It was good to see them add #2. That is rare.
6 simple, science-backed changes that will transform your health
Once you turn 30, things go downhill...fast. So says conventional wisdom, anyway. Science, however, says otherwise. With a few small changes, you can make a big difference to the way you feel.
Time, they say, waits for no man. It also doesn’t hesitate to start chipping away at your adult form.
One minute, you’re in your 20s and your body and brain are seemingly impervious to the clock and any debauched lifestyle choices you may be making. The next, you’ve tipped over into your 30s and everything changes. Fat begins to cling on due to you consuming more calories than you’re burning. Your bone density starts declining faster than you can rebuild it.
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1. Eat more fibre
Fibre is so potent it’s practically magic. Eating enough roughage can help you stave off heart disease, diabetes and keep your guts in good nick.
And the data is pretty conclusive. A 2019 study in The Lancet, which involved “135-million person-years of data from 185 prospective studies and 58 clinical trials with 4,635 adults”, suggested those eating sufficient fibre reduced their chances of conditions like type 2 diabetes, while strokes plummeted by 15-50 per cent.
“Fibre also lowers the level of inflammation in the gut,” says Peter Cronin of the University of Limerick, who’s an expert on gut health.
“Inflammation is an important factor in common intestinal diseases, such as colorectal cancer or inflammatory bowel disease. So, fibre has a protective effect against the development of these diseases.”
In fact, a 2015 analysis published in the American Journal Of Epidemiology showed that every 10g fibre consumed cut mortality risk by 10 per cent.
2. Stretch and Strengthen
Fact: cranking up your cardiovascular system bolsters health. But while walking, running and cycling are to be applauded, there’s a powerful age-related case for stretching and strengthening.
In fact, the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association recommend “muscular strengthening and flexibility activities at least two days per week for the maintenance of physical independence and health.”
Why stretch and stretching is so important?
As we age, we lose muscle mass, which then kills off muscle fibres. Research has shown that the vastus medialis muscle in your thigh contains around 800,000 fibres when you’re 20; by 60, it has 250,000. On average, we lose 8 per cent of our muscle fibres between 40 and 50, but that deterioration often starts earlier.
That’s especially true of ‘fast-twitch’ muscle fibres that are responsible for generating power (you also have ‘slow-twitch’ fibres that are more about endurance) and is why the fastest sprinters tend to be under 30.
Similar to sleep, your hormones are important here, especially testosterone, which preserves and increases lean muscle mass. Testosterone also improves cognitive function and increases bone density. The problem is, from the age of around 30, your testosterone levels begin to drop.
That’s where weight training comes in. It’s an anabolic activity, meaning it generates higher levels of testosterone, which will counteract the natural drop as you age.
Flexibility is important, too.
3. Master your sleep with a few easy tips
Sleep is the best medicine. It boosts physical and mental health, and is so important that Tour de France winners are the ones deemed to have slept best over the 21 stages and 3,500km of racing. Which is a shame for those over 30…
4. Don't stop moving
It’s irrefutable – for a longer life, get moving. That was the message from a 2019 study in the British Medical Journal that showed 25 minutes per day of moderate exercise, like brisk walking, boosted the subjects’ chances of living. The most sedentary group were 60 per cent more likely to die prematurely than the most active group.
This isn’t wonderful news, as, according to a 2015 study co-commissioned by Public Health England, British people sit for an average 8.9 hours each day. Further research that same year in the British Journal Of Sports Medicine suggested there’s a 5 per cent increased risk of premature death with each additional hour off your feet.
5. Get out of the house and into nature
“Using data from nearly 20,000 people in England, we saw that those who spent more than two hours a week in nature showed consistently higher health and wellbeing than people who never visited,” explains Dr Mathew White, an environmental psychologist at Exeter University.
These benefits are numerous and include six key mechanisms, says White. “Reducing exposure to environmental pollution, thanks to better air quality in places with more trees; exposing us to ‘good’ microbiota for healthy immune and gut function; encouraging ‘capacity-building behaviours’, such as promoting physical activity that’s good for health; promoting social cohesion and good relationships, as nature seems to bring people together in positive ways; helping us to manage everyday stress by giving us less demanding contexts in which to collect our thoughts and restore depleted cognitive and emotional capacities; and building ‘place attachment’, which is important for people to orient themselves and find a place in the world.”
6. Stay connected to others
Loneliness is no laughing matter. But, once again, it appears longevity is, with a 2010 meta analysis showing that social support increases survival by up to 50 per cent, with research going back to the early 20th Century.
A more recent study by the Loneliness Commission, part of the Jo Cox Foundation, showed that men in particular are most likely to hit “peak loneliness” at 35 years old.
This could be down to numerous factors, including unemployment, relationship break-ups, bereavement or moving away from family and friends. All of which are far from ideal, as a landmark study in the journal Science showed that lack of social connection is a greater detriment to health than obesity, smoking and high blood pressure.