-Men's Health Magazine

Many of what are considered signs of aging--wrinkled skin, a fading memory, diminished physical capacity and an increased susceptibility to infection--are actually little more than deficiencies of critical chemicals called antioxidants. You don't have to sit by and watch your body disintegrate. Instead, you can eat the following 10 foods to help hang on to and replenish your biomechanical vitality. Just about any fruit or vegetable will make contributions to your quest for youth, here are 10 you shouldn't ignore.

1.Avocado: True, avocado is high in fat, much of it is "good" fat, the monounsaturated type, which resists oxidation. Avocado is high in glutathione, an antioxidant which helps neutralize fat in other foods. Research also suggests that eating avocado lowers and improves cholesterol better than a low-fat diet does.

2.Berries: Blueberries have more antioxidants called anthocyanins than any other food--in fact, 3 times more than the second-richest sources, red wine and green tea. Both blueberries and cranberries help ward off urinary tract infections. And a study showed that older people who ate strawberries had the lowest rates of all kinds of cancer.

3.Broccoli: The green stuff provides an awesome array of antioxidants. Johns Hopkins scientists discovered a particularly strong one called sulforaphane. Served to animals, the broccoli chemical stoked the activity of detoxification enzymes that slashed cancer rates by two-thirds. Broccoli is packed with vitamin C, beta-carotene, indole, glutathione and lutein, and is also a rich source of the trace metal chromium, which is a life extender and protects against the ravages of out-of-control insulin and blood sugar.

4.Cabbage: Men who ate cabbage once a week compared with once a month had only 66 percent of the risk of colon cancer, one study found. Cabbage also seems to deter stomach cancer. Savoy cabbage (the crinkly type)is strongest-eat it raw or lightly cooked for the best effect.

5.Carrots: Carrots are legendary in fighting off aging diseases. In a recent study, men eating a couple of carrots a day lowered blood cholesterol by 10 percent. Many studies pinpoint beta-carotene, carrots' main antioxidant asset, as a powerhouse against aging and disease. People with low levels of beta-carotene in their blood are more apt to have heart attacks, strokes and various cancers.

6.Citrus fruit: The National Cancer Institute has called the orange the "complete package of every class of natural anticancer inhibitor known, including carotenoids, terpenes, flavenoids and vitamin C." Grapefruit, too, has a unique type of fiber that reduces cholesterol dramatically and may reverse the aging disease atherosclerosis.

7.Grapes: Grapes contain 20 known antioxidants that work together to fend off oxygen free-radical attacks that promote disease and aging, according to researchers at the University of California-Davis. The antioxidants are in the skin and the seeds, and the more colorful the skin, the greater the antioxidant punch.

8.Onions: They might give you bad breath, but they help prevent cancer, thin your blood (discouraging clots) and raise the good type (HDL) of cholesterol. Red and yellow onions (sorry, not the white ones) are the richest of all foods in quercetin, a celebrated antioxidant that inactivates cancer-causing agents, inhibits enzymes that spur cancer growth and has anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral activity.

9.Spinach: Heavy in lutein, an anti-aging agent which rivals beta-carotene for effectiveness, spinach also has beta-carotene plus a good dose of folic acid, a brain and artery protector.

10.Tomatoes: These are the richest source of lycopene, which new research suggests helps to preserve mental and physical functioning among the elderly. High levels of lycopene also reduce your risk of pancreatic cancer.

Even the most nutritious food can be dangerous to you and your loved one's health if it was improperly handled, prepared, or stored, or if it has become contaminated--or if the food is one to which you have an allergy or an intolerance for.

Food handling and preparation:

Never allow cooked food to touch uncooked food. If cooked fish is in a display case alongside raw fish, don't buy it; bacteria may have spread from one to the other.

Use a meat thermometer to when cooking meat, make sure that the internal temperature reaches at least 160° F, the point at which most food-borne bacteria are killed.

Raw eggs harbor bacteria, don't taste cake or cookie batters made with eggs or eat any foods, like Caesar salads, that are made with raw eggs.

Chicken should be cooked until all the juices run clear or to a temperature of 180° F.

Stuff your poultry just before roasting it to avoid bacterial contamination. Never stuff your poultry then put it in the refrigerator for cooking later. Promptly remove stuffing from the cooked bird.

Cook pork until it loses its pink color.

The bacteria in meat and poultry can be transferred to other foods by hands, cutting boards, utensils and countertops; wash any of these that come in contact with food with hot, soapy water.

Never reuse the grease left from frying bacon or sausage; such fats have been linked to an increased risk of cancer.

Food storage:

Refrigerate or freeze leftovers and other perishables promptly to prevent bacteria from multiplying. Never leave food sitting at room tempature for long.

Never overload the refrigerator. This can cause your foods to not cool evenly, Never crowd items together on shelfs, leave room for cold air to circulate.

When you freeze food, put it into several small containers, this allows food to be frozen and thawed more safely and quickly than in large ones.

Never thaw foods at room temperature. Use the refrigerator, the microwave, or in a plastic bag under cold running water.

Throw away meat and other foods that show signs of mold. Hard salami is the only exception--cut away the moldy area and an inch around it.

You can also remove mold on hard cheese, but discard moldy soft cheeses and milk products.

Keep the temperature in your refrigerator between 35° and 40° F; the freezer should be 0°F.

Throw away cans with rust, lumpy seams, bulges, or leaks; they may be tainted with bacteria. If cans have lumpy seams; they may have been soldered with lead, which can leach into the food within.