How to live a century: avoid men and eat oats

One of the oldest of Britain's growing band of centenarians recently declared that the secret to a long, healthy life was staying away from men!

"They're just more trouble than they're worth," said 109-year-old Jessie Gallan.

Avoiding romance is not something we'd all swap for a few extra years but luckily it doesn't have to be that way.

After being widowed after 44 years' marriage, one of Oxford's most recent centenarians Frederick Clapton, who turned 100 in November, married for a second time aged 75.

He enjoyed 23 years with his second wife, before she passed away aged 93.

Jessie's less extreme tips included enjoying a daily bowl of porridge, and getting lots of exercise.

The number of people in the UK reaching 100 has more than quadrupled in the past 30 years – there were a record 13,780 people in 2013.

So, what can we do to join them?

EAT MORE OATS

Gallan's porridge tip is indeed a good one - a study by Harvard University found a small daily bowl of porridge is linked to a long and healthy life. The study, which followed more than 100,000 people for 14 years, found those who ate the most wholegrains, such as porridge (or brown rice, corn and quinoa) seemed protected from many illnesses, particularly heart disease.

GO EASY ON THE SUGAR 

New research published this month suggests the majority of the British public are unaware of the serious health implications of a poor diet - including excess salt and sugar - combined with a lack of exercise. A study of more than 2,000 people by Nuffield Health found a third didn't worry about the amount of salt or sugar they ate, even though excess sugar is linked to changes in metabolism, increased blood pressure and liver damage.

To combat this, they suggest swapping a daily fizzy drink for water, which will cut seven teaspoons of sugar from your diet, saving 10kg of the white stuff a year. The resulting weight loss could then lengthen your life: an overweight female could add six years to her lifespan just by losing 5kg.

BE SENSIBLE WITH SALT

Too much salt is connected to increased blood pressure, a major risk factor in strokes, heart disease and heart attacks - the leading cause of death in the UK. For those in the Nuffield survey who seem unaware of this, please heed this advice: don't exceed 6g of salt per day. And beware that, often, most of the salt we consume is 'hidden', in processed foods and things like cereal, bread and jarred sauces, so it helps to get into the habit of reading food labels. Even swapping your daily shop-bought soup or sandwich for a home-made one can significantly reduce the risk the amount of salt you're consuming.

BE ACTIVE

The Nuffield figures show that 18 per cent of Brits never do any exercise, and 40 per cent exercise less than once a month, but old Gallan always knew otherwise. Nuffield says adding 30 minutes of walking into your daily routine, five days a week, can add three-and-a-half years to your lifespan.

REST UP

Three quarters of people get seven hours or less sleep a night, while one in ten get less than five, says Nuffield. Yet past studies have shown that sleeping less than six hours a night makes you 12 per cent5 more likely to die prematurely than someone who sleeps up to eight hours.

CREATE A CONSCIENTIOUS MIND

American researchers Dr Howard Friedman and Dr Leslie Martin found in a 2011 study that prudence and persistence are key traits for a long life. Why? Because conscientious people are thought to be more likely to live healthy lifestyles, not smoke or drink to excess, and take medication as prescribed. They also tend to find themselves in healthier relationships. It's also thought that they're biologically predisposed to be healthier, and less prone to many diseases, possibly because of levels of chemicals like serotonin in the brain.

MAKE FRIENDS

An Australian study of centenarians found that friends provide emotional support, which helps people deal with stress, and also boosts production of the feel-good chemicals dopamine and oxytocin, which promote brain growth and combat ageing.

OWN PETS

The calming effect of owning an animal can both reduce blood pressure and the risk of a heart attack, University of Minnesota researchers found. And if the pet's a dog, so much the better, as another study found that owners who walk their dogs every day live an average of seven years longer than non-dog owners.

SWITCH OFF THE TV

After the age of 25, every hour of TV you watch could knock around 20 minutes off your lifespan, say scientists at the US National Cancer Institute - because the more TV you watch, the longer you're sitting down and not exercising, raising your risk of illness and early death.

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