5 ways to add years to your life

Taking extra precautions for a long and healthy life are so important as we reach middle age and beyond. Read on for some great tips from Candis health editor Karen Evennett on how to maintain your vitality and keep a spring in your step!

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Run or speed-walk a mile in nine minutes. If you struggle to do it in 12 minutes, research says you could be at 30 per cent higher risk of heart disease in 30 years time.

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Get on the dance floor! A study at Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg in Germany found that dancing for one hour, three times a week, made muscles 15 per cent younger over the course of six months. It also strengthened the nerves that communicate with the muscles.

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Eat purple! Blackcurrants, blackberries and blueberries all get their purple pigment from huge quantities of anthocyanins. Scientists at the Institute of Food Research, Norwich, say these compounds increase blood flow in the brain and keep it young. Include two portions of these in your five a day.

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Keep calm and lose weight. If you are constantly stressed or overweight, you are ageing your body rapidly – which brings on the ailments of the elderly sooner than if you are laid-back and lean, according to a study at King’s College, London. Aim to keep your weight no more than 20lbs greater than it was when you were 18.

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Practise sitting to standing. Taking care not to hurt yourself, lower from a standing position to sitting cross-legged on the floor. Then get back to your feet, unsupported. Starting with a score of ten (five for sitting, and five for standing back up), knock a point off every time you have to use a hand or knee for support, and a half point every time you wobble. In one study of 51-80 year olds, those with the lowest scores were five to six times more likely to die within the next six years than those with the highest scores. The good news: you can get better at this with practise!

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