs healthy. Aim for 1,200 milligrams of vitamin C per day. For magnesium, women should try to get 400 milligrams per day, while men should aim for 333 milligrams.
RealAge Benefit: Eating a diverse diet that is low in calories and high in nutrients can make your RealAge as much as 4 years younger.
If you are firing up the grill this week, throw on some salmon. It could help keep your heart in the pink.
Salmon is a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids, a kind of fat recently linked to a reduced risk of coronary heart disease death. In a study of people with seemingly healthy hearts, those with high blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids were over 80% less likely to die from heart failure compared to people with low omega-3 blood levels.
RealAge Benefit: Eating at least 1 serving of fish per week can make your RealAge up to 2.7 years younger.
Slim Grains
Eating plenty of whole-grain foods could help you stay slim.
A recent study revealed that people who ate the most whole-grain foods tended to have lower body mass index measurements compared to people who skimped on whole-grain foods. Whole grain lovers also had lower cholesterol scores compared to people who preferred refined grains.
RealAge Benefit: Eating a high-fiber diet can make your RealAge up to 3.5 years younger.
Tightfisted Health Food
Don't let worries about your wallet keep you from eating nutritious foods.
In a recent study published by the American Dietetic Association, families that adopted a healthful diet that was low in calories and high in nutrients spent the same amount of money on food as they did when they were following an unhealthful diet. In fact, after one year, buying nutritious foods was actually easier on people's pocketbooks.
RealAge Benefit: Eating a diverse diet that is low in calories and high in nutrients can make your RealAge as much as 4 years younger.