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I saw a report the other day saying that after decades during which life expectancy has continued to increase, in 2010, she 's sure she' s going to see her. is abruptly stopped.
Most of us can reasonably expect to live up to our 80s, but few of us will go farther than that.
If I arrive in my 80s, I'm fine, no male member of my family has lived more than 74 years.
But I do not necessarily want to live up to 90 years or more.
I'm 61 years old now and all I really want to do is stay as young and vigorous as possible for as long as possible – and I'm sure many of you do too.
With this in mind, starting this week in The Mail on Sunday is the final installment of my Life: Live Longer, Look Younger plan. 19659002] Ask yourself, do you want to enter your seventh or eighth decade suffering from a host of long-term illnesses, on daily drugs to control them, more and more immobile and unable to enjoy life?
Or would you like to feel vital, energetic and able to enjoy all that life has to offer?
If the answer is the last, then my Life Plan is for you.
From aches, pains and lack of driving, weight gain and memory loss, you may have gotten used to excusing these problems by sighing: "It's my age …"
But these things are not inevitable. You can feel as good as when you were years younger by making simple and effective lifestyle changes.
Over the next eight weeks, I will share with you the latest scientific advice on how to fight the aging process, and refresh and invigorate the body.
And, as a devoted self-experimenter, I naturally tried the things I recommend about myself.
This week, I focus on how studies done in the UK suggest that 83% of men and 73% of women have hearts prematurely aged a decade or more. Is yours one of them? I will show you how to know – and tell you what you can do to roll back the years.
And here's what else to expect in the next few weeks from Live Plus Long, Look Younger Plan:
The good news is that it's possible, no matter what your current age, to do things that will transform your health for the rest of your life.
Keep reading and start making these changes today …
Have a heart that never hardens, said Charles Dickens. Although he did not want it in the medical sense, it is excellent advice.
Heart disease and stroke together are the most deadly in the UK, accounting for one in five men and one in six men. 19659002] Even if you survive a heart attack, it can leave a devastating legacy.
Although it is a universal symbol of love, your heart is actually only an extraordinarily good pump.
No bigger than a fist, he pushes five hundred liters of blood through the 60,000 miles of blood vessels in your body 70 times a second.
100,000 times a day, and if you keep it in good condition, it should continue to do it about three billion times.
The problem is that many of us have hearts that age faster than they should, which could explain why they are often the first part of the human machine to be seriously wrong.
That's why it's so important to find out what is the shape of your heart and if the answer is "not so good," do something about it. Acting before you have a heart attack is far, far better than waiting and hoping.
So with that in mind, I've put together a six-point plan for the age test of your heart … and I'm hoping to add more years healthy to your life. And yes, part of this involves watching your diet – so above the page, you'll find a series of new, enticing recipes that will help you succeed.
How can you tell how old your heart is? Well, there is an excellent NHS calculator that allows you to do the Heart Age test.
You can find it on the website www.nhs.uk – use the search function to search "What is your heart age?" [19659002Toobtainapreciseresultyouneedtoknowyourhighbloodpressureandyourcholesterol-cholesterollevelsandyourhigh-densitylipoproteins(HDL)
If you are over 40, you can get this data by taking a free NHS health check.
They should also test your blood sugar levels, especially if you have risk factors.
You can do the test without this information (the computer just stays in an average score), but it's obviously more useful if you have the data.
When I did the Heart Age test, I was disappointed to discover that my heart is 65 years old, four years older than my actual age.
The main reason is because I have a family history of heart disease, after my father had a minor heart attack before the age of 60.
Without this box checked, my heart age would have been more respectable 57, four years younger than my actual age.
You can not do much of your personal genetics, but you can do a lot of things if your heart age is bigger than it should be.
You probably already need it, but perhaps the heart age test will give you extra motivation.
Although I do not smoke and have never been, I ticked the box "smoker, 20+ a day" to see how that would change my result.
The calculator quickly added ten years to my heart age, this brings the number to 74, doubling the risk of having a heart attack in the next ten years, from 10 to 20%.
Quitting smoking is difficult, but your GP can provide support and information on the NHS Stop Smoking Service. There are medications, patches, chewing gum and all sorts of other nicotine replacement therapies that work.
You are also much more likely to quit if you participate in group sessions or a single counselor.
If you have discovered, through your GP or a finger prick test at your pharmacist, that you have raised blood sugar, then do something about it.
Increasing blood sugar levels, even if you are taking medication, is almost as bad for your heart as it is for a smoker.
When I checked the box "Diabetes" in the calculator Heart Age, Nine
Being a smoker and having diabetes is a particularly dangerous combination.
When I checked both boxes, the calculator told me that my risk of having a heart attack had quadrupled
. The best way to cure prediabetes and reverse type 2 diabetes is to lose visceral fat – it's the fat that gathers around and in your gut.
I'm going to show you how diet could play a vital role in doing that next week, but for now, exercise will also be key … so keep reading.
It is not a euphemism to say that if we could pack it in pill form, the exercise would be hailed as a miracle drug, especially because it 's a good thing. it is good for the heart.
Regular physical activity increases healthy HDL cholesterol in the blood and reduces the bad cholesterol of low density lipoprotein.
It also lowers blood pressure, burns visceral fats and lowers blood sugar levels – giving another lash to the heart.
An exercise-based rehabilitation program can reduce by a third the probability of dying from heart disease
The question is: what kind of exercise and how much of time?
The honest answer is: anything that can make the heart beat a little faster will help.
He could run, walk, swim or take the stairs instead of the elevator. Three quick walks of ten minutes a day are enough to improve the strength of the heart. Try to find ways to build this in your day
I often go to the station in the morning rather than riding a bike because it's a little more effort.
