17 Shortcuts To Perfect Health

Don't Do Crunches?

Do your regular weight-training routine—on your feet. "When you weight-train standing up, your abs have to work to stabilize the spine and keep you upright, giving you more bang for your buck," says Alwyn Cosgrove, C.S.C.S., a personal trainer in Santa Clarita, California. So, if you normally do leg presses, do squats instead. Lying leg curls? Do Romanian deadlifts. Seated biceps curls? Stand and curl. Whatever the move, make sure the stabilizing muscle tension stays on your abs, not your lower back.

Don't Wear Sunscreen?

Wash down your morning multivitamin regimen with a bottle of iced green tea. In a recent Rutgers University study, mice given green tea had 51 percent fewer incidences of skin cancer than control mice, even after prolonged exposure to damaging ultraviolet rays.

"The research looks very promising that green tea may protect humans against skin cancer, too," says James Spencer, M.D., an associate professor of dermatology at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine. Researchers suspect that antioxidants in green tea fight skin cancer by neutralizing the free radicals that damage skin cells.

Don't Eat a High-Fiber Diet?

Don't reach for the Metamucil; hop on a treadmill instead. Seems that aerobic exercise—particularly running—also prevents food from sticking around in your body too long, says Ann Grandjean, Ed.D., executive director of the Center for Human Nutrition. And the less time lunch spends loitering in your colon, the less chance it has to turn into something ugly, or worse, cancerous.

Try to do that running-in-place thing for 20 minutes a day. You're doing it for your heart anyway, right?

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Miss Your Yearly Physical?

Haul your procrastinating butt into the bathroom and strip. Get into a warm shower, close the curtain, and gently roll each testicle between your thumb and forefinger. "You ignore any unusual lumps at your own peril," says William Hall, M.D., president of the American College of Physicians. The reason: Bumpy balls aren't normal and could possibly signal testicular cancer.

Next, examine every inch of your body (contort if necessary). You're looking for anything that might indicate skin cancer: discoloration, bumps, moles that are asymmetrical in shape. Even if everything checks out okay, make an appointment with your G.P. ASAP—and keep it this time.

Can't Floss Once a Day?

Spring for a Sonicare electric toothbrush. It uses invisible sonic waves to blow away the plaque-promoting bacteria between your teeth. "It's about 75 percent as effective as flossing," says Joseph T. Abate, D.D.S., D.M.D., a Philadelphia dentist. At $90, the Sonicare is more expensive than floss, but still cheaper than a new set of teeth.

Don't Eat 6 Servings of Produce?

Admit that you have a classic case of "produce anorexia," a condition that calls for an equally classic cure: V8 juice. "It's still the best vegetable substitute around," says Melinda Hemmelgarn, R.D., a nutritionist at the University of Missouri. But as good as V8 is, you also need a fruit fix. So here's your complete catch-up menu:

At breakfast: One tall (12-ounce) glass of a 100 percent red-grapefruit/orange-juice blend. (Tropicana makes one.)

At lunch and dinner: One tall glass of low-sodium V8.

That's it. You just drank the equivalent of six servings of fruits and vegetables and also swallowed some extra protection from prostate cancer, thanks to the lycopene in the tomatoes and the red grapefruit.

Want to save a step and just go with V8 Splash (a fruit-and-vegetable juice blend) instead? Resist. "It's not 100 percent fruit and vegetable juice; it has a lot of added water," says Hemmelgarn.

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Avoid an Annual Flu Shot?

Protect yourself the old-fashioned way: Become a compulsive hand-washer. A recent Naval Health Research Center study found that when recruits washed their hands at least five times a day, they had 45 percent fewer respiratory illnesses, such as infection by the flu virus.

"Vaccination is the best preventive measure, but hand washing is a good alternative," says Dr. Carolyn Bridges, a medical epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And yes, regular soap will do the job; antibacterial cleansers aren't any more effective against viruses.

Want to Skip Foreplay?

