Being conscious of fat and sugar in your diet, and working out at the gym, may seem like the keys to a long and healthy life. But you may easily tire of calorie counting and workouts. It seems the real signs of whether you will be blessed with considerable longevity is if you've adopted certain lifelong healthy lifestyles and attitudes - some of which you can still start.

Here are five of them.

Drinking tea. Research has shown that drinking green or black tea reduces death from cardiovascular disease, that is, heart attack and stroke. Just one or two cups a day can provide you with the catechins to significantly help. But make sure it's been freshly brewed. "Once water is added to tea leaves, their catechins degrade within a few days," says Jeffrey Blumberg, a professor of nutrition science and policy at Tufts University. Also, avoid adding milk, which seems to cancel tea's heart-healthiness.

Enjoying walking. No matter how much body fat you have, walking for about 30 minutes a day will extend your life considerably over those who don't, according to a study on 2,603 people. Other research has shown that even overweight women can improve their heart health by adding 10 minutes of activity to their day.

Being a healthy-weight teen. Overweight adolescents seem to have a greater chance of developing type 2 diabetes in adulthood than their more-slender peers. And adult diabetes sufferers have a two to four times greater chance of developing heart disease than other adults, according to the American Heart Association.

A distaste for burgers. A major report by the American Institute for Cancer Research has determined that eating more than 18 ounces of red meat a week increases your risk of colorectal cancer. And eating 3 ½ ounces a day of processed meat, such as hot dogs, bacon and deli meats, does the same. "You can have an occasional hot dog at a baseball game, but just don't make it a habit," says Karen Collins, an AICR nutrition adviser.

Having been a college freshman. For some reason, the more education you have, the less likely you are to smoke - and smoking is a real longevity killer. A Harvard Medical School study showed that people with more education than just high school (even just one year of college) live 18 months longer than the less educated.

Related Stories

 - AIR TRAVEL RECOMMENDATIONS
 - DEFENSIVE MEDICINE
 - Virtual Reality Therapy: Fear of Flying