The secret of staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age. - Lucille Ball

Actually Lucille is right about the eating slowly but I can't vouch for the lying of one's age. People are now resorting to all kinds of surgeries and beauty products just to appear younger.

The following statistics come from a 2005 American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery News Release:

The most sought after surgical procedure was the liposuction. About 455,489 women did a liposuction in 2005 and I'm sure the number is much higher now. About 3,294,782 in the USA alone did a botox to make them much more beautiful.

Increasing one's life span can actually be achieved without any procedures. Here are 5 "secret foods" to increase your life expectancy:

The following foods have anti-aging properties and can prevent your cells from aging prematurely.

1. Spinach

Spinach is loaded with nutrients like vitamin K, vitamin A, manganese, folate, magnesium, iron, vitamin C. Popeye took the spinach to boost his strength but he was actually protecting himself against diseases such as osteoporosis, heart disease, colon cancer, arthritis. Among its many health benefits, Spinach improves your eyesight and your mental capabilities. Cooked spinach is an excellent source of iron, a mineral that is particularly important for menstruating women, who are more at risk for iron deficiency. Boosting iron stores with spinach is a good idea, especially because, in comparison to red meat, a well-known source of iron, spinach provides iron for a lot less calories and is totally fat-free.

2. Tofu

Termed as the \"elixir of longevity\" of the japanese, Tofu is a highly nutritious, protein-rich food that is made from the curds of soybean milk. It contains a lot of tryptophan, manganese, iron, protein and selenium. Tofu, made of soy, is a powerhouse of protein. 4 ounces of tofu provides 9.2 grams of protein, that\'s 18.3% of the daily value for protein, and it comes virtually free of saturated fat (less than 1 gram), and at a cost of only 86 calories. Most types of tofu are enriched with calcium and thus, prevents osteporosis. Selenium is needed for the proper function of the antioxidant system, which works to reduce the levels of damaging cells in the body.

3. Blueberry

Everybody by now knows that blueberry is a powerfood. But do you know why? Actually blueberry is not a powerfood but an antioxidant powerhouse. As described above, antioxidants help prevent the destruction of cells in our body that can lead to cataracts, glaucoma, varicose veins, hemorrhoids, peptic ulcers, heart disease and cancer. In addition to that, Data reported in a study published in the Archives of Ophthalmology indicates that eating 3 or more servings of fruit per day may lower your risk of age-related macular degeneration (ARMD), the primary cause of vision loss in older adults, by 36%, compared to persons who consume less than 1.5 servings of fruit daily. In laboratory animal studies, researchers have found that blueberries help protect the brain from oxidative stress and may reduce the effects of age-related conditions such as Alzheimer\'s disease or dementia. Researchers found that diets rich in blueberries significantly improved both the learning capacity and motor skills of aging animals, making them mentally equivalent to much younger ones.

4. Avocado

The avocado is colloquially known as the Alligator Pear, reflecting its shape and the leather-like appearance of its skin. Avocado contains a monounsaturated fat known as oleic acid. Monounsaturated fat actually lowers cholesterol level in our body. One cup of avocado has 23% of the Daily Value for folate, a nutrient important for heart health. Avocados are a good source of potassium, a mineral that helps regulate blood pressure. Adequate intake of potassium can help to guard against circulatory diseases, like high blood pressure, heart disease or stroke. In fact, the U.S. Food and Drug Association has authorized a health claim that states: \"Diets containing foods that are good sources of potassium and low in sodium may reduce the risk of high blood pressure and stroke.\"

5. Garlic

Garlic is a popular food known for its culinary properties but relatively unknown for its health benefits. Garlic acts as an anti-coagulant in the blood, which reduces the risk of strokes, and also increases survival time in cancer patients by helping to destroy cancerous cells. In order to maximize the health benefits of garlic, it is suggested to wait 15 minutes between peeling and cooking garlic to allow the enzymatic reaction to occur to retain some health benefits of garlic.

