YOU: On a Diet ( June 5th - Sept. 25th )

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Watermelon: 3 Juicy Benefits

A cool wedge of watermelon on a hot summer day? Refreshing, for sure.

But watermelon is more than just a seasonal treat. Here are three great health reasons to dig into this juicy fruit:

1. It's loaded with lycopene. Watermelon juice actually gave tomato juice a run for the money in a recent study of lycopene levels. That’s good news for your body, because early research suggests that lycopene may be a cancer crusher.
2. It can make your skin pretty. Watermelon is loaded with a key compound credited with helping skin's healing and regenerative processes. Say no more -- bring on the melon!
3. It's practically calorie-free. With fewer than 50 calories in every cup, watermelon is one smart way to satisfy a sweet tooth. And with a whopping 141 grams of water per cubed cup, watermelon will keep you hydrated, too.

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.

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Watermelon: Best Not Chilled

Ice-cold watermelon on a steamy summer day really hits the spot. But you'll be best served by keeping it on your countertop until cutting time.

Whole watermelons stored at room temperature deliver more cell-protecting antioxidants (specifically lycopene and beta carotene) than refrigerated or freshly picked melons. Here's why.

A Chilling Effect

After it's picked, watermelon continues to ripen and build up antioxidants. Cold temperatures appear to cut this process short. So leave your watermelon out, as long as you haven't sliced it. After it's cut, it should be stored in the refrigerator for food-safety reasons.

For an ice-cold treat, chill the fruit right before serving.

And don't forget to wash your watermelon before cutting it to avoid this.

RealAge Benefit: Eating 5 servings of fruit a day can make your RealAge 1.4 years younger.

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7 Classic Summer Sides Made Healthier

Watching your weight as weekend parties abound can seem like a real drag -- but you don't have to munch on celery sticks while everyone else is chowing down on creamy potato salad this summer. Just lighten up some of those traditional side dishes with these speedy makeovers.

1. Corn on the cob: All you need to do here is dodge the butter. Easy. Like tequila, corn's terrific with a squeeze of lime juice and a little salt. Or try brushing it with a little olive oil and sprinkling it with red pepper flakes. Or roll those ears in some mixed herbs, like basil and oregano or ginger and curry powder. If you just plain like your corn buttered, try a spray-on, no-cal butter substitute -- it works better than you'd think. Or if you've lucked into just-picked, unbelievably sweet, fresh summer corn, do the most delicious thing of all: Eat it naked.

2. Cole slaw: Substitute light mayo, use fat-free dressing. Savvy cooks swear the secret to great slaw is to make it the night before, so the veggies have time to absorb the dressing's flavors.

3. Baked beans: The nutritional wonders of antioxidant-rich, protein-packed beans can be undermined by the fattiness of added bacon. Ditch the meat and you’ll trim off as much as 16 grams of fat per serving. Add chopped onion, bell pepper, and liquid smoke for flavor -- no one will miss the fat.

4. Potato salad: This picnic favorite is notorious for its high glycemic index (GI), which sends your blood sugar soaring. To keep it on an even keel, cook the potatoes the night before and refrigerate them. The next day, make the salad German style, using white vinegar and olive oil rather than mayo. Use 2 parts oil to 7 parts vinegar, and season with mustard, parsley, and just a smidge of sugar. The refrigeration combined with the vinegar creates some nifty kitchen chemistry: It neutralizes the potatoes' blood sugar hit.

5. Pasta salad: Instead of refined white pasta -- another high-GI, low-nutrient food -- use whole-wheat pasta, which has a lower glycemic index, filling fiber, and more good-for-you nutrients.

6. Chips and dip: Serve pretzels or baked chips, and dunk 'em in salsa or a spicy nonfat bean dip.

7. The dessert buffet: Start with watermelon -- it's traditional, irresistible, and remarkably healthy, too. If you're ambitious, scoop out the insides with a melon baller, then mix the melon balls with berries and mint leaves, and use the watermelon’s shell as a serving bowl.

Or go for grilled fruit -- the heat heightens the flavors, and it's fun to do as the embers die down. Brush the grill with light vegetable oil to prevent sticking, then lay out bananas in their skin (sliced lengthwise), sliced peaches, pears, pineapple, papaya, cantaloupe . . . any firm fruit will do. For extra zing, baste the fruit with 1 1/2 cups of orange juice that has been cooked over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until it's reduced by half. Add a little brown sugar if you like. Serve the warm fruit with frozen yogurt and nuts for healthy summer sundaes.

