Forever foods that can outlast you

According to Janice Revell, co-founder of StillTasty.com, you'll be shocked by what you really don't need to throw away." What we do is often the opposite, we don't give a thought to stuff sitting in the kitchen cupboard or we automatically throw out anything that's been in there longer than we can remember. Here as list of things that last longer than you ever realized:

1. Sugar
Regardless of whether your sugar is white, brown, or powdered, it will never spoil because it doesn't support bacterial growth.

The challenge with sugar is to keep it from hardening into chunks. To keep sugar fresh, store it in an airtight container or seal it in a plastic bag. If your brown sugar is more like a brown rock, you can revive it with just a minute in the microwave on low heat.

2. Pure vanilla extract
If you have pure vanilla extract in the back of the cupboard, there's no need to throw it out because it lasts forever. It may be more expensive than its imitation counterpart, but its shelf life certainly outweighs the extra cost.

Keep that vanilla flavor at its best by sealing the botttle after each use and storing it in a cool, dark place.

3. Rice
White, wild, jasmine, arborio and basmati rice all keep forever so there's no need to throw them out. Brown rice is the one exception because it has a higher oil content so store it in the refrigerator or freeze it to maximize its shelf life. Once you've opened a bag or box of rice, move it to an airtight container or resealable freezer bag to keep it fresh.

4. Corn starch
You can thicken gravies and sauces for years with just one box of corn starch because it keeps indefinitely. Store this kitchen staple in a cool, dry area and be sure to reseal it tightly after each use.

5. Honey
Whether you use it in your tea, on your toast or as an alternative sweetener, that jar of pure honey is good forever. It may get grainy or change color, but it's still safe to eat — and delicious — because its antibiotic properties keep it from spoiling.

You can help keep it fresh by storing it in a cool area, and you can improve the quality of crystallized honey by placing the jar in warm water and stirring it until the grainy parts dissolve.

6. Salt
The contents of your salt shaker will never spoil, regardless of whether it's basic table salt or sea salt. Simply store it in a cool, dry place and salt will keep indefinitely.

7. Corn syrup
If you come across a years-old bottle of corn syrup in your pantry, don't throw it out. This sweetener keeps indefinitely as long as you keep it sealed and store it in a cool, dry area.

8. Maple syrup
What good are pancakes or waffles without maple syrup? Luckily, this flavorful syrup will never spoil if you refrigerate it or freeze it. For long-term storage, seal it in an airtight plastic container and freeze it.

"The freezer is such a useful tool that can really save you money because there are very few foods that don't freeze well," says Janice Revell of StillTasty.com.

9. Distilled white vinegar
This wonder product can be used for everything, from making marinades and salad dressings to cleaning house and doing laundry. But the best thing about distilled white vinegar is that it lasts for years. Simply close it tightly after each use and store the bottle in a cool, dark place.

Food Could Cause You Age Faster

Watch out what you eat! It turns out that the type of sandwich fixing you choose could cause you to age faster. And the bread stuffing that really sticks it to you? Processed meat. In a study, researchers found that people who ate the highest amount of processed meat -think salami, pressed ham, and bologna- showed the greatest signs of wear and tear in a key marker of cellular aging.

Telltale Telomeres

The people who ate the most processed meat had the shortest telomeres. Not a good thing, because telomeres are those tiny protective coverings on the ends of your DNA strands. The shorter they get, the older your body is on a cellular level -and the wider the door opens to problems such as heart disease, diabetes, and other chronic conditions. In the study, the telomeres of the processed-meat lovers showed about 3.4 extra years of aging compared with those who ate the least processed meat.

A Processing Problem

What's so bad about processed meats? The trouble is that they tend to be packed with a whole bunch of bad things like saturated fat, sodium, cholesterol, nitrates, and nitrites - all things believed to be linked to telomere-shortening inflammation.

Diet Myths Exposed

If you're so committed to losing weight that you refuse to eat a baked potato for fear of eating empty carbs, you might be missing out on important nutrients and backing your diet into a corner. Open your mind to the truth behind these diet and weight myths and learn how to enjoy some of your favorite foods again.

