Antioxidants are a great way to prevent disease. Foods like berries, pomegranates, tomatoes and spinach contain antioxidants, which slows down the aging of our cells.
"Antioxidants can even reverse damage to our cells," said Bonnie Taub-Dix, a registered nurse and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association.
Foods with antioxidants are easy to spot - they are usually the most colorful.
In one big study, scientists discovered that women who ate foods rich in vitamin E, like nuts, decreased their risk of developing a stroke. But women who relied on vitamin E in supplement form, did not have that same protection.
Natural foods have "thousands of compounds that interact in complex ways," said Frank Hu, associate professor of nutrition and epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health. "If you take one out, there's no predicting how it will function on its own."
Green tea has catechins, life-prolonging antioxidants. One cup of green tea per day can reduce your chances of developing high blood pressure by almost half. Drink more than that and you can reduce your chances up to 65 percent.
Your metabolism starts to slow at the age of 40. By the age of 50, you will have lost five pounds of muscle and gained 10 pounds of fat. But, lifting weights can counteract this and boost your metabolism by about seven percent. Check with your doctor or a fitness expert to see which weight-lifting regimen would work best for you.
If you are not engaging in a cardio workout, you should be. Start dancing, do aerobics, run on the treadmill . . .anything that gets your heart pumping faster. Cardio can burn hundreds of calories, so aim to do it at least twice a week.
Stress is a huge factor when it comes to the aging process – it can leave you sleepless and fatigued, cause inflammation and even damage your DNA.
You can fix that by practicing yoga, which has proven to reduce markers of oxidative stress (which accelerates cellular damage). Try doing yoga every day for maximum results.
Since we can't buy a bottle from the Fountain of Youth, the editors of Prevention Magazine offer six ways to add an extra 10 years to your life from their book "List Maker's Get-Healthy Guide"