For a baked dessert, make an angel food cake -- it's naturally low-cal and goes great with grilled fruit -- or whip up an old-fashioned apple crisp (leave the peel on to retain the antioxidants and fiber). Not bad for a party dessert!

The payoff? Avoiding foods with saturated and trans fats, simple sugars, or processed grains -- everything we've sidestepped with these simple makeovers --can make your RealAge 3.6 years younger.

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Best Home Remedies for Heartburn

If you ate the whole enchilada -- or screaming hot curry dish, or bowl of gazpacho -- and don’t have any antacids on hand, here’s how to extinguish the heartburn flames without blowing gas money driving to the nearest drugstore:

Chew some gum -- but not mint. Chewing gum (make it sugar-free) for an hour stimulates swallowing, which reduces acid reflux. Just choose any flavor but mint, which is actually a heartburn trigger. It can relax the valve that's supposed to keep stomach acid from creeping upward into your esophagus.

Drink milk. For persistent heartburn, sip a little skim milk every 1 to 2 hours. Casein, the protein in milk, binds capsaicin -- the hot stuff in many dishes -- and the milk helps wash acid back down into the stomach.

Take a walk. It’s a great way to burn off some of the calories you just consumed, and it cuts the amount of time that stomach acid touches the esophagus. Incentive to keep going: The benefits last as long as the walking does. So if you can walk and chew gum . . . !

Of course, even better than stamping out roaring heartburn is preventing it in the first place. Refraining from downing a bucket of wings during the 9th inning is a good start (it’ll improve your love life that night, too). Normally, your esophagus enters your stomach at a sharp angle that keeps food from coming back up. But large meals (and extra weight) stretch this angle, allowing acid to flow up.

There are sneakier causes, too. Certain meds can weaken the valve at the bottom of the esophagus, including ibuprofen, aspirin, antihistamines, and birth control pills. If you suspect a connection, talk to your doc.

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3 Ways to Make Fruits and Veggies Even Healthier

Just because Mother Nature packs nutrients into fruits and vegetables more tightly than commuters on a Japanese subway doesn’t guarantee that the good stuff will last forever. How you treat produce before you eat it has a big impact on how many nutrients are still there when you eat it.

Here’s how to handle three summer favorites:

· Keep watermelon out of the fridge. That’s a big whew, since there’s never room for one anyway. But whole watermelons stored at room temperature deliver more cell-protecting antioxidants (specifically lycopene and beta carotene) than melons that are refrigerated or even fresh off the farm.

That’s because watermelons continue to ripen and build antioxidants after they’re picked; the big chill cuts that process short. For a cool treat, chill the sliced fruit right before serving. (And, of course, store any leftovers in the fridge.)

· Slice fresh fruit yourself. Pre-cut fruit saves time, but it opens the door for vitamin C to escape. Kiwifruit, pineapple, and cantaloupe seem particularly prone to C loss, according to one of our favorite physician-chefs, John La Puma, MD.

· Be gentle with broccoli. Cook broccoli at too high a temperature and you decrease levels of sulforaphane, its main cancer-fighting nutrient. Light cooking, however, actually boosts that good-for-you compound.

Cooking broccoli to 140 degrees Fahrenheit is ideal (158 degrees Fahrenheit was the point at which sulforaphane content dropped), but if you don’t want to make a science project out of your broccoli, know that lightly steaming it does the trick.

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Make a Healthy Nut Even Healthier

Straight out of the can, peanuts are one amazing health food. But you may get more antioxidants if you buy them in the shell and do this: boil 'em.

In a recent study, peanuts boiled in their shells had a significantly higher concentration of disease-fighting phytochemicals -- more than their raw, roasted, or oiled counterparts.

Nutrition in a Nutshell

The hulls of peanuts are loaded with polyphenols, and the skins are packed with flavonoids. Researchers suspect that boiling peanuts in their shells releases these heart-healthy antioxidant compounds into the water, and the amped-up water is in turn absorbed by the nuts. The result? One powerfully healthy peanut.

