Ask any kid, whether second-grader or swaggering senior, and you’ll hear the same claim: Studying makes you hungry! Memorizing math formulas? Chips and soda are part of the equation. Digging into Moby-Dick? Harpoon a bag of M&M’s.
Actually, the idea's right on -- eating can help the brain focus, if you know which foods to choose. But gee -- surprise -- candy and chips aren't among them.

What will help kids who are cracking the books? It depends on what kind of help they need, but it comes down to one of two Cs:
Carbs -- healthy ones -- for kids who tend to get so freaked about tests or tough teachers that they lose all focus.
Comfort foods for studiers who start out okay but gradually get tense, can't sleep, wake up exhausted, and then don't do well.
Of the two, only one needs a little explaining: carbs. The brain needs glucose (blood sugar) to stay sharp and alert. In fact, the brain is the only organ in the body that uses only glucose for energy. Glucose comes from carbohydrates. But the brain (like the body) does much better with a steady flow of energy, not the quick rush it gets from eating rapidly absorbed carbs like candy and chips. So slowly absorbed carbs -- which, gee, more surprises, include whole grains, fruit, and veggies -- produce longer lasting mental energy.
What's more, in addition to supplying the brain with energy, healthy carbs also have a steadying effect, explains Mindy Hermann, RD. They help boost serotonin, a calming brain chemical. And that combo -- calm energy -- is an ideal mix for many study-stressed kids, especially an hour or two before an exam or chem lab. So what to feed the homework harassed?

For Studiers Who Start Out Strong but End Up Stressed and Sleepless:
A cup of something warm and soothing. Whether it's a light soup, warm milk, chamomile tea, or diet hot cocoa (to avoid the sugar hit) is personal preference -- all can help kids who've gotten tightly wound up to settle down again, says Hermann. Offer these about an hour before bedtime.

For Kids Who Can Freak Out Over Hard Teachers or Pop Quizzes:
Apple slices spread with peanut butter. The carb-rich fruit will give serotonin a boost, which helps calm raggedy nerves, so it's easier to focus. The peanut butter is filled with healthy fats.
Cheerios or other oat "Os" cereal. A big bowl of these to munch and crunch can be a great study snack. This whole-grain kid favorite delivers a lot of nutrients as well as slowly absorbed, subtly calming carbs.
Grapes. Like apples, these sweet carbs get serotonin going while their high fiber content slows down sugar absorption -- plus, fiber itself seems to have stress-soothing abilities. Some kids prefer their grapes frozen for melt-in-the-mouth fun.
Whole-wheat pretzels. They have the same crunch as regular pretzels but loads more fiber and often a lot less thirst-making salt, so studiers aren't constantly breaking their train of thought to get yet another drink.

More than good grades are on the table here, by the way. Kids who get into the habit of eating plenty of fruit and vegetables -- aka healthy carbs -- are likely to keep it up into adulthood. If they do, their RealAge could be 36 when they're actually turning 40. Smart.

Packing your kid’s lunch box?  Find out what foods to skip and what to stock up on.

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The claims are amazing -- soy does everything from lowering cholesterol and fighting cancer to thwarting brittle bones -- but scientists are still arguing. Let 'em. Because if you're looking for a high-protein food that's low in saturated fat (this, of course, is where cheeseburgers and steaks flame out) soy's awesome. And hey, if it turns out that all those other claims are true, jackpot! Plus, training your taste buds to love foods that thwart aging can make your "RealAge at least 3 years younger.

So here's all you need to know:

1. Drink up. Even die-hard carnivores -- not to mention the lactose intolerant and people who just don't care for dairy -- like soymilk. (The vanilla Silk brand gets them hooked.) Just make sure it's calcium fortified. A cup of fortified has 200–400 milligrams of calcium, or 20%-40% of your recommended dietary allowance.

2. Keep it simple. Heavy-duty processing isn't any better for soy than it is for whole grains. Choose basic Asian soy foods, such as tofu, tempeh, and miso, rather than highly processed soy sausages, frozen desserts, and energy bars. Otherwise, you're likely to find the label full of cholesterol, saturated fat, sugar, and sodium.

