THE PERFECT . . . CHOLESTEROL-CUTTER

Keeping your heart healthy needn't be a pain in the chest

The average level of bad cholesterol in Australian men is 5.5mmol/l, but according to the CSIRO, your risk of heart disease is already increasing if your cholesterol is between 5.5 and 6.5mmol/l.

A healthier target is 5.0mmol/l and below - at least 10 per cent lower than the national average. That's easily achieved, though. A study by the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland found that walking up stairs for six minutes a day can lower cholesterol by 15 per cent and make you 10 per cent fitter than those lift-loving layabouts.

THE PERFECT . . . STROKE-PREVENTER

The key to guarding your ticker is already in your kitchen cupboard

Canned tuna - a classic muscle-building food thanks to its high protein content - can bolster your organs as well as your muscles.

US researchers found that it can oil your system against the risk of stroke. A study of 43,000 men by the Harvard School of Public Health discovered that men who ate oily fish, such as tuna, three times a month had a 40 per cent lower risk of suffering a stroke.

THE PERFECT . . . DETOXIFIER

Ignore detox diets. Turn on the tap

The perfect detox duo to usher out the bad is your liver and water.

"There's a lot of nonsense talked about 'detoxing'. People forget that the liver is a built-in detox mechanism," explains Dr Andrew Wadge, from the UK's Food Standards Agency.

A study at St Mary's Hospital in London found that trusty old tap water and a good night's sleep are sufficient to keep your liver in fine fettle.

THE PERFECT . . . TENSION-KILLER

Ease pressure by, er, releasing some

Researchers at the University of Paisley in Scotland reckon that sex is the best stress reliever as it releases the feel-good chemical oxcytocin. Furthermore, researchers at the University of Bristol in the UK found that men who have sex three times a week reduce their risk of heart disease by 50 per cent. Half the ticker-trouble, less stress and more sex. That, friends, is the perfect result.

THE PERFECT . . . IMMUNE-BOOSTER

Perfection in a pill

A study in the journal AIDS found a 50 per cent reduction in mortality rates in HIV patients who popped the vitamin pill ImmunACE (vitaminlife.com; $22.50/60 tablets). This is because it contains the antioxidants vitamins E and C, as well as caratanoids and selenium, which defend against harmful free radicals. Antioxidants not only boost your immune system, they also protect against dementia, heart disease and cancer.