How to Do It

This isn’t a newfangled food idea. In the South, boiled peanuts are part of the culinary heritage, though raw or not-quite-mature peanuts are traditionally used. Cover the peanuts with salted water in a large stockpot. Simmer until the peanuts inside the shell are soft -- anywhere from 1 to 3 hours.

RealAge Benefit: Getting 31 milligrams of flavonoids a day can make your RealAge 3.2 years younger.

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The Seeds You Need

Sesame seeds have powers far beyond bringing flavor and texture to your seared tuna -- or wedging themselves between your teeth. They help drive down your lousy LDL cholesterol and may play a role in blocking cancer.

You know how the fake fat called olestra keeps real fat from being absorbed by sliding it right through your intestines? (Sometimes too well, as people who haven’t heeded the “wear dark pants” mantra have discovered.)

Well, sesame seeds help lower LDL cholesterol in a somewhat similar way -- by keeping your intestines from absorbing the stuff -- but without any unpleasant side effects. In fact, quite the opposite: Sesame seeds also contain lignans, powerful antioxidants that may deter cancer.

To get the anticholesterol effects, include sesame in your daily diet. Sprinkle the seeds liberally over steamed veggies, toss them into salads, add them to stir-fries, and try them with yogurt and fruit. Enough with the seeds? Sesame oil is an option, too; keep it in a mister and spritz it on whole grains for a light, nutty flavor, or use it as dip for whole-wheat bread.

Then there’s tahini, the delicious sesame-seed paste sold in the ethnic-food section of more and more supermarkets. Use it as a dip for fresh veggies, a spread for pita bread, or a secret ingredient -- it adds a whole new dimension to salad dressings, pasta dishes, rice, and noodles. And it’s great combined with hummus (pureed chickpeas). Your arteries -- and that means your skin, heart, head, and sex organs -- will all function better because you chose sesame.

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Time for an Eye Exam? Quick Self-Test

When you’re looking for a tip-off to how your eyes are doing, here’s one big clue:

Check your night vision. Count how long it takes your eyes to recover from bright lights you see at night, especially when driving. Longer than usual? Say, 7 seconds, as opposed to 3? Might be time for a visit with your eye specialist.

2 More Do-It-Yourself Exams

If you don’t have any risk factors for eye disease and you’re under 60, you can probably get by with seeing the eye doc every 2 years (annually if you’re over 60). But go sooner if your eyes are giving you problems. In addition to the night vision test, RealAge experts Michael Roizen, MD, and Mehmet Oz, MD -- authors of the newly expanded YOU: The Owner’s Manual -- suggest a couple of other quick do-it-yourself eye checks:

1. Fatigue test: If your eyes tire out faster during normal activity -- like reading or working on the computer -- it could be a sign of weakening eyesight.
2. Endurance test: If your eyes get tired earlier in your daily routine than usual -- maybe you can’t read in bed anymore, for example -- schedule a checkup.

Learn how to tell the difference between symptoms of normal eye aging and the signs of eye disease.

RealAge Benefit: Actively patrolling your health can make your RealAge as much as 12 years younger.

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Snack Smackdown: The 10 Healthiest 100-Calorie Treats

Those 100-calorie snack packs are tasty, convenient, and perfectly portioned for calorie counters -- and they're selling like iPhones on opening day. But what's nutritious about a handful of Cheese Nips or Oreo Thins (even with no creamy centers to lick)? Instead, try these 10 far healthier 100-calorie treats. Stash them in your desk drawer, fridge, or car -- wherever hunger pangs hit you. The best part: Most will curb your appetite for hours because they're high in filling fiber or satisfying protein.

1. Midmorning Fill-Up: Just add hot water to a 100-calorie packet of McCann's Instant Cinnamon Roll Irish Oatmeal, which smells ahh-mazing and comes sweetened with Splenda. No doughnut guilt, and there's a bonus: 3 grams of filling, cholesterol-fighting oat fiber.

2. Peanut Butter and Crackers: Make sandwiches out of six All-Bran Multi-Grain Crackers (45 deliciously crunchy calories) and 1 1/2 teaspoons peanut butter (45 smooth calories). You'll get about 2 grams of fiber and a little healthy fat.

3. Apple Mousse: Mix a half cup of unsweetened applesauce (50 calories) with 3 tablespoons of fat-free nondairy topping (45 calories), and 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon. Make a batch and refrigerate in portable snack cups. Supplies 20% of your daily vitamin C and counts as one serving of fruit. Sweet.