保持年轻的秘诀：活得实在、吃得慢、对自己年龄保密。——路西尔球

我赞成路西球认为吃得慢能够保持年轻这一观点，但我不敢保证对自己年龄保密也同样奏效。现在人们都热衷于各种外科手术和美容产品，目的只在于使自己变得更年轻。

2005年《美国社会美容整形外科新闻》发布会上指出：各种手术中，抽脂是最受欢迎的。2005年就有大约455,489人抽了脂，而现在的数字肯定会更高。此外，仅在美国大约就有3,294,782人做了肉毒杆菌来使自己变得更美丽。

其实，要延长一个人的寿命不需要任何外在的方法。这里将介绍5种“神密食品”，让你延长预期寿命。

1． 菠菜

菠菜富含维生素K、维生素A、维生素C、叶酸、锰、镁和铁。水手说他利用菠菜来增强自己的力量，但实际上他是为了抵抗诸如骨质疏松症，心脏病，结肠癌，关节炎等的疾病。在其众多的益处中，菠菜还能改善你的视力、提高你的智力。再者，煮熟的菠菜还是铁吸收的一个很好的来源，对于经期妇女尤为重要，因为月经期间，妇女更容易缺铁。利用菠菜提高体内铁的含量不失为一个很好的方法，特别是与生肉——一种众所周知的铁源相比，菠菜提供的热量少得多，而且完全不含脂肪。

2．豆腐

被日本人称作“长生不老药”的豆腐由豆浆凝乳制成，高营养、含有大量色氨酸、锰、铁、硒和蛋白质。豆腐，大豆制成品，蛋白质含量极其丰富，仅4盎司的豆腐就能提供9.2克蛋白质，占蛋白质日摄入量的18.3%，而且几乎不含饱和脂肪酸（少于1克），热量低，仅提供86卡路里热量。大多数类型的豆腐富含钙，因此可以防止骨质疏松症。硒对人体抗氧化系统某些系统有用处，抗氧化系统能够降低破坏人体细胞的程度。

3．蓝莓

现在，众所周知，蓝莓是一种功能食品。但你知道为什么吗？事实上，蓝莓并不是一种功能食品，而是一种抗氧化食品。就像描述的一样，抗氧化剂有助于防止体内细胞的损坏，以避免白内障，青光眼，静脉曲张，痔疮，胃溃疡，心脏病和癌症等疾病的发生。此外，《眼科学档案》发布的一个研究中也有数据表明：每天吃3份或更多的水果可以降低一种导致老年人失明的主要疾病——年龄相关性黄斑变性发生的风险。在实验动物研究中，研究者发现：蓝莓有助于降低大脑氧化压力，减少与年龄有关的如阿尔茨海默氏症或痴呆等疾病的影响。研究者还发现：富含蓝莓的饮食能显著地提高年长者的学习能力和运动技能，使他们在精神上等同于年轻。

4． 鳄梨

鳄梨，人们一般叫成鳄鱼梨，它的形状和果皮极像鳄鱼。鳄梨中含有一种不饱和脂肪酸——油酸，能够用来降低体内胆固醇的含量。一杯鳄梨就占叶酸日摄入量的23%，叶酸对于心血管健康是一种重要的营养。同时，鳄梨也是很好的钾源，可以调节血压。摄取足够的钾有助于防止循环系统疾病，如：高血压、心脏病或中风。事实上，美国食品和药物协会已经认可了一份健康声称，当中指出：“足钾低钠的饮食可以降低高血压和中风的患病风险。”

5． 大蒜

人们知道大蒜能够作为烹饪材料，却不清楚它对人体健康有什么好处。大蒜作为一种抗凝血食物，好处多多，不仅能够降低中风的风险，同时也有助于破坏癌细胞，增加癌症患者的存活时间。要充分发挥大蒜的作用，建议人们在剥和煮大蒜之间持续15分钟，以允许有足够的时间发生酶促反应来保留大蒜中对人体健康有益的成分。