These 7 simple anti-ageing secrets could add years to your life

Two recent studies suggest surprising but heartwarming keys to a longer life. You’re more likely to rack up the years if you:

Expect the best. Of 100,000 women in the Women’s Health Initiative study, those rated optimistic by special questionnaires were 14 per cent less likely than pessimists to die during the study’s first eight years.

Care for a loved one. Despite the stress involved, men and women who put in the most time taking care of a spouse cut their own risk of dying by 36 per cent over a seven-year period, researchers at the University of Michigan found.

Whether you believe you have some purpose to fulfill on earth, or just have trips you plan to take and books you want to read, you have a survival edge over people with fewer goals. So say researchers at the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago who interviewed more than 1200 older adults. Elders with sure intentions and goals were about half as likely as aimless seniors to die over the five-year follow-up.

Here’s how to think big and realise your goals.

Low vitamin D levels have been associated with osteoporosis, diabetes, hypertension, and cancer. And it gets worse: according to new research, adults who don’t get enough of the ‘sunshine vitamin’ are 26 per cent more likely to die early. A 12-year study of 13,000 men and women didn’t finger any one cause of death, “because vitamin D’s impact on health is so widespread,” says researcher, Dr Michal Melamed.

Besides drinking fortified milk, she suggests that you: get just 10 to 15 minutes of midday sunshine (11 am to 3 pm) several days a week, applying sunscreen after those few minutes. You can also take supplements for the anti-ageing benefits.

Healthy habits can actually repair your DNA, say researchers, Dr Dean Ornish and Nobel Prize winner Dr Elizabeth Blackburn. Their study subjects ate vegetarian whole foods with 10 per cent of kilojoules from fat, walked 30 minutes six days a week, used stress-reducing techniques, and went to a weekly support group.

The results? Besides a decrease in LDL cholesterol and stress levels, they showed a 29 per cent rise in telomerase. This enzyme repairs and lengthens telomeres, tiny protein complexes on the ends of chromosomes that are vital for immunity and longevity. Short telomeres and low levels of telomerase signal an increased risk of heart disease and cancer, plus a poor prognosis if you do get ill.

Don’t miss these clear signs you’re not eating enough vegetables.

According to Dr Oz, the two most important things you can do to stay young and healthy: walk. When you can’t walk 400 metres in five minutes, your chance of dying within three years goes up dramatically. But even a 15-minute walk will offer health benefits.

Second most important is building a community – avoiding isolation. Because if your heart doesn’t have a reason to keep beating, it won’t.

Do you know how to walk properly? Here are some tips to fix your walking form.

A ten-year study of 545,000 Americans found that people who eat about 110 grams of beef or pork a day (the amount in an average-sized burger) are at least 30 per cent more likely to die early, compared with those who consume 28 grams or less daily. Though previous research has linked a diet heavy in red meat to a greater risk of heart disease and colon cancer, this is the first big study to look at how it affects your life expectancy.

Check out these things that happen to your body if you stop eating red meat.

Are you showing signs you need to move more? A walk with your spouse gives you a chance to talk over the day, and activities like playing tennis together can be a bonding experience. But the bottom line: getting active can mean a longer life for both of you. Even if you’re walking solo, the benefits of exercise on your longevity are becoming more strongly documented every day.

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Source: RD.com