3. Think whole beans. Soybeans -- widely known as edamame (ed-a-mommy) -- give you the purest punch of the plant's phytochemicals, especially its isoflavones. Many supermarkets now stock frozen soybeans (in and out of the pod), and some even have fresh ones. Keeping frozen shelled beans on hand makes it easy to toss them into soups, salads, pasta, tortillas -- or this hummus recipe, made with soybeans instead of chickpeas.

SPICY SOYBEAN HUMMUS
Makes about 1 1/2 cups
Serve with whole-grain pita bread or as a dip for raw veggies.

2 large cloves of garlic
1 1/2 cups cooked soybeans
2 tablespoons roasted sesame tahini
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup fresh parsley
1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
1 to 4 tablespoons vegetable broth

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Roast garlic cloves in shallow pan for 7 to 10 minutes, or until they just begin to brown and can be pierced easily with a fork. Cool and peel.

2. In a blender or food processor, combine cooked soybeans, tahini, garlic, cumin, olive oil, lemon juice, parsley, and soy sauce. Blend until smooth. Blend in broth a teaspoon at a time until desired consistency is reached.

Learn about the medicinal properties -- and potential side effects -- of soy.

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Fighting wrinkles is anything but fighting the inevitable. And at this point, your average five-year-old could probably tell you that the first step is staying out of the sun. So what else can you do? How about rearranging what's on your plate tonight.

Load up on these:                                       

Vegetables                                          

Beans                                                 

Olive oil                                              

Nuts

Whole-grain bread

Cut down on these:

Red meat

Butter

Sugary, processed foods

Sure, every health expert says you should eat this way, but skin researchers have found that people who actually do watch what they eat not only have bodies that are physically younger, healthier, and slimmer but also are less likely to get wrinkles. Cool.

Why? Experts suspect it's because the foods in the "load up" category are crammed with antioxidants, those cellular warriors that fight both aging and disease. Specifically, credit for their wrinkle-fighting success is given to five potent antioxidants --zinc, selenium, and vitamins A, C, and E -- which excel at reducing the amount of free radicals that skin cells produce. Free radicals are what do the aging damage in the first place.

Wondering what to have for dinner tonight? How about this Broccoli Rabe, White Bean, and Fontina Pasta?  It could do wonders for your skin! 

Read the YOU Docs’ advice for waging war on wrinkles.

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Although bacon's nearly carb-free status gained it 15 minutes of fame back when the Atkins diet was hot, no one with a health conscience can look at it today and see anything more than strips of saturated fat and salt. But that doesn't mean we don't crave it! To assuage our longing for crispy, smoky bacon, we gave a lot of alternatives a taste test. Five made the cut with our die-hard bacon lovers. BLTs, anyone?!

THE REAL THING
2 strips = 80 calories, 8 g fat (3.5 g sat. fat), 300 mg sodium, 4 g protein
If you're going to indulge in gen-u-ine bacon, it's not so much the calories you'll regret. It's the hit of skin-aging, heart-threatening, well-salted, grease-dripping saturated fat.

THE WINNERS!
Morning Star Bacon Strips
2 strips = 60 calories, 4.5 g fat (.5 g sat. fat), 220 mg sodium, 2 g protein
Of all the veggie bacons we tried, this was the only one that made the grade with our testers. Not only do these soy-based strips smell like bacon as you fry them up, they taste surprisingly close to the real thing. And they cook up much crispier than you would expect, despite having almost no bad fat. Find them in your freezer section.

Trader Joe's Applewood-Smoked Turkey Bacon
2 strips = 60 calories, 2.5 g fat (0 g sat. fat), 250 mg sodium, 7 g protein
Surprisingly, turkey bacons don't fry up to nearly the same crispiness as the Morning Star strips. The texture is softer and chewier -- more like Canadian bacon -- but the taste is rich and smoky, and it nicely flavors an egg sandwich.

Wellshire Farms Uncured All Natural Turkey Bacon
2 strips = 40 calories, 1 g fat (0 g sat. fat), 360 mg sodium, 6 g protein
This all-natural brand tastes so hearty, it's hard to believe each strip -- and they're big -- contains only 20 calories and just a trace of fat. If you can live without the crunch of pork bacon, this one tastes the most indulgent while doing the least diet damage. Plus, there are no preservatives, antibiotics, or nitrates, though it's high on the sodium side.

