LITTLE changes, from ditching burnt toast to buying houseplants, can have an amazing effect on your health.
Professor Robert Thomas has been involved in more than 100 trials and studies of things that can help you live better for longer, and he says the results are surprising.
Today he reveals the scientifically proven but simple alterations that could potentially add a decade to your life when combined with a healthy diet and exercise.
The consultant oncologist said: “Chronic, degenerative illnesses like heart disease, cancer, dementia and diabetes are the most common causes of premature death in the UK and, with a few exceptions, reducing your risk of one is likely to also reduce your risk of the others.
“Small, simple and achievable changes that might surprise you can help to add a decade or more to your life.”
Scientists believe that we can expand our “health span” — the number of years in good health — by the way we live.
In Britain, men typically live until age 79, and women until 83.
Through improvements to lifestyle, around 45 per cent of cancers and 80 per cent of premature heart attacks and strokes are preventable.
Prof Thomas, right, author of How To Live, said: “The genes we are born with are a factor in when we die, but data suggests you can influence them.
“So, even if you have inherited an increased risk of cancer, you can reduce that by promoting healthy genes and suppressing bad ones through lifestyle choices.
“Around age 50 or 55 is when you really see a separation in people who have lived healthier in the decades before and those who have not; those who have the energy to play sport, have sex and enjoy life.
“There are lots of achievable changes we can make to improve and lengthen our healthy years.
“We pick up evidence from thousands of studies of people.”
Here are his top six tips…
BUY HOUSEPLANTS
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PLANTS and trees are key oxygen producers.
By bringing houseplants into your home, you can improve air quality, remove toxins, cut the threat of disease and boost attention spans, too.
Houseplants produce oxygen and take carbon dioxide out of the air.
The soil extracts chemical components that might be lingering from cleaning fluids, cosmetics and paints.
This will help with problems such as asthma as well as inflammation.
Studies show plants in schools and workplaces boost concentration and motivation.
EAT SPICY FOOD
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HERBS and spices have wonderful anti-inflammatory properties and can protect against conditions such as cancer, heart disease and dementia.
So adding them to food reaps benefits as well as the right kind of heat.
A seven-year study of nearly 500,000 people in China found those who ate spicy food containing chillies once or twice a week had a ten per cent lower death rate than those who did not.
The risk was 14 per cent lower for those who ate it between three and seven days a week.
BIN BURNT TOAST
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THE blacker the toast, the more carcinogens such as acrylamide it contains.
So try to have the lightest toast possible.
And go for an egg or avocado instead of anything containing sugar, such as jam or marmalade.
The worst time to eat sugar is on an empty stomach as it sets off a see-saw effect on glucose and insulin in the bloodstream.
This causes fatigue, over-snacking, weight gain, demotivation to exercise and poor performance.
Sugar also feeds the “bad’ bacteria in the gut, which can cause inflammation and cancer.
RED WINE AFTER SUN
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WHILE sunburn and excess sun exposure can cause skin cancer, time outdoors increases vitamin D levels.
Vitamin D is vital for bone health and also helps fight cancer in the stomach, prostate and oesophagus.
Meanwhile, data shows eating or drinking foods rich in polyphenols can mitigate skin damage by 20 to 30 per cent.
Red wine is full of resveratrol, a type of polyphenol with healing attributes.
Having a glass of red or applying olive oil to the skin after time in the sun helps reduce the risk of your genes mutating.
CHANGE COMMUTE
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CYCLING, walking or driving through traffic hotspots every day can be harmful because we are breathing in air full of fumes and pollutants.
Switching all or part of your route to take in a park some days will reduce your risk of nose and lung cancer, respiratory problems and infertility caused by the oestrogen load left in the air by these pollutants.
If you are driving on a busy route, keep your windows up – it’s better than breathing in unhealthy air.
If you can’t avoid a busy route on foot, try an anti-pollution mask.
BRUSH YOUR TEETH
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EVERYONE associates brushing their teeth with avoiding fillings, but keeping your teeth and gums healthy can also help you avoid cancer or dementia in 20 years’ time.
Read more on the Scottish Sun
Infections caused by poor dental care can increase inflammation all over the body, boosting the risk of heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer’s.
Scientists have even found that the “bad” bacteria around fillings can make its way to the large bowel, attach to the gut wall and, over time, cause cancer.