How to boost your health in almost no time

By Hilary Macht Felgran

updated 8:42 a.m. ET Dec. 7, 2007

What if you could cut your risk of heart disease, get fitter, and slow aging — not to mention protect your smile — in less time than it takes to watch a couple of commercials? Better health does take time, but not as much as you may think. Yes, you should exercise 30 minutes a day and sleep 7 to 8 hours a night. But top experts in nutrition, cardiovascular health, and cancer prevention know the supersimple, amazingly fast steps you can take to dramatically improve your well-being. So take a minute or so ... and boost your health in almost no time flat.

Fight cancer
Eat the peel. The bulk of an apple's benefit lies in its skin. In a recent lab experiment, more than a dozen chemicals in the peels of Red Delicious apples inhibited the growth of breast, liver, and colon cancer cells. Investigator Rui Hai Liu, MD, PhD, an associate professor of food science at Cornell University, suspects that the peels of other apple varieties are also extra potent. Buy organic if you're concerned about exposure to pesticides.

Take the right supplements. Getting enough vitamin D and calcium brings a remarkable reduction in cancer risk, found a recent 4-year study at Creighton University: Women who took the combo reduced their overall risk by up to 77%. "Vitamin D enhances your body's immune response — which is the first line of defense against cancer," says lead researcher Joan Lappe, PhD, RN, a professor of nursing and medicine. Your skin makes D when it's exposed to sunlight, but researchers say the best way to guarantee you get enough is with a pill. The 1,100 IU used in the Creighton study will do the trick (and is safe).

Slow aging
Sniff some lavender or rosemary. The scent of lavender can bring you a restful night's sleep — but the plant can do you a world of good in daylight, too. In a recent study, volunteers sniffed the essential oils of lavender or rosemary for 5 minutes. Result: Levels of the stress hormone cortisol in saliva dropped as much as 24%. That's good, because the hormone increases blood pressure and suppresses the immune system. What's more, people who smelled low concentrations of lavender or high concentrations of rosemary were better at getting rid of free radicals, the pesky molecules believed to speed aging and disease.

Cut cholesterol
Sprinkle pistachios on your salad. Researchers at Pennsylvania State University recently gave volunteers a pleasant task: Eat 1 1/2 ounces (about a handful) of pistachios every day. At the end of 4 weeks, those who munched the nuts reduced their total cholesterol by an average of 6.7% and their LDL ("bad") cholesterol by 11.6%. That reduction has a major payoff: Cutting your total cholesterol by about 7% reduces your heart disease risk by 14%. Pistachios are one of the best sources of plant sterols, compounds we know reduce absorption of cholesterol, says researcher Penny Kris-Etherton, PhD, RD, who led the study. Just remember, 1 ounce contains about 160 calories. So pour a little less dressing on your salad as you add some pistachios, or go easy on butter or oil on your veggies when you sprinkle them on top.

Replace sugar with buckwheat honey. This sweet substance has been used for medicinal purposes since ancient times; when it's applied to a wound, honey is a natural antibacterial salve. Now researchers say that its benefits may be much more than skin deep. Test-tube studies show that honey slows the oxidation of LDL cholesterol — it's when LDL is oxidized that it can be laid down as plaque in blood vessels. The variety of honey best at slowing oxidation: buckwheat.

Cool hot flashes
Breathe deeply. Slow, deep abdominal breathing can reduce the frequency of hot flashes by about half, according to three recent studies. Estrogen withdrawal is partly to blame for hot flashes, but researchers believe that stress also plays a role by firing up the sympathetic nervous system — the part of your wiring responsible for the fight-or-flight response. The fix: Breathe deeply to enlist the parasympathetic nervous system, which activates your body's relaxation response. That will slow heart rate, relax muscles, and lower blood pressure. Sit in a comfortable chair and allow your breath to deepen. Inhale through your nose; exhale through your mouth. Close your eyes to cut out distraction. Let your belly be soft — you want it to rise and fall with each breath.

Keep your vision sharp
Eat an egg. No offense meant to carrots, but research shows eggs are an even better source of the eye-friendly antioxidants known as carotenoids. Lutein and zeaxanthin are the crucial carotenoids for vision — the only ones that benefit the retina's fragile macula, which is responsible for central vision. Eggs don't contain as much lutein and zeaxanthin as dark green, leafy veggies, but your body is better able to absorb the antioxidants in eggs, says nutritional biochemist Elizabeth Johnson, PhD, at Tufts University. Worried about cholesterol? Don't be: Eating an egg a day increases blood levels of lutein (by 26%) and zeaxanthin (by 38%) without raising cholesterol or triglyceride levels.

Reduce dangerous inflammation
Pour a bowl of whole grain cereal. Whole grains are about much more than "regularity" — they can save your life. The Iowa Women's Health Study, which has followed nearly 42,000 postmenopausal women for 15 years, reports that women who ate 11 or more servings of whole grains each week were about a third less likely to die of an inflammatory disorder than those who consumed the least. (What is an inflammatory disorder? Any condition marked by chronic inflammation — including diabetes, asthma, and heart disease.) Good choices: oatmeal, brown rice, dark bread, whole grain breakfast cereal, bulgur, and (hurray!) popcorn. "Whole grains contain the biologically active parts of the plant," says study leader David R. Jacobs Jr., PhD, a professor of epidemiology and community health at the University of Minnesota. "What keeps the plant alive keeps the eater alive."

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