THE RUNNERS-UP
Jennie-O Extra Lean Turkey Bacon
2 strips = 40 calories, 0 g fat (0 g sat. fat), 280 mg sodium, 6 g protein
Like the other turkey bacons, this extra-lean variety isn't a clone of the real thing, but if you think "chewy" rather than "crispy," the rich, smoked flavor will liven up a sandwich or spinach salad. And it's hard to knock 0 fat grams.

Oscar Mayer Turkey Bacon
2 strips = 70 calories, 6 g fat (1 g sat. fat), 380 mg sodium, 4 g protein
This one comes closest to matching the true aroma and flavor of pork bacon (maybe it's all that salt). Tip: It cooks up super fast in the microwave, so if you're not careful, you’ll have bacon chips instead of strips. But don't toss them if that happens -- crumbled up, the bacon bits make a tasty topping for a salad or baked potato.

At RealAge, there's a reason we call saturated fat -- the artery-clogging kind that, appropriately, saturates meat and whole-milk dairy foods -- an aging fat: Avoiding it can make your RealAge more than 4 years younger!

Go here for more good-for-you food brands.

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For as long as there have been folk remedies, apple cider vinegar has been touted as a cure-all for all kinds of skin and hair problems. True, the mild acid is natural, preservative-free, antibacterial, and about as cheap as beauty treatments come. But does it live up to its rep? We asked RealAge's skin- and hair-care expert, dermatologist Amy Wechsler, MD, about the four most common claims for apple cider vinegar and whether dousing yourself in its powerful (sourful!) scent is worth it.
True or False? To speed healing of sunburned skin, apply compresses dipped in cold apple cider vinegar.
False. "Rather than offering relief, this might really sting," says Dr. Wechsler. Basically, you're putting an acid on a burn. Ouch. "Instead," she suggests, "just soak the compresses in cold water or dip them in a mixture of cold water and whole milk -- the fat in milk is a good skin soother."
True or False? To restore shine to dull hair, rinse it in lukewarm water, douse with 1/4-cup apple cider vinegar mixed into a pint of water, then rinse again with lukewarm water.
True. "The acid in vinegar washes away styling products that can cling to hair despite shampooing. Just be sure to dilute the vinegar in water for gentler action." Colorist Lana Gordon of the Cristophe salon in Beverly Hills seconds the doctor's opinion, but adds one caveat: Because the acid closes the cuticle of each hair strand, tresses are shinier but flatter. In other words, you're trading a little less fullness for a little more gloss.
True or False? Dabbing on apple cider vinegar with a cotton ball is a good astringent for oily, acne-prone skin.
False. "Vinegar is much too drying to the skin's protective barrier. Plus, it stinks!" says Wechsler. "If you want to go the do-it-yourself route, try making your own kinder, gentler toner of 1 part witch hazel to 3 parts water."
True or False? Apple cider vinegar helps control dandruff by killing off the fungus that causes it.
Maybe. "Some reports say cider vinegar zaps the microscopic critters, some say it doesn't. Until we know for sure, why give fungus more growing time when there are so many dandruff shampoos that will quickly solve this itchy, flaky problem? But if you want to try it anyway, use a concentrated rinse of 1 part apple cider vinegar to 3 parts warm water."
The payoff for doing things that really help your skin and hair? Far bigger than you'd think. Feeling good about how you look is essential to your self-esteem, and taking excellent care of your emotional health and well-being can make your RealAge as much as 16 (!) years younger.

Discover the science behind healthy skin.

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It's weird, but few of us remember this seemingly unforgettable food fact: You can lose 10 pounds a year by cutting out 100 calories a day. Maybe it's just too easy?!?

Or maybe we just really don't know what 100 calories looks like (unless you’re talking about one of those snack packs). Enter this tip list from The Portion Teller Plan, a raved-about guide to "eating, cheating, and losing weight permanently" that's finally available in paperback. Nutritionist and author Lisa R. Young, PhD, RD, encourages: "Instead of meticulously consulting calorie charts or obsessively checking the USDA Nutrient Database, try these simple, painless, calorie-cutting moves" -- each one eliminates about 100 calories. The punch line: Do one a day, every day, and you'll drop those 10 pounds without doing a single other thing. Or go wild and do two a day! You'll drop 10 pounds in just 6 months without a minute of dieting. Beauteous.