4. Veggies and Dip: Flavor ready-to-eat veggies from the produce section -- which have almost no calories -- with a dip: 2 tablespoons of hummus (60 calories) or light ranch dressing (80 calories). For the veggies, think broccoli and cauliflower florets, baby carrots, snap peas, pepper strips, baby squash -- all of them filled with fiber, vitamins, and protective phytonutrients.

5. Cafe Mocha: Stir a packet of Swiss Miss No Sugar Added Hot Chocolate mix (60 calories) into hot coffee for an instant afternoon pick-me-up that only tastes decadent. It actually delivers 30% of your calcium, 6% of your iron, and even a gram of fiber. Add a splash of milk for more goodness. Compare that to 200 calories for the smallest Starbucks Caffe Mocha (2% milk, no whip), with 6 grams of fat.

6. Mexican Potato: Microwave a medium potato and slice in half (80 calories). Save one piece for tomorrow. Mash the other half inside the potato skin and top it with 2 tablespoons of salsa (10 calories). Eat the whole thing, including the skin. Warm, spicy, satisfying and 2 grams each of protein and fiber, some vitamin C, plus a little iron.

7. Finger Food: Munch edamame like nuts. 1/2 cup of these quick-cooked frozen soybeans (about 95 calories) makes a great nibble. That’s why they're a staple at hip bars -- which probably don't care that they're serving you 8 grams of protein, 4 grams of fiber, and lots of minerals.

8. Snack on a Minimeal: When you're starving but trying to hold back, try this: Wrap a Morningstar Farms Vegan Burger (100 calories), a tomato slice, hamburger pickles, and a little mustard or ketchup in lettuce leaves instead of bread. The 10 grams of protein will keep you filled till it's really mealtime.

9. Happy Hour Combo: Mix 1/2 cup of tomato juice (22 calories) with 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, 2 drops of Tabasco sauce, and a dash of lemon juice. Serve over ice with a celery stick and about a dozen dry roasted peanuts (about 60 calories). Have a second "drink" if you like -- no biggie!

10. Healthy Confetti Crisps: If chips are your downfall, make a batch of these RealAge crisps and divide into 6 portions (95 calories each). Munch through a bag while sipping your club soda and lime. Remember to enjoy the good fat from the olive oil and the fiber and vitamins in the veggies -- these taste so good, you may forget they're healthy.

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REALAGE CONFETTI CRISPS
6 servings, 95 calories each

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 cup each of peeled and thinly sliced purple potatoes, carrots, and parsnips

Mix the oil and seasonings together, add the vegetables, and toss to coat. Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet lightly sprayed with olive oil. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20–25 minutes or until crisp and golden brown.

If being able to easily button your tightest jeans isn't incentive enough not to double up on 100-calorie snacks -- they’re tempting, we know -- consider this:

Steadily maintaining a desirable weight can make your RealAge 6 years younger.

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Beat the high school reunion diet blues

Brian Wansink, Ph.D., author of "Mindless Eating — Why We Eat More Than We Think," is head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion. He is also director of the Cornell Food and Brand Lab.


Don't wait until the last minute to shed your post-graduation pounds

Many people go on a "reunion diet" to try to get back to their high school graduation weight.

A couple of months ago an old classmate called to remind me about our 30th high school reunion this summer in Sioux City, Iowa. She joked that she and her husband would be starting their "reunion diets" a month before the big day. Her goal? To lose 30 pounds by July.

She’s got plenty of company. While summer means relaxation for some, it means lots of hard work dieting for those who want to put their best selves forward with former classmates.

It’s estimated that the typical American gains between 1 to 2 pounds a year. While that may not seem like much for a single year, by the time your 30th reunion rolls around, you’ll be rolling in 30 or 60 pounds heavier than you were on graduation day. With that kind of weight gain, you’re more likely to be greeted with “So … how are things going?” instead of something more flattering.

Lose it fast — regain it fast

Experts recommend losing a pound a week for best results. But when there’s a big event such as a school reunion or a wedding, many people like my friend put off dieting until almost the last minute. Quick-loss deprivation diets such as severely limiting calories, eating only protein or taking herbal laxatives can be painful, potentially harmful — and temporary.

The reality is, the faster you lose it, the faster you regain it.

