Like the princess and the pea, your body also notices the tiny green seeds. But in a good way. How? By getting stronger against strokes. That's because peas are chockfull of folate, a mighty B vitamin known to lower blood levels of stroke-promoting compound.

Heard about homocysteine?

Both natural folate and the synthetic kind (folic acid) found in supplements qnd fortified foods help lower homocysteine levels in the blood. That's a fine thing, because researchers suspect that too much of the substance might encourage "bad" cholesterol to oxidise and contribute to artery-blocking (read heart attack-and stroke-causing) blood clots.

Time for a supplement:

Because the average diet falls far short of the amount of folate, you should take a multivitamin with 400 micrograms. That will help ensure you reach the optimum dose of 700 micrograms per day.