12 healthy habits - 12 полезных привычек

New habit: Double your current intake of fruits and vegetables.

The skinny: Include this habit suggestion as the most important diet habit you can adopt to slow, stop, even reverse the aging process.

More than 12,000 antioxidant compounds have been identified in colorful produce and many of these compounds also prevent the inflammation that underlies many diseases from heart disease to Alzheimer's.

For example, a recent study found that seniors who ate the most colorful produce maintained better memories as they got older.

Action steps: July is prime time for farmers markets, so you can double your veggie intake simply by cruising the local stands. Skip the potatoes, iceberg lettuce and apple juice. Replace with a sweet potato, a salad made with romaine lettuce and a glass of orange juice or low-sodium V8. Add some raw broccoli to your salads. Steam extra veggies and munch on them as a cold snack the next day (green beans are especially good for this purpose). Add vegetables to your omelets. Dice apples into your oatmeal. Buy plain yogurt and add your own berries (even frozen when out of season). Eat double servings of veggies (usually a cup instead of a half-cup) whenever possible; make it routine.