Judith Reichman, MD, a Los Angeles gynecologist, isn't waiting for an anti-aging pill. For her latest book, Slow Your Clock Down (Morrow, 2004), Reichman combed medical literature for these solid disease-prevention and anti-aging strategies:

Make exercise a top priority. "Aside from antibiotics for a life-threatening infection," says Reichman, "there's no medicine any physician can prescribe that can affect the quality and length of your life like regular exercise."

Get tested. Catch problems early, says Reichman, with such basic screening exams as mammograms, Pap smears, colonoscopy, bone-mineral density scans, and any blood tests you should have, given your individual risk factors for heart disease, stroke, cancer.

Manage your weight. You don't have to do ultra-strict calorie restrictions. Reichman follows what she calls a "Mediterranean meets L.A." diet, which includes a balance of fish, chicken, and turkey, veggies, egg whites, nonfat yogurt, whole grains, nuts, fruit, and occasionally one glass of wine with dinner. Cynthia Kenyon, having observed how high glucose levels negatively affected her C. elegans worms, started following a low-glycemic-index diet herself -- no bread, pasta, potatoes, or rice, but plenty of green vegetables, olive oil, eggs, fish, meat, cheese, nuts, and some fruits.

Don't smoke. But, of course, you know this.

Originally published in MORE magazine, May 2004