It’s no secret that eating healthy food does more than leave you feeling satiated and well-nourished. Choose wisely come mealtime, and you’ll up your chances of living a vibrant, long life. You can help prevent — or better control — conditions ranging from cancer to arthritis with a targeted dietary and lifestyle approach.

Before you explore food-based prevention, make sure you’ve got your nutrition bases covered. Research supports choosing whole foods over processed choices, limiting sugar and other refined carbohydrates, and emphasizing foods that reduce inflammation — “the hallmark of practically every disease,” says Dharma Singh Khalsa, M.D., author of “

Food as Medicine

.”

To that end, turn first to the produce aisle. “There’s no limit to the number of fruits and veggies you should eat each day,” claims Steven Pratt, M.D., author of “

SuperHealth

.” “Five is the minimum, but it’s better to eat between nine and 11.” (And choose organic whenever possible.) Also include plenty of whole grains and anti-inflammatory fats (fish, olive oil, and nuts) in your daily diet.

When it comes to reducing your personal health risks, you can fine-tune your eating habits even further. To help you create a personalized eating plan, we’ve rounded up dozens of foods shown to help prevent and control 10 chronic health problems. For each condition, “the basics” category covers food backed by established research, while “promising” features more preliminary studies. You’ll see some foods repeated, since picks such as whole grains, fish, and leafy green vegetables act as prevention multitaskers. Here, discover the top 48 ways you can eat to thrive.



Heart Disease



Whole Grains


To mop up artery-clogging cholesterol, try for six daily servings of whole grains. Rich in a cholesterol-lowering fiber called betaglucan, oats appear particularly powerful in protecting against heart disease. Medical nutritionist Daniella Chace, coauthor of “

What to Eat if You Have Cancer

,” advises cooking up hot cereal from steel-cut oats (higher in phytochemicals than the rolled variety). Also, regularly incorporate brown rice, quinoa, and barley.

Oily Fish


Canned or fresh, oily fish such as wild salmon contains a wealth of omega-3 fatty acids, which help to improve triglyceride levels, stabilize heartbeat, lower blood pressure, curb heart-harming inflammation, and reduce stroke risk. Include smaller fish such as sardines and anchovies, suggests Chace, “since larger fish accumulate more toxins.” Aim for two to seven servings a week.

Nuts


Crack open a walnut shell and you’ll find plenty of plant sterols, compounds that help stop your gut from absorbing cholesterol. A source of blood-clot-preventing omega-3s, walnuts also nourish your heart with vitamin E, fiber, potassium, and protein. For better heart health, eat a handful of walnuts, almonds, cashews, or pistachios about five times a week.

Olive Oil


With its abundance of polyphenols (antioxidants that may prevent heart trouble by keeping LDL, or “bad,” cholesterol from oxidizing), healthy fats, and vitamin E, olive oil is your heart-healthiest option for sauteing veggies or dressing salads. Choose the extra-virgin variety, which contains more polyphenols.

Beans


Beans boost heart health by supplying magnesium, which helps to keep blood pressure in check, and folate, which decreases levels of homocysteine (an amino acid that raises heart-disease risk when it occurs at elevated levels). Include black, red, or adzuki beans in your repertoire; research suggests that darker beans deliver more antioxidants.

Promising: Grapes


In a 2008 study, scientists discovered that polyphenols found in grapes might reduce blood clotting and prevent blood vessels from narrowing. Grape skins contain resveratrol, a phytonutrient that may elevate your levels of HDL (“good”) cholesterol, notes Khalsa. Choose organic, since conventional grapes tend to be treated heavily with pesticides.

First Published: May 2009