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Keeping it Off

Let’s say you do manage to get back to your graduation weight. The reunion’s finally over, but you want to be able to keep wearing that tight dress or skinny suit you bought to show off your new body. It’s not impossible, but you can’t go back to your normal eating routine.

There are some tried-and-true ways to maintain weight loss, according to the National Weight Control Registry. Established in 1994 by researchers from Brown Medical School and the University of Colorado, the registry keeps track of over 5,000 people who have shed 30 or more pounds and have kept it off for more than a year.

Here’s what they recommend:

* Stay active every day. Ninety-four percent of successful dieters increased their physical activity. Most of them simply started walking regularly. Ninety percent of these exercise at least one hour a day.
* Ninety-eight percent modified what foods they ate. Some cut out junk foods or cut them down to occasional or special treats.
* Seventy-eight percent ate breakfast every day. In fact, a recent study found that a big, carbohydrate-packed breakfast can help control your appetite through the day, and can prevent cravings for starches and sweets.
* Sixty-two percent watched less than 10 hours of television a week. Numerous studies show that people who watch a lot of TV are more likely to be overweight than people who don’t.

In addition, be aware of how much time you spend mindlessly munching on snacks or high-calorie foods.
In my book “Mindless Eating,” I suggest these methods for weight maintenance:

* Substitute a fruit bowl for the cookie dish.
* Use smaller dinner plates. Use the half-plate rule: At dinner, load up the right side of your plate with salad, fruit, or vegetables. The other side can be starches and meat.
* Store indulgent foods in inconvenient spots. If you have to work to get the treat, that can give you enough time to change your mind and opt for the carrots instead.

If you manage to keep the weight off for a year, you can join the National Weight Control Registry and share your secrets with others.

Even if you don’t get all the way down to your graduation weight in time for this year’s reunion, if you focus as much on keeping the pounds off as losing them, by the next big one, you’ll get the enthusiastic “Wow, you look great!” greeting you want to hear.

Beat the reunion diet blues - Chew On This - MSNBC.com

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The Mediterranean Diet

The Mediterranean diet is a modern nutritional model inspired by the traditional dietary patterns of some of the countries of the Mediterranean basin, particularly Southern Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Portugal, Turkey and Spain.

Common to the diets of these regions are a high consumption of fruit and vegetables, bread, wheat and other cereals, olive oil and fish; making them low in saturated fat and high in monounsaturated fat and dietary fiber.

A main factor in the appeal of the Mediterranean Diet is its rich, full flavored foods. Margarine and hydrogenated oils are considered bland and lacking the flavor olive oil can impart to foods. Red wine is also consumed regularly but in moderate quantities.

Although it was first publicized in 1945 by the American doctor Ancel Keys stationed in Salerno, Italy, the Mediterranean diet failed to gain widespread recognition until the 1990s.

It is based on what from the point of view of mainstream nutrition is considered a paradox: that although the people living in Mediterranean countries tend to consume relatively high amounts of fat, they have far lower rates of cardiovascular disease than in countries like the United States, where similar levels of fat consumption are found.

One of the main explanations is thought to be the large amount of olive oil used in the Mediterranean diet. Unlike the high amount of animal fats typical to the American diet, olive oil lowers cholesterol levels in the blood. It is also known to lower blood sugar levels and blood pressure. In addition, the consumption of red wine is considered a possible factor, as it contains flavonoids with powerful antioxidant properties.

Dietary factors may be only part of the reason for the health benefits enjoyed by these cultures. Genetics, lifestyle, and environment may also be involved.

Some questions have been raised as to if the diet provides adequate amounts of all nutrients, particularly calcium and iron. Nonetheless, green vegetables, a good source of calcium and iron, are used in the Mediterranean diet as well as goat cheese (a characteristic of Malta), a good source of calcium.

Reviews for The Mediterranean Diet

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How does the Mediterranean Pyramid differ from USDA Food Guide Pyramid?

* Both pyramids recommend eating lots of fruits, vegetables and whole grains, but the Greeks ate very little red meat, and, they consumed far more plant foods - averaging nine servings a day of antioxidant-rich vegetables.

* The Greeks ate cold water fish several times a week - another heart-healthy investment since fish contain omega-3 oils that not only reduce heart disease risk but also boost immune system functioning.
* The USDA Food Guide Pyramid groups high protein foods together and does not separate out the red meat from the heart-healthy fish and nuts.
* The Greek diet contains little of the two kinds of fats known to raise blood cholesterol levels: saturated fat and trans fat (also called "hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oil" in the ingredients section of food labels).

