Book Nook: 'Your Body Beautiful'

YOUR BODY BEAUTIFUL: Clockstopping Secrets to Staying Healthy, Strong, and Sexy in Your 30s, 40s and Beyond, by Jennifer Ashton, MD, with Christine Rojo. Avery Books, 296 pp., $26.

Obstetrician-gynecologist Ashton -- the medical presence on ABC's afternoon show "The Revolution" and author of "The Body Scoop for Girls" -- writes that women in their 30s and 40s are in the "make-or-break years" for determining their lifetime health.

Ashton wants you to follow her five-week plans in five areas: diet (no fads), fitness (cardio, weight training and more), beauty (especially sleep), stress reduction (journaling, dancing, socializing).

And then there's sex. She quotes a Scottish study that "asked observers to guess the ages of more than 3,500 people. The people who had the most sex also looked much younger than their real ages -- four to seven years younger!"

THE SCOOP Ashton includes info on preventing heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis and other diseases.

THE BOTTOM LINE Even if you've aged out of her target group, you'll benefit from her advice.