Scared of what happens when we get old? There are things you can do – even from your 30s onwards – that will affect how you age and how long you’ll live, according to research on the new BBC series How To Stay Young.
Angela Rippon and Dr Chris van Tulleken investigated how much of the way we age is down to genetics and how much is lifestyle. Apparently it’s around 25% down to genes and 75% is down to how we live.
Here are some of the fascinating things we leaned.
1. There’s an easy scientific test that’s supposed to reveal whether you’ll live a long life.
Angela attempting the simple test (BBC/Screenshot)
In the ‘sit to rise’ test you have to try to sit down on the ground without using your hands, arms or knees, and stand up again in the same way.
To score, start with ten points and lose a point every time you use a hand or knee, or a half point if you wobble. If you score 8-10 you’ll lead a long healthy life, 6-7.5 and you’ve got twice as high a chance of having a shorter life, and so on. But a low score can be improved if you do more physical exercise.
I was going to do the sit/stand test from #HowToStayYoung but I did squats yesterday. So I don't think it'd be a clear indicator 😂
— Pursuit of balance (@HealthyBalance8) April 7, 2016
2. After smoking, stress and weight play the biggest role in ageing.
Dr Chris and his twin Xand (BBC/Screenshot)
Revolutionary tests on identical twins with totally different lifestyles showed how the way people live makes a huge difference to our biological ages. Dr Chris, 36, who lives a stressful life, found out he was five years older than his chronological age. His identical twin Xand was five years older too, probably due to the fact he used to be overweight.
But Yoga, meditation, exercise and general ‘me’ time help reduce stress.
So lowering your stress levels has a huge effect on your health. Unwinding is such an important part of keeping healthy #HowToStayYoung
— Quealth (@Quealth) April 7, 2016
3. Eating more high resistance starch can help reduce internal fat.
Angela receives so shocking news (BBC/Screenshot)
Angela, 71, had an MRI to show how her organs have aged but found she had a large amount of visceral fat around her heart – four litres more than a healthy person.
Terrified of internal fat now 😫 #HowToStayYoung #bbc
— Alexis Gebbie (@alexisgebbie) April 7, 2016
High resistance starch is found in pulses like lentils and chick peas or there’s a concentrated form that can be added to food. Scientists are developing drugs that can help reduce internal fat but it’s largely down to diet and exercise.
4. Not eating meat is one secret to ageing well.
Ellsworth looking pretty good for 100 (BBC/Screenshot)
A study on the population of the town of Loma Linda, California (where vegetarianism is very popular) found that for vegans overall mortality is reduced by a quarter compared to meat eaters and they’re half as likely to get heart disease.
We met 100-year-old Ellsworth Wareham who was a surgeon until the age of 95. He’s been a vegan for 50 years and lives in Loma Linda.
100 year old vegan on BBC Ones #HowToStayYoung. One word, #Inspirational! Never underestimate healthy eating! #vegan
— Rachel Peace (@lilpeacer) April 7, 2016
Apparently animal protein stimulates a hormone we all need for growth but as we get older, particularly in middle age, this same hormone speeds up ageing.
You might not have to become a full blown vegan to feel some benefit though, just cutting down the amount of meat we eat can help. And nuts – walnuts especially – can protect us from heart attacks.
5. Building muscle is essential as we age – and dancing is more effective than cardio at the gym.
Muscle in red compared to fat in a thigh of a typical 80-year-old (BBC/Screenshot)
As we age our muscles degenerate – from our 30s – and as we get older we need to make an extra effort to build muscle mass. A study of two groups over six months found dancing was far more effective than repetitive gym cardio.
Just back from dance class to watch #HowToStayYoung Smug.
— Carina Beresford (@carinaberesford) April 7, 2016
6. Having a dog around can help lower stress and therefore blood pressure.
There’s an office that allows you to bring your dog to work to combat stress (BBC/Screenshot)
A mental arithmetic test designed to stress people was done a second time but this time with their dogs in the room, and their blood pressure become lower.
Dogs also reduce stress and make us live longer?! This is brilliant, I'm going to live forever! #HowToStayYoung
— Laura Claire Ward (@WardClaireLaura) April 7, 2016
7. Scientists are actually developing an anti-ageing drug.
Yannick Castilo who has Laron Syndrome is 17 years old (BBC/Screenshot)
People with conditions like Laron Syndrome – who don’t grow at the same rate as other people – could help scientists cure ageing. The drug that’s being developed that mimics the effects of Laron Syndrome so one day just popping a pill could stop us developing diseases caused by old age.
"Not much fun in sitting at home with a cheeseburger and a pill" well said Angela Rippon #HowToStayYoung
— Carol Austin (@jumpylegs) April 7, 2016
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here