Pumpkins are great for a lot more than making jack-o’-lanterns. One cup of mashed pumpkin has only 49 calories and is loaded with vitamin A in the form of beta-carotene. It also has nearly 3 grams of fiber and 564 milligrams of potassium. Pumpkin also contains vitamin C, lutein and zeaxanthin (good for eye health), as well as iron and zinc.

Pumpkin seeds are loaded with manganese, magnesium, iron, copper, vitamin K, zinc and protein. One ounce has 158 calories, 8.57 grams of protein, 1.7 grams of fiber and almost 25 percent of the recommend daily value for iron. Pumpkin seeds also have plant sterols that can help reduce the risk of heart disease and fight cancer. They are also a fantastic source of omega-3 essential fatty acids. Wash them, dry, and then toast them with garlic and onion powder and a bit of salt and pepper. They take about 30 to 40 minutes at about 300 degrees to toast.

Research shows that foods high in vitamin E (like almonds) and vitamin C (like strawberries) may help slow aging on a cellular level.

How Long Are Your Telomeres?
In a study, a vitamin C- and E-rich diet was associated with having longer telomeres. Telowhats? Telomeres. Those are the vital protective coverings on the ends of the DNA strands in all of your cells. They naturally shorten with age until, eventually, cells stop reproducing and die. Enter aging and disease. But the good news is that you can slow down how fast your telomeres shrink. .

Slow It Down
Chronic inflammation and oxidative stress can hasten telomere shrinkage. Which may be why vitamins C and E are so handy for longevity: They help diminish both conditions. Try these other steps for adding extra mileage to your cells:

• Load up on vitamin D.
• Keep it clean.
• Make your body last longer.

RealAge Benefit: Taking vitamins C and E daily for their antioxidant and antiaging power can make your RealAge up to 1 year younger.

 Next time you’re yearning for something rich and creamy, here’s an almost guilt-free indulgence your ticker will love: peanut butter.

Grab a spoonful. Not only will you be enjoying rich and satisfying taste, but also you could be helping to lower both your bad cholesterol and your risk of heart disease.

Spread a Little Joy
In one long-term study, women with type 2 diabetes enjoyed an almost 45 percent lower risk for cardiovascular disease and heart attack when they gave in and ate at least five servings of peanut butter and mixed nuts each week. This was compared with women who noshed less often on nutty snacks. And those five weekly 1-ounce helpings seemed to knock down the women’s total and LDL cholesterol levels, too. Are your cholesterol levels putting your heart in danger? Find out here.

Nuts for All Hearts
Nutrients in peanuts and nuts may help hearts in a couple of ways. They may minimize inflammation — something your heart really could do without — and they may help your body use insulin better. Because of this, women with type 2 diabetes probably aren’t the only ones who can benefit from eating nuts and peanut butter. In fact, research suggests that nuts may lower heart disease risk for everyone — regardless of gender, age, ethnicity, or health status. Try these other heart-healthy changes, too:

Bonus: Nuts may stave off diabetes, too.

RealAge Benefit: Lowering your bad (LDL) cholesterol can make your RealAge 3.3 years younger if you are a man and 0.6 years younger if you are a woman.

6 Reasons to Drink Green Tea

The steady stream of good news about green tea is getting so hard to ignore, that even java junkies are beginning to sip mugs of the deceptively delicate brew. You’d think the daily dose of disease-fighting, inflammation-squelching antioxidants — long linked with heart protection — would be enough incentive. But wait . . . there’s more! Lots more.

1. Cut Your Cancer Risk
Several polyphenols — the potent antioxidants that green tea is famous for — seem to help keep cancer cells from gaining a foothold in the body by discouraging growth and then suppressing the creation of new blood vessels that tumors need to thrive. Study after study has found that regularly drinking green tea reduces the risk of breast, stomach, esophagus, colon, and prostate cancer.

2. Soothe Your Skin
Got a cut, scrape, or bite, and a little leftover green tea? Soak a cotton ball in it. The tea is a natural antiseptic that relieves itching and swelling. Try it on inflamed blemishes, sunburns, or puffy eyelids. But that’s not all. Green tea has been shown to help block sun-triggered skin cancer, whether you drink it or apply it directly to the skin — which is why you’re seeing green tea in more and more sunscreens and moisturizers.

3. Steady Your Blood Pressure
Having healthy blood pressure — meaning below 120/80 — is one thing. Keeping it that way is quite another. But people who sip just half a cup of green tea a day are almost 50% less likely to wind up with hypertension than nondrinkers. Credit goes to the polyphenols again (especially one known as ECGC); they help keep blood vessels from contracting and raising blood pressure.

4. Protect Your Memory
Green tea may also keep the brain from turning fuzzy. Getting-up-there adults who drink at least two cups a day are half as likely to develop cognitive problems as those who drink less. Why? It appears that the tea’s big dose of antioxidants fights the free-radical damage to brain nerves seen in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

5. Stay Young
The younger and healthier your arteries are, the younger and healthier you are. So fight plaque buildup in your blood vessels; the sticky stuff increases the risk of heart disease and stroke, adds years to your RealAge, and saps your energy. How much green tea does this vital job take? About 10 ounces a day, which also deters your body from absorbing artery-clogging fat and cholesterol.

6. Lose Weight
Oh yeah, one more thing. Turns out that green tea speeds up your body’s calorie-burning process. In the every-little-bit-counts department, that’s good news!