Eat to feel better

Know your enemies

Limit your saturated fats to less than 20 grams a day, and eliminate all trans fats. No food element has been more closely linked to arterial aging than these two kinds of fats, found mostly in four-legged animal fats such as meats, full-fat dairy products, baked goods, fried fast foods, and palm and coconut oils.

In the same way, you should also avoid all added simple sugars (sugars natively in fruits and vegetables that you eat with the fruit or vegetable seem to provide more benefit from the fruit and vegetable's other nutrients than harm to your body). Added simple sugars to avoid include any food ending in "-ose," and syrups (a code word to hide food your body knows is sugar), including high fructose corn syrup and any grain but 100 percent whole-grain foods.

The enriched and bleached and non-whole grain flours are seen by your body as sugar too - all of which have a very direct effect to make your arteries old and atherosclerotic. That means heart disease, memory loss, impotence, wrinkles, peripheral arterial disease, and stroke. But the great news is 100 percent whole grain foods help keep you young. Simple sugars also can contribute to obesity or lead to insulin resistance and ultimately diabetes, which also is very damaging to your arteries.

Potassium and magnesium

Potassium also keeps your arteries young by helping regulate blood pressure and allowing the heart and kidneys to function properly. The recommended amount is 3,000 milligrams a day. Bananas have about 450 milligrams, many fruits have 200 to 300 mg preserving, and the king of all, avocados contain about 1,000 milligrams.

Magnesium, essential for helping regulate metabolism, helps lower blood pressure by dilating arteries. A magnesium-rich diet - 400 milligrams a day for women and 333 milligrams for men - consists of foods like whole-grain breads and cereals, soy and lima beans, nuts, avocados, beets, raisins, and dates.

Go nuts

Eat at least one handful of nuts a day. Nuts are an excellent source of both healthy fats and healthy protein. An Iowa Nurses Study found that one ounce of nuts a day can decrease heart disease between 20 and 60 percent.

Go fish

You should eat three portions of non-fried, non-shell fish per week. Those high in omega-3 fatty acids, like salmon, cod, or bass, have several powerful benefits. They appear to reduce triglyceride levels in the blood - which can cause plaque buildup, stabilize the heart beat, and may bring down blood pressure as well. If you do not like fish, you can get the most active omega-3, DHA, from where the fish get it, algae in the form of algal or vegetarian DHA pills. I take 600 mg a day. These are much smaller capsules than the standard fish capsule - you need 2,000 mg of fish oil to get about 600 mg of the DHA.

DHA is more than 99 percent of the fat component in your brain cells - and yes if someone calls you fat head they are really right - fat is essential for brain cell membranes and functioning - so be glad you're a DHA fat head.

Fiber

Fiber makes it easier for food to move through your intestines without much pressure being placed on your tubing. Found solely in plant foods, fiber is largely indigestible as it passes through the digestive tract intact. It contains no calories but makes you feel full, and that cuts your cravings and overeating if you are typical or even like me. Fiber is found mostly in grains like oats, barley, and rye; in legumes such as beans, peas, and lentils; and in some cereals.

Try eating grapefruit, oranges, raisins, sweet potatoes, and zucchini for your daily fiber. The typical American eats 8 to 12 grams of fiber a day - we should eat that at each meal, but don't increase all at once - you'll clear out any elevator known to man.

Lutein

A substance found in corn, spinach, and other leafy vegetables; it's most beneficial for maintaining sight and keeping your eyes acting as if you were 10 years younger. You can also take it in supplement form - 1,000 micrograms twice a day.

Vitamin C and bioflavonoids

Found in many fruits and vegetables, Vitamin C and bioflavonoids help your immune system fight invaders, but they're also helpful in protecting against cataracts. People older than 50 - likely you, but certainly me - who ate at least three servings of fruit a day were less likely to develop macular degeneration than those who ate only one and a half servings. So enjoy fruit - have some wine with it or dessert at dinner time, but include it in almost every snack.

Water - not soft drinks

Water is a natural lubricant and helps everything in your system slide through. You can see that in the porcelain container - if you have enough water and fiber things go in like Greg Lugainus - smooth and almost without sound. If your "No. 2" sounds like a machine gun and is in little pellets, you need more water and more fiber.

Another great advantage of a lot of water: Water fights bad breath by breaking up and moving stagnant bacteria in your mouth.

Diet basics

Follow these additional tips if you want eating to keep you looking and feeling young:

• Eat when hungry, not famished, and have your last meal at least three hours before bed
• Use a 9-inch plate
• Eat about nine handfuls of fruits and vegetables, 1 ounce of nuts, and whole grain breads or cereals with fiber each day
• Eat fish at least three times a week, or fish oil or DHA daily
• Consume about 10 tablespoons of cooked tomato products each week
• Avoid processed foods with trans and saturated fats, white foods, and high fructose corn syrup
• Drink lots of water and two glasses of skim or low-fat milk each day

Bottom line

Eating healthy makes you feel better and your body work better. Getting your daily nutrients helps your body maintain a healthy weight, regulate blood pressure, improve your eye sight, and prevent bad breath. So don't think, just make healthy choices part of your life - that way food will taste great, your choices will be automatic, and you'll stay young longer - and that will allow you time to do more good.

Who is Dr. Roizen?

A nationally renowned expert, Michael Roizen, M.D., or "Dr. Mike," is personable, witty, and full of important health insights imparted through his books, a radio show, and his Website, www.realage.com. He's also chief wellness officer and chair of the Wellness Institute at the Cleveland Clinic, where he practices both internal medicine and anesthesiology. He's listed - along with his physician wife - as one of the 1,000 Best Doctors in the United States.

At the age of 62, Dr. Mike has also been a top-ranked squash player. His RealAge books and his "YOU" books - coauthored with Dr. Mehmet Oz - YOU: On a Diet, YOU: The Owner's Manual, YOU: Staying Young and YOU: The Smart Patient - are runaway bestsellers. His radio show, "YOU: The Owner's Manual with Dr. Michael Roizen," is sponsored by Humana and heard on radio stations nationwide. His Website, www.realage.com, has a program aimed at helping health-conscious consumers stop biological aging and live longer, more exciting lives.