Studies suggest doing 20 minutes of moderate exercise a day could add a few years to your life.
However, doing a lot more will have a less dramatic effect – an hour a day will only add one more year to life expectancy – so it seems like the most important thing is that the first 20 minutes.
The greatest benefits are observed among those who have been inactive before.
And it's never too late to start: a recent study has shown that every additional half-hour of light activity of men aged 71 to 92 years was badociated. with a lower probability of death of 17% over a six-year period.
Those who did 150 minutes of moderate activity per week were nearly twice as likely to survive at least six years.
You may also have to sit down less. As a documentary filmmaker, I'm sorry to have to tell you, but television kills. According to a recent study, every hour spent sitting in front of the television reduces life expectancy by about 22 minutes, which means that a person who spends six hours a day in front of the box runs the risk of dying. five years earlier than those who are more active.
Sedentary behavior is linked to obesity, high levels of unhealthy cholesterol and other risk factors for heart disease, and more opportunities to nibble junk food. It's for continuing to watch TV, but doing it standing (maybe doing the ironing, which burns about 80 calories per hour) or during an exercise bike.
For optimal health, the type of exercise I favor is the High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT).
For me, it means very short bursts on a bike or just climbing stairs – wherever I can really
This seems to be a particularly effective way of strengthening the strength of your heart and lungs in just a few seconds. minutes a week.
Of course, there is anxiety about the risks badociated with pushing yourself hard. especially if you have not exercised for a while.
So I was happy when I saw the title of a recent study: "The intensive training of very short duration dramatically improves physical function and the condition self-reported health of an elderly population. "
In this study, scientists from the University of Abertay, Scotland, a group of volunteers aged 61 to 74, unfit, followed a program of exercises where they had to do two minutes of HIIT per week.
Volunteers who had not done regular exercise the year before
Those who exercised were asked to do two short exercise sessions per week: each session consisted of ten sets of sprints every six seconds on an exercise bike, with at least
They wore a heart rate monitor and were asked not to do another sprint until their heart rate has dropped to less than 120 beats per second.
The secret to doing HIIT is not speed, but effort. You have to push yourself, which means doing it on something like an exercise bike, where you quickly increase resistance.
Dr. John Babraj, the chief scientist at Abertay University, said, "When it comes to sprints, you should not go there like Usain Bolt.
"As long as you do your best, no matter how fast, it will improve your health."
At the end of the six weeks During the trial, the volunteers who were doing their two minutes of HIIT per week had lost an average of 2.2 pounds, mostly fat, although they were asked not to change their eating habits.
But the real benefits of this most mature two-minute exercise regime among us, have been observed in its effect on blood pressure, aerobic capacity and blood sugar.
High blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke.
blood pressure of about nine percent, better than you would get with most
They also found a similar drop in their blood glucose and an eight percent improvement in their aerobic capacity, which measures the strength of their hearts and lungs.
Aerobic fitness is one of the most accurate predictors we have of good and how long we are going to live. It is clear that some people will have to take things more slowly at first, but there is a persistent and exaggerated fear that exercise later in life will lead to heart attacks and strokes. The opposite is true.
If you are taking medication or are worried about your health, consult your doctor before starting a new exercise regimen.
We have been told over the years that a low-fat diet is the most respectful of hearts and that eating fats, especially the saturated fats that we find in meat, milk , cheese and yogurt, will clog your arteries.
Yet, extensive and well-designed medical tests that put people on low-fat diets have failed to produce convincing evidence that it reduces heart disease.
As my regular readers will know, I am a big fan of the Mediterranean diet, recently hailed by the World Health Organization as one of the healthiest on the planet.
It is relatively low in carbohydrates and high in fat. My books and the recipes in this column are based on these principles.
If you are overweight (more than half of us are obese, and one in four of us is obese), try my new 5: 2 diet.
As stated in my previous columns, this involves eating a healthy Mediterranean diet for five days of the week, and reducing your intake to around 800 calories for two Fast Days of the week.
You are free to choose which days – they do not need to be consecutive.
You can also choose how to divide your calories. Some people decide to have a big meal, others have two or three smaller ones
No matter and the results will be the same.
In terms of heart health and longevity, some preliminary research suggests the effect of this way of eating can go beyond simple weight loss.
Recent laboratory studies have suggested that intermittent fasting can have an impact on the cells' energy-producing components, keeping them in a youthful state. 19659002] Animal studies have also shown that IF can extend the life span and reduce the risk of certain diseases.
Since I'm not trying to lose weight, I'm doing a 6: 1 maintenance plan with just one Fast Day a week.
All the recipes in my new 5: 2 diet are formulated so you can prepare them in a more caloric or less calorie way for Fast Days.
] On the page are new recipes – and others will follow over the next few weeks.
And here's a few other tips to help you respect this healthy Mediterranean diet …
Cam you eat young? The short answer is yes.
Numerous studies have shown that a healthy Mediterranean diet has an important role to play in reducing the risk of so-called aging diseases, from heart disease to diabetes.
And, if you're looking to lose weight, follow my New 5: 2 plan could give you an extra boost, lowering cholesterol and blood pressure, balancing blood sugar and giving back youthfulness .
The rules are simple: eat a normal diet for five days, and reduce to 800 calories for two fast days each week.
Once you have reached your goal of weight loss, a fast day will do the trick.
These recipes follow all the rules of the Mediterranean diet and have been designed so that you can enjoy them during the Fast Days or other days – with instructions to get them up or down in calories.
Simple!
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