The USDA Food Guide Pyramid does not make the distinction between the healthy fats like monounsaturated oils and the unhealthy fats like saturated (found mostly in red meats and tropical oils) and trans fats (found mostly in margarines, snack foods, processed peanut butter and commercial baked goods).

Both recommend limiting total fat if watching weight.

What we can learn from the Mediterranean diet about reading food labels?

Understanding the differences in kinds of fats and knowing how to read and interpret food labels can help one become a smarter food shopper.

Try natural peanut butter instead of the pasty, hydrogenated kind. Alter recipes whenever possible to replace unhealthy fats with healthy fats like olive, canola or peanut oil. Use butter very sparingly or use butter flavoring.

Don't believe "Fat Free" or "Cholesterol Free" labeling means that a the product is good for you. Many of these items are made with hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils and they have "empty calories" that can raise blood triglyceride levels.

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•Super News About Soup

If you choose soup when hunger strikes, you could be placing yourself on the path to weight loss.

In a year long study of overweight people on a reduced-calorie diet, snacking on soup each day led to more weight loss than noshing on a calorie-equivalent amount of energy-dense snack foods.

The key difference: even though the soup and the high-energy snack had the same number of calories, the soup took up more space in people's bellies. Thus, the soup eaters felt less hungry later and ate less over the course of the day.

Snacking on foods that have a low ratio of calories to mass -- such as air-popped popcorn, vegetable broth-based soups, and fresh produce -- may help you eat fewer calories overall and aid weight loss efforts.

When incorporating soup into your weight-reduction plan, steer clear of cream-based varieties, which are high in fat and calories.

Instead, choose soups with a base of chicken broth or vegetable broth and those loaded with vegetables, kidney beans, lentils, or brown rice to keep you satisfied and help you trim down.

In a study of overweight and obese people, those who ate two servings of low-energy dense soup per day as part of a reduced-calorie diet lost an average of almost 16 pounds over the yearlong study period.

The people who ate two servings of high-energy dense snack foods per day lost an average of just over 10.5 pounds -- 35 percent less than the soup-snacking group.

RealAge Benefit: Maintaining your weight and body mass index at a desirable level can make your RealAge as much as 6 years younger.

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Household Staple That Steadies Blood Sugar

You use it for cooking, cleaning, gardening, and a hundred other household chores. But for your blood sugar?

You bet. Seems vinegar -- the tart stuff in tasty vinaigrettes and marinades -- may help clamp down on blood sugar spikes from eating starchy carbs like potatoes and pasta.

Keep It Steady

Keeping blood sugar from surging may cut down on diabetes risk in the long run. But stabilizing blood sugar can do good things instantly, too -- like stymieing hunger pangs, keeping your energy up, and keeping pounds off. To get the blood sugar benefit of vinegar, try pairing starchy foods with vinegar-based sauces or dressings. Or start a meal with a salad dressed in oil and vinegar.

Reality Check

Of course, a shot of vinegar will only go so far when it comes to keeping your blood sugar steady. To really ward off blood sugar problems, you’ll need to:

* Get moving . . . so your body uses blood sugar better.
* Load up . . . on low-glycemic-index foods that help keep blood sugar stable. We’re talking high-fiber fruits, veggies, and whole grains.
* Pare down . . . maintaining a healthy weight helps reduce your risk of diabetes.

RealAge Benefit: Making healthful substitutions when cooking can make your RealAge 3 to 12 years younger.

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Can’t Find Things? Your Memory May Be Too Good

Can’t figure out where you put the remote? Your problem may not be a bad memory. It may be one that’s too good. Some people are able to store gigabytes of information. If you’re one of them, the sheer volume -- especially of useless info -- is like mental litter: It can clutter up your brain.

The key to a good memory is being selective: retaining the relevant and discarding the unimportant.

Just as it’s easier to search your computer’s hard drive when there’s less stuff on it, your brain works better if there’s less to look through. Whether you can actually retrain your brain to store only things that are important to you has yet to be figured out.

