For example, enjoying 1/2 ounce of dark, cocoa-based chocolate before each meal can make you 1.9 years younger. Eating 10 tablespoons of tomato sauce a week makes the average 55-year-old man 1.9 years younger and the average 55-year-old woman 0.7 years younger.

The strategies are simple and easy to implement. Eat five ounces of nuts a week. Use an olive oil and balsamic vinegar salad dressing, add three four-ounce portions of fish to your diet every week. These measures will make you 5.4 years younger when followed for three years.

To take 14 years off your life, eat foods that aren't processed; eat a breakfast consisting of a whole grain and a healthy fat; eat healthy fats first at every meal; read nutritional levels; limit red meat consumption to four ounces a week; and eat nonfried fish three times a week.

In addition to improving your overall wellbeing, you'll notice the pounds slowly start to melt away in a healthy, safe fashion that's likely to keep the weight off.