(2 of 2)
Choose fruits and vegetables from all parts of the color spectrum, especially berries, tomatoes, orange and yellow fruits, and dark leafy greens.
Choose organic produce whenever possible. Learn which conventionally grown crops are most likely to carry pesticide residues, and avoid them.
Eat cruciferous (cabbage-family) vegetables regularly.
Include soy foods in your diet.
Drink tea instead of coffee, especially good-quality white, green or oolong tea.
If you drink alcohol, use red wine preferentially.
Enjoy plain dark chocolate (with a minimum cocoa content of 70%) in moderation.
Vitamins And Minerals
The best way to obtain all your daily vitamins, minerals and micronutrients is by eating a diet high in fresh foods, with an abundance of fruits and vegetables.
In addition, supplement your diet with this antioxidant cocktail:
Vitamin C, 200 mg a day; vitamin E, 400 IUs of natural mixed tocopherols (d-alpha-tocopherol with other tocopherols or, better, a minimum of 80 mg of natural mixed tocopherols and tocotrienols).
Selenium, 200 mcg of an organic (yeast-bound) form.
Mixed carotenoids, 10,000 IUs to 15,000 IUs daily.
In addition, take a daily multivitamin-multimineral supplement that provides at least 400 mcg of folic acid and at least 1,000 IUs of vitamin D. It should contain no iron and no preformed vitamin A (retinol).
Take supplemental calcium, preferably as calcium citrate. Women need 1,200 mg to 1,500 mg a day, depending on their dietary intake of this mineral; men should get no more than 1,200 mg of calcium a day from all sources.
Other Dietary Supplements
If you are not eating oily fish at least twice a week, take supplemental fish oil, 1 g to 2 g a day. Look for molecularly distilled products certified to be free of heavy metals and other contaminants.
Talk to your doctor about going on low-dose aspirin therapy, 1 or 2 baby aspirins (81 mg or 162 mg) a day.
If you are not regularly eating ginger and turmeric, consider taking them in supplemental form.
Add coenzyme Q-10 to your daily regimen: 60 mg to 100 mg in a soft-gel form taken with your largest meal.
If you are prone to metabolic syndrome, take alpha-lipoic acid, 100 mg to 400 mg a day.
Water
Try to take 6 to 8 glasses of pure water or drinks that are mostly water (tea, very diluted fruit juice, sparkling water with lemon) every day.
Use bottled water or get a home water purifier if your tap water tastes of chlorine or other contaminants.
For more information, see healthyaging.com