Try sweeping your honey off her feet with a quickie. Lead her into the bedroom 15 minutes before you both have to head out to work. Or drop by the bathroom just before she steps into the shower, lay a towel down on the floor, and get dirty.

"The spontaneity is a definite turn-on. It's nice to think someone wants you so badly that they can't wait one more minute," says Tara Roth Madden, author of Romance on the Run: 5 Minutes of Quality Sex for Busy Couples.

Just be careful not to pull the ravish-the-maiden bit too often, or she'll think (rightly) that you're an unromantic bum who just wants to get off.

Didn't Get 9 Hours of Sleep?

Skip the black-five-sugars coffee and pop some NADH, a coenzyme that may increase mental alertness and concentration. In one New York-Presbyterian Hospital study, researchers tested 25 sleep-deprived people after the group had taken 20 milligrams of NADH and then again after they'd taken a placebo.

"When the people took NADH, they performed significantly better overall on a set of mental tests using a measure of speed and accuracy," says Margaret Moline, Ph.D., one of the study researchers.

Look for supplements that say "ENADA" on the label; they contain the same NADH formulation used in studies.

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Don't Clean the Fridge Regularly?

Hit the hardware store and pick up a refrigerator thermometer (about $10). Here's the logic: A crumb here or a drip there (okay, numerous crumbs and drips) won't hurt you as long as the temp is low enough to prevent bacteria and mold from turning your fridge into a greenhouse. "If you do nothing else, make sure the temperature always stays below 40 degrees," says Don Schaffner, Ph.D., a food-safety expert at Rutgers University.

But why the retrofit? Because many refrigerators don't come with their own thermometers, and even with those that do, there's a good chance they're off by a few critical degrees. Note: You can stick your thermometer anywhere but on the inside of the fridge door; odds are this spot is a few degrees warmer than the rest of your icebox.

Don't Separate Whites and Colors?

Toss everything in the washer, dump in some detergent, choose "Permanent Press" and "Warm," then walk away with a clear conscience. According to Brett Oleson, a senior consumer scientist at Maytag Appliances, your whites will come out clean, and your colors won't fade.

As an extra precaution, Oleson recommends using a detergent like Tide with Bleach or Wisk with ColorHold Bleaching Action; both contain a color-safe bleach that'll keep your tighty whities from turning a dingy gray. Brand-new red rugby shirt? Wash it separately the first few times to avoid the big bleed.

Wear Shoes 2 Days in a Row?

Roll up two magazines (any other men's magazines will work) and insert one inside each shoe at the end of day one. "When you let go, the magazines will expand to help stretch the leather back into shape. They'll also do a better job of absorbing the day's moisture than plastic shoe trees," says Jim Rice, founder of Shoeguy.com. And when your shoe-stuffers start falling apart? Recycle.

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Don't Change Oil Every 3,000?

Apologize to your Passat and switch over to a synthetic lube. "Synthetic oil is better able to withstand high heat, so you'll have more of a cushion in your mileage between oil changes," says Steve Gehrlein, author of Save $$$ on Car Repairs. In real road terms, that means you may be able to go as long as 25,000 miles before you have to pull over for another drain and refill.

Need more convincing? Corvettes, Porsches, and Aston Martins roll off the assembly line topped off with the man-made stuff. One caveat: Make sure the guys at the Grease-'n'-Go pour in a "100 percent synthetic" oil and not a "synthetic blend."

Hate to Ask Her About Her Day?

Try a more specific line of questioning. For example, instead of "How'd it go today?" ask about a project she's working on, something like, "What's the status of the Maloney deal?" This'll show that you care and "help force her to focus on the important details of her day," says Michael Cunningham, Ph.D., a psychologist at the University of Louisville.

Is she still ranting about the creep who doesn't contribute to the office coffee fund? Ask a question that'll make her laugh. This'll help her take a step back and put the day in perspective, says Cunningham. Your last resort: Admit you're a self-centered slug and beg for mercy.

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