There’s a peppery green related to mustard and garden cress that your lungs truly love. It’s watercress. In fact, a daily bowl may protect against lung cancer, according to John La Puma, MD, author of ChefMD’s Big Book of Culinary Medicine.

A Lung-Loving Substance
In a study of both smokers and nonsmokers, those who ate about a cereal-bowl’s worth of fresh watercress daily for 8 weeks had less DNA damage to white blood cells — with smokers seeing the most significant benefit. Makes sense, since it’s also thought that the isothiocyanates in watercress may thwart a potent carcinogen in tobacco, according to La Puma. And watercress is darn nutritious to boot. It’s chock-full of vitamins, iron, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, and lutein, as well as mustard oil.

Where to Get the Good Stuff
One quick and easy way to get watercress? Drink a V8. It’s one of the main vegetables in the juice. But if you’d rather eat your cress than drink it, try making this simple Watercress Salad from EatingWell. Or, for something jazzier, cook up these Beef, Watercress and Roquefort Burgers.

There may be a newly discovered bonus to good blood sugar control: better recall.

Turns out that Alzheimer’s disease and the #1 blood sugar disorder, diabetes, share something in common — something that wreaks havoc on normal brain function: lack of insulin.

Not All in the Genes
A long-term Swedish study revealed that too little insulin ups Alzheimer’s risk. Men with low insulin secretion at age 50 had a significantly greater risk of the mind-robbing disease — as well as other types of dementia — later in life. One caveat though: The link was strongest in men without the gene that predisposes people to Alzheimer’s. (Check your Alzheimer’s risk with this quiz.)

What It Means to You
Exactly how an impaired insulin response bumps up Alzheimer’s risk isn’t clear. But it definitely underscores the importance of diabetes prevention efforts. Get the lowdown on diabetes prevention and care.

Mind Games
Boost your recall and give your noggin a good workout with these Happy Neuron games:

• Elephant Memory
• Around the World in 80 Trips
• This Story Is Full of Blanks

RealAge Benefit: Actively patrolling your health can make your RealAge as much as 12 years younger.