YOGHURT could be one of the keys to a long and healthy life, according to Maria Branyas Morera who lived to the ripe old age of 117.
Mrs Branyas Morera was the oldest person on Earth at the time of her death in Spain in 2024, and researchers have been studying her lifestyle, which included eating three healthy yoghurts per day.
In the UK, the number of centenarians has doubled since 2003 to 16,140, says the Office for National Statistics. And there are 610 people here aged over 105.
In Japan, a new record was set last month, with nearly 100,000 centenarians registered.
Barcelona researcher Dr Manel Esteller, who led the study into Mrs Branyas Morera’s long life, says: “This longevity is half due to genes and half to environment.”
Here, Sam Blanchard offers tips that could help us all live longer . . .
SIT ON THE CARPET
IT’S not just for kids. Lowering and lifting your body helps to maintain muscle strength, balance and flexibility, which all decline in old age.
Clinics around the world use sit-to-stand tests to check patients’ frailty and ability to live independently.
A 2014 study by the Gama Filho University in Brazil found over-50s who scored worst in such tests were more than five times as likely to die young than those who scored highest.
Even stranger is the flamingo test — standing on one leg for as long as possible — with higher scorers found to live longer.
FLOSS YOUR TEETH
POOR oral health is linked to illnesses including heart disease, dementia and even cancers.
The culprit is thought to be bacteria living in your mouth, and inflammation caused by excess plaque.
A recent study by US health company NYU Langone found three types of mouth bacteria connected gum disease to a higher risk of getting pancreatic cancer.
Gum inflammation is known to spread through blood vessels and the heart, putting them at risk too.
A University of California study in 2011 found that people who never flossed were 30 per cent more likely to die young than people who flossed every day.
DRINK A LITTLE RED
IT is a long-running controversy in the science world, but some studies suggest that people who drink red wine live longer and have a lower risk of heart diseases.
Critics argue that it is not the wine that is healthy — rather that occasional drinking is a habit among healthy people.
But red wine contains antioxidants from grapes, and one of them — resveratrol — is being investigated as it may help to prevent bowel cancer.
It has also been credited with improving gut bacteria and protecting the heart.
But too much alcohol is dangerous — the key is to average less than a glass of booze a day.
LOVE LIFE
A 1997 WELSH report in the British Medical Journal found men were 50 per cent less likely to die during the ten-year study if they had “high orgasmic frequency” versus low.
Professor Davey Smith said the risk seemed to be lower regardless of health, concluding: “Sexual activity seems to have a protective effect.”
Another study by the New England Research Institutes in 2010 found a weekly romp could almost halve the risk of heart disease.
Making love counts as exercise and is known to reduce stress, improve mental health and regulate hormones.
It even lowers the risks of prostate and breast cancers.
SMELL THE FLOWERS
AGEING impairs our senses and a fading sense of smell can signal looming brain diseases such as dementia or Parkinson’s, the New Scientist reported.
We can train our hooter simply by using it.
Regularly taking time to enjoy aromas around the house, such as coffee, orange peel, nutmeg and basil, might help protect our brains.
Wearing glasses to correct sight loss, and hearing aids for deafness, have also been listed by researchers as factors in dementia prevention.
SWEAT IT OUT
HERE’S a hot tip — sauna sessions could help you to live longer, because they boost your heart health.
A 20-year study by the University of Eastern Finland found that middle-aged men who visited the hot room most often were the least likely to die.
Half of the men who went to the sauna once a week died during the study compared to just 31 per cent of those who went four times a week.
Dr Thomas Lee, from the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, US, said: “The cardiovascular effects of a sauna have been well documented.
“It lowers blood pressure, and there is every reason to believe that it is good for blood vessels, too.”
