Drink a glass of this with your oatmeal to help elevate your breakfast to superfood status: orange juice.

Why? The nutrients in oatmeal and OJ work synergistically to provide double the benefits you'd expect from simply adding their powers together.

Food Synergy
The phenols in oatmeal and the vitamin C in OJ both help make LDL more stable -- and that's a good thing, because the more stable LDL is, the less likely it is to rupture, stick to artery walls, and cause this. But consume the phenols and vitamin C together and they'll stabilize LDL at twice the level expected from adding their effects together. It's like this: 2 + 2 = 8, not 4, when it comes to phenol + vitamin C benefits. Look up more C sources with this online tool.

Cast a Wide Net
So how can you take advantage of more food synergies? The best way is to eat a varied diet rich in colorful fruits and veggies, healthy fats, different kinds of whole grains, and few or no processed foods. This will give nutrients the best shot at meeting up in your body and reinforcing one another as they guard against disease. (Here's a starter plan for making your diet more varied.) 

Ever wonder what those strange-sounding ingredients in processed foods are? Here's a chart that breaks it down for you.

New Look: Tell Us What You Think!
The RealAge Web site now has a new look and feel. Check out all the changes and then give us your feedback!