No-Brainer Ways to Cut Out About 100 Calories a Day

A sampling from Lisa Young, RD
Eat only half a candy bar or energy bar (both pack a lot of calories).
Use 1 tablespoon of salad dressing instead of 2 (toss the salad really well and you won't even notice the difference).
Choose small 1-ounce pitas instead of the larger 2-ounce size.
Spread 1 tablespoon of peanut butter instead of 2 on bread or crackers.
Leave the last few bites of pasta on your plate.
Use one pat of butter instead of three on a baked potato.
Order a tall cappuccino instead of a grande the next time you visit Starbucks.

More ideas from RealAge
Scramble one egg for yourself, not two.
Make all your sandwiches open-faced -- omit the top slice of bread.
Skip the last three bites of any main course.
Snack on one fist-sized bunch of grapes, not two.
Grab five Hershey's dark chocolate Kisses instead of ten.
Choose a white wine spritzer over a 5-ounce glass of wine.
Have a 6-inch Roast Beef sandwich at Subway instead of a 6-inch Classic Steak & Cheese.
Order a small cup at Dairy Queen instead of a small cone.

Have some great tips yourself?
In the comment section below, post your ideas on how to cut out 100 calories a day. Then, put them to work and enjoy the rewards: a shrinking waist size and a younger body overall, because keeping your weight at a desirable level can make your RealAge as much as 6 years younger.

Discover more slim-down secrets with this slimmed-down 99-second version of YOU: On a Diet. 

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You know that rhyme every kid learns how to finish: "An apple a day . . ." Make that “A tomato a day” -- it may be even better at keeping problems away. Although tomatoes have gotten a bit of rotten press lately as their role in reducing the risk of prostate cancer has hit the "lack of evidence" skids, there's still abundant reason to overindulge. Tomatoes are stellar sources of vitamins A and C, folate, potassium, fiber, and all kinds of protective antioxidants. And organic tomatoes are even better -- when they're grown without chemicals, tomatoes contain much higher amounts of flavonoids, which have antioxidant, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory properties. Here are five healthy reasons to add tomatoes to breakfast omelets, lunch sandwiches, and dinner sauces and salads:

1. Lower your blood pressure. Try snacking on cherry tomatoes while driving your kid’s carpool or prepping for your Toastmasters speech. These fruits (yes, tomatoes are fruits, not veggies) may keep your blood pressure in check. In just 8 weeks, people with mild hypertension who got a daily "dose" of tomatoes saw their systolic blood pressures (the top number) drop a whopping 10 points on average, and their diastolic blood pressures (the bottom number) drop by 4 points.

2. Avoid colds and flu. When men who are deficient in carotenoids (like lycopene and beta carotene) drink tomato juice regularly, they bump up their ability to fend off bacteria and viruses. However, the immunity-boosting effects take a while to kick in. So if you start upping your T-juice intake today, you may stay a step ahead of sore throats and colds tomorrow.

3. Save your skin. Who knew this thin-skinned fruit would make a terrific natural sunscreen? But people who include lycopene-rich tomato paste in their diets for at least 10 weeks get much less intense sunburns when they're exposed to UV light -- another reason to enjoy all those tomato-sauced dishes that are staples of Mediterranean diets.

4. Control cholesterol. A tomato a day may keep artery and heart problems at bay. Four weeks of daily tomato munching can increase good HDL cholesterol by 15% while lowering artery-clogging LDL cholesterol.

5. Fight aging. Tomatoes are rich in two spectacular antiaging free-radical squelchers: lycopene and beta carotene. In some cells, these antioxidants reduce free-radical damage to DNA by 42%. Both youth-protecting nutrients are enhanced when tomatoes are heated or eaten with a little fat, like olive oil. These two yummy recipes fit the bill: Grilled Pizza with Pesto, Tomatoes and Feta and Fresh Pomodoro Pasta, White Beans and Olives (both are from our friends at EatingWell).

All of these tomato-triggered benefits can reduce your RealAge, but blood pressure is a particular biggie. Keep it low (115/76 or less) and you can make your RealAge as much as 12 years younger!

Here’s how to pick the heart-healthiest tomatoes.

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