Myth 1: Potatoes and bread are fattening.
Actually: It's just the opposite. Starchy vegetables and bread (whole-grain bread, that is) are quality carbs needed to fuel every part of you, from your brain to your muscles. What gets you into trouble is how you eat them: Smear butter on a slice of whole-wheat bread or deep-fry potatoes and you can double, triple, or quadruple the calories.

Myth 2: Drinking a glass of water before a meal curbs appetite.
Actually: Yes and no. Water tames appetite if it's incorporated into food, such as soup, or a thick drink, like V8 100% Vegetable Juice. Apparently, when water is bound to food, digestion is slower, explains Elizabeth Somer, RD, author of 10 Habits That Mess Up a Woman's Diet.

That's why women in one study found chicken-rice soup more satisfying than chicken-rice casserole and a glass of water -- even though the soup had 27% fewer calories! One exception to this rule: It's easy to confuse hunger and thirst, so if you find yourself craving something -- but what? -- drink a big glass of water and wait a few minutes. You may find that's what your body really wanted.

Myth 3: Shellfish is high in cholesterol.
Actually: On the one hand, it's true: Just 3 ounces of shrimp delivers more than a third of your daily cholesterol. But there's a surprising flip side to this story: Shrimp is low in saturated fat -- the kind that becomes artery-clogging bad cholesterol -- and has a smidgen of heart-healthy omega-3s. In fact, University of Southern California researchers discovered that eating shellfish, such as shrimp, every week reduced heart attack risk by 59 percent!

Myth 4: The occasional burger and fries won't kill you.
Actually: It depends on your definition of "occasional." If occasional means every Friday night and then some, well, you may be pushing it. But if it means every few months, and you're fit, and you've got good numbers (i.e., weight, waist size, cholesterol, blood pressure), AND you're chowing down on vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and other nutritious fare most other days, hey, you'll live. But few of us are that perfect. If you do occasionally indulge, offset the effects of a fat fiesta with a brisk 90-minute walk afterward.

The Low-Fat Portfolio Diet

If you're struggling with high cholesterol – whether it's genetically inherited or a result of your lifestyle – and would like to avoid taking statins (cholesterol-lowering drugs), you could try the low-fat portfolio eating plan. This is a long-term dietary solution that involves eating a variety of foods with cholesterol-lowering capabilities grouped in a so-called portfolio, developed by scientists at the University of Toronto. This eating plan was conceived specifically to help lower cholesterol by at least 30% in the course of a year.

The "portfolio eating plan" developed by researchers and documented in a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, involves following a daily routine which consists in eating a series of foods in set quantities. Thus, the regime of a person following this diet would have to include the following foods on a daily basis:

- 30 g of almonds
- 20 g of soluble fiber (found in foods such as porridge, prunes, apples, pears, broccoli or sweet potatoes)
- two servings of foods containing "plant sterols" (such as Benecol and Flora ProActive margarines and yogurts)
- 25 g of soy protein (from foods such as tofu and soy milk)

An optional addition to this diet are lean meats and fish, but not on a daily basis. The study found that after a year of keeping to this diet plan, there would be a noticeable drop in the patients' cholesterol levels, which would go down at least 20% – usually more. Even people who didn't follow the regime to the letter managed to lower their cholesterol by around 15%.

The trick with this plan is to turn it into a permanent lifestyle routine and not gorge on foods rich in saturated fats while also eating the "healthy stuff" in parallel. Fatty cuts of meat, meat pies, burgers and full-fat dairy products cakes, biscuits and sweets such as cheesecakes have to be cut out of our diets, if we plan to embark on a cholesterol-lowering crusade.

A typical day's diet could look like this:

Breakfast: a grapefruit, followed by porridge made with soy milk
Snack: a small bag of dried fruit
Lunch: baked potato with a bit of Benecol spread, baked beans and salad, and a pear for desert
Mid-afternoon snack: a handful of almonds and a yogurt drink
Dinner: chicken and tofu stir-fry and a baked apple with soy milk custard.

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