While it may be somewhat apocryphal, the legend has it that Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon traveled to Florida in search of the Fountain of Youth. And though he was more likely there to search for gold and expand the Spanish empire, the story of vitality-restoring water is one that continues to intrigue us to this day.

This is not surprising, considering that even people today are still searching for an elixir of eternal youth. Some turn to plastic surgery and injections of botulism (also known as Botox), while others dole out thousands of dollars at so-called "anti-aging" centers to undergo hormone replacement therapy. I honestly pass no judgment on either group; to each their own is what I say. However, it's still worth mentioning that there are natural and safe ways to slow down the hands of time, and none of them require going under the knife or sailing a Spanish galleon across the Atlantic.

• Eat fish once a week -- Researchers from the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago found that doing so can slow age-related cognitive decline by 10 percent
• Stop smoking -- Aside from the more obvious harm it causes your lungs, smoking also triples your chances of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD), says a study from Cambridge University.
• Stay active -- A study from Rutgers University revealed that inactivity in older age is one of the major modifiable lifestyle factors that increased the likelihood of being placed in a nursing home over the next twenty years.

• Keep chatting -- A Johns Hopkins study found that office workers who keep to themselves are more likely to develop heart disease over time than their more social colleagues
  

Would it be great if there truly was a Fountain of Youth? Absolutely. But until it's discovered (and that's going on the enormous assumption that such a thing even exists), the best bet at holding onto youth is a clean and active lifestyle. Besides, you don't want to risk your best years trying to find it (for the record, Ponce de Leon, during his final search for these vitality-restoring waters, was fatally wounded with a poison arrow by the Calusa Indians of Florida).