This Spring Feel Slimmer, Fitter, Sexier!

After a better body and happier life? It’s time to take control of your hormones, says Leah Hardy

- Leah Hardy

Inflamm-ageing – it’s the buzzword in modern ageing science. Bad food and modern lifestyles are setting us on fire inside, causing chronic inflammation. Scientists believe that diseases such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and arthritis may be linked by this one underlying condition. 

Dr Daniel Sister, an expert in hormones and anti-ageing, says it’s impossible to overstate the importance of inflammation when it comes to health and youthfulness. “Why are we obsessed with antioxidants?” he says. “Because of their role in fighting inflammation. Why are we so interested in telomeres, the caps on the end of our chromosomes that protect our DNA? Because inflammation damages them, causing ageing. Why do we get joint pain as we age? Inflammation.”

Inflammation is even a cause of skin ageing, as it destroys collagen and increases wrinkles. But the good news is, inflammation is treatable. Here’s how…

How to fight inflammation

Inflammation underlies many diseases such as various cancers, heart disease and Alzheimer’s, and interventions such as exercise, can help prevent these conditions. Here’s how to put out the fire for a cooler, more youthful way of life:

Sleep More 

Sleep is magic. In a US study, people aged 40-plus, who only slept six hours or less a night, had higher levels of three inflammatory chemicals. one in particular, C-reactive protein, was 25% higher than in people who slept between six and nine hours. Studies have shown that people whose C-reactive protein levels are in the upper third of the population have around double the risk of a heart attack compared with people who have lower levels.

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