8 easy changes for a longer, healthier life

It's no secret we're all living longer, but what can we do to make those extra years as healthy as possible?

- KAREN EVENNETT

LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE

If you only take one supplement, it should probably be vitamin D. It's the vitamin that most of us are lacking in the UK, with deficiency linked to many mental and physical health problems. 'Government advice is to take 10mcg daily from the end of September through to the end of April, but I double that dose for over-50s,' says nutritionist Judy Watson. 'Over summer, you're less likely to need a supplement but, to absorb enough from sunshine alone, you'll have to be outside in shorts and a T-shirt for at least 15 minutes a day. Being older, overweight or having darker skin all make it harder to get enough vitamin D from sunshine alone.

ONE-LEG WONDER

Stand on one leg when you're brushing your teeth. 'Swap legs every 30 seconds,' says Dr Michael Mosley, author of Just One Thing (£9.99, Short Books). 'Standing on one leg improves your balance - critical to preventing falls, which are the second most common cause of accidental deaths worldwide (after traffic accidents). Good balance is a great predictor for how well you're ageing. We start to lose our balance in our 40s and 50s, but it's easy to regain it with exercises like this one. Walking backwards (carefully) also helps.

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