Dr. Roizen and Oprah

Dr. Michael Roizen, co-author of YOU: The Owner's Manual with Dr. Mehmet Oz is renowned worldwide for his revolutionary anti-aging research.

Dr. Roizen says the keys to looking younger and staying healthy are found in certain foods you should eat every day, and other foods you should eat several times a week.
Nuts, bread, fruits and vegetables

"You want to eat a handful of nuts every day," Dr. Roizen says. "Walnuts and almonds are excellent. And you want to eat five handfuls of fruits and vegetables every day. Then you want some whole grains and some whole grain cereal."

"Don't make the mistake of 'whole wheat' being 'whole grain,'" Oprah says. "There is a difference. It should say whole grain."

Dr. Roizen cautions against eating foods like corn too often, because the body absorbs sugar differently. He says it is important to eat some fat, like nuts, before eating sugars. "Having the walnuts or almonds a little bit before you have [sugar] slows your stomach from emptying," Dr. Roizen advises. "One, you feel full and you don't eat as much. And, two, because sugar's absorbed after the stomach, in the intestine, you keep your blood sugar level more constant."
Good fish

In recent years, there has been conflicting information about fish. On the one hand, fish is consistently regarded as a terrific source of low-fat protein. On the other hand, there are serious concerns about mercury and other environmental impurities, and their effects on children, pregnant women and the elderly.

Dr. Roizen says you just have to remember a few great fish—tilapia, salmon, flounder, cod and mahi-mahi. "Those are the fish that have none of the toxic chemicals, none of the PCBs, and very low content of mercury." According to Dr. Roizen, you should eat a serving of these fish three times a week.
'The Country of Tomato'

Dr. Roizen beams when he talks about one particular food: tomatoes. "They decrease cancer and they decrease arterial aging, heart disease, stroke, memory loss, impotence, wrinkling of the skin," he says. "In fact, Dr. Oz and I think a small town should be named after aspirin: it's that important. But a whole country should be named after tomatoes!"

So should they be raw or cooked? "It takes 165 raw tomatoes to equal 10 tablespoons of tomato sauce," Dr. Roizen says. "So it's much easier to have tomato sauce."

Dr. Roizen adds that it doesn't matter what kind of tomato sauce you have, "as long as it's cooked, and you eat it with a little olive oil and a little healthy fat because it's much better absorbed with it."
Water, milk, wine

Dr. Roizen says that it is important to drink eight glasses of fluid every day. "It helps move the poop and gives you better hydration. It actually cuts down on wrinkles, too, because you hydrate your skin when you take it internally."

On top of this, you should have the glass of red wine, which is good for your heart, and milk or a milk substitute with vitamin D and calcium. If you prefer not to have the milk, you can get vitamin D and calcium in fortified orange juice or in vitamins.
Vitamins

"There are two vitamins that really are as good as tomatoes and should have a country named after them," Dr. Roizen says. "They are folate, which decreases arterial aging, decreases blood pressure and decreases cancer rate. [It will say] either folate or folic, they're the same, and you want 800 micrograms a day. And vitamin D: you want 400 international units a day. Those two together decrease cancer rates substantially."

Dr. Roizen also says that calcium and magnesium are crucial vitamin supplements. Even in a daily multivitamin, there is not enough calcium. Most women can only absorb 600 milligrams at a time, though you need 1,200 milligrams everyday. Therefore, it is important to have another 600 milligrams of calcium at least 6 hours after the first.