Foods for a Longer Life.

• Position: Brief Article

Researchers from Queens College, Flushing, N.Y., have come up with a Recommended Food Score (RFS), based on 23 healthy foods, that appears to affect women's life-spans. The higher the RFS, the lower the risk of dying from heart disease, cancer, and/or stroke.

A study asked 42,000 women what they ate and how often. Each was given an RFS based on how many of the 23 healthiest foods on a list she ate at least once a week. Five to six years later, researchers discovered that the women with the highest scores (14 to 23) had a 31% less risk of dying of the above diseases than those with the lowest.

To calculate your RFS, give yourself one point for each of the following items that you eat at least once a week: apples or pears; oranges...