Meanwhile, these strategies may help: When you really need to remember something -- where you’re tucking your plane ticket, what time you promised to call your boss -- ignore distractions (the person with the pierced lip or pet parrot) and FOCUS on the thing you need to lock onto. Also, associate things with something emotional: Put all notes from your family close to your heart. Slip all baggage claims into your back pocket, near where you’d get back pain if you had to carry the bag yourself. Now, where is the send button on this computer?

When it comes to short-term visual memory -- where you left your drink, what that street sign said -- the brain generally can retain only three or four things at once. Because of this, efficiently "erasing" unnecessary bits of data can make the difference between whether you’re good at recalling things or not.

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Friendly Fat

Olive oil isn't only a boon to heart health. New research shows it may have other powers, too.

Oleic acid -- a healthy monounsaturated fat found in olive oil -- may help disarm a gene that prompts breast cancer cells to grow and divide, a recent study revealed. Add this health-friendly fat to your diet by sautéing veggies and other foods in olive oil instead of butter. Choose an olive oil-based dressing for salads, too.

Monounsaturated fats, such as those found in olive oil, nuts, and avocados, are credited with boosting heart and artery health by increasing HDL (good) cholesterol and decreasing LDL (bad) cholesterol.

Now, a new study provides evidence that oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat that is the main component of olive oil, may inhibit the growth of certain types of cancer, specifically breast cancer. In the study, oleic acid was found to inhibit the overactive Her-2 gene that stimulates growth and division of certain kinds of breast cancer cells.

To keep your olive oil in tip-top condition, store it away from light and heat that can cause the oil to oxidize and turn rancid. Buy olive oil in opaque bottles to help protect it from light. Decant a small amount of olive oil into a bottle for everyday use and store the rest in a cool, dark, dry environment. For a new twist, infuse olive oil with your favorite herbs by putting a sprig of thyme or rosemary in the bottle.

RealAge Benefit: Eating a low-fat diet--and eating healthful unsaturated fats when you do eat fat--can make your RealAge as much as 6 years younger.

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Pep Up Your Health with Peppers

Love sweet red, green, and yellow bell peppers? Know which are most healthful?

The red and yellow ones -- they have almost twice as much vitamin C as their green siblings. And getting an ample supply of C is credited with reducing the risk of stroke, one of the most common causes of death and disability in Americans.

Researchers have found that people with the lowest amounts of vitamin C in their diets have a 30 percent greater risk of having a stroke compared to those with the largest intake of C.

So when you're grocery shopping, pick up a few extra bell peppers. Midsummer is prime season for them -- they're sweet, cheap, and abundant. Still, you can eat only so many peppers.

For variety, reach for other high-C foods: papaya, strawberries, cantaloupe, citrus fruit, and broccoli are all-stars when it comes to this potent vitamin.

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.

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Wake Up to the Drink That Makes You Live Longer

Talk about starting the day right. Your morning coffee (and any you drink later) may reduce your risk of premature death. Two to three cups a day cut risk by 18% in women and 3% in men in a new study of more than 100,000 people. And the more consumed, the lower the risk.

Credit may go to coffee’s potent antioxidants, which seem to fend off cardiovascular disease. Whatever the mechanism, the benefits are unbeatable: You’re less likely to die. And that’s on top of the other health goodies we already know are in this brew:

· 4 cups (32 oz.) of java a day can cut your diabetes risk by a third, possibly by improving insulin’s effects.

· 3 cups (24 oz.) a day protect your brain, dropping your risk of Parkinson’s by 40% and Alzheimer’s by 20%.

· 2 cups (16 oz.) a day keep your hard-working liver healthy as it filters out pollutants, makes protein, warehouses extra carbs and vitamins, and helps produce bile, which is needed to digest fat.

Decaf provides many of these benefits, too; good news if caffeine disturbs your blood pressure or ability to sleep. Just be sure you make coffee with a paper filter: The paper traps a compound that otherwise increases lousy LDL cholesterol. That said, there are almost no other coffee caveats except this: If regular-strength brew is what you groove to, get some extra calcium, because caffeine makes you excrete this bone builder.

For every 8 ounces of coffee, get an extra 40 milligrams of calcium. Conveniently, that’s almost exactly the amount in 2 tablespoons of skim milk -- so if you like coffee with milk, you’re good to go. Dr. Mike prefers that you drink it black, accompanied by a calcium/magnesium/vitamin D tablet . . .