How To Look And Feel Younger

Think about the fight against ageing and it’s Botox that comes to mind but ageing well, ultimately, has more to do with being healthy and strong than with cosmetic interventions. It’s fabulous to look 40 when you are 60 – but you want to be able to move like a 40-year-old too!

- Nicky Perks

We’re sure Tina Turner and Julie Christie have brilliant genes. They must do: they look natural and young, though they’re both 77 years old. Perhaps they get some highly skilled help but, says Dr Sara Gottfried in her new book, Younger, what’s most likely to be the secret behind their enviable looks and style is that they live well. This is because up to 90% of the signs of ageing and disease are caused by lifestyle choices, not genes.

Dr Gottfried is a champion of ‘healthspan’ as opposed to lifespan. Healthspan is the time you are disease free and healthy, able to enjoy life fully irrespective of your age. According to Dr Gottfried, it is factors in our diet, lifestyle and environment that influence how many years of good health we enjoy and the rate at which we age.

Dr Gottfried has coined the term ‘inflammaging’: it is inflammation in your body that causes accelerated ageing (and disease). The quickest ways to age, therefore, are to gain weight, lose muscle mass, mess up your blood sugar, fail to get enough sleep, neglect to exercise your brain, wreck your gut flora with antibiotics and a bad diet, sit a lot, manage stress badly and eat inflammatory food, such as sugar, gluten and dairy. Even taking medications, such as anti-anxiety pills, can significantly raise your risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

If this sounds like you it’s never too